Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger 'going to do everything I can' to play Bengals
Ben Roethlisberger is as tough as they come at the quarterback position. As he deals with an injured pectoral muscle suffered against the Las Vegas Raiders, Roethlisberger detailed that he’ll do whatever’s in his power to play on Sunday.
Today, the Steelers quarterback stated he’s “going to do everything I can” to play against the Cincinnati Bengals. Additionally, the two-time Super Bowl Champion is expected to suit up.
Moreover, Roethlisberger detailed the pain he’s in from the injury. While the injury is away from his throwing side, the Steelers quarterback said it hurts “when I reach for something outside the framework of my body or when I push up off the ground.”
The Raiders terrorized Roethlisberger on Sunday. In the game, he was sacked three times and hit 10 other times. Specifically, defensive end Maxx Crosby lived in his nightmare — accounting for five hits and three sacks.
While Roethlisberger may be tough as nails, he couldn’t even remember the last time he was beat up so badly during a game.
“I don’t know,” said Roethlisberger, per the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette. “We knew going in they had a good rush with high-motor guys that were going to get after it. So you have to prepare for that. But we all need to be better to eliminate hits, to have a better run game, to have more big plays, to be more efficient. It’s on all of us to help those things.”
While the Bengals don’t have as formidable a defensive line as the Raiders, they do have six sacks in two games. Evidently, Roethlisberger will have an eye on their best defensive end, Trey Hendrickson. The Steelers will try to prevent him from having a Crosby-like day.
Roethlisberger: ‘I am not playing well enough’
During his post-game press conference following Sunday’s loss, one reporter asked what he thought was contributing to Ben Roethlisberger’s poor play.
“I don’t know,” said Roethlisberger. “It’s frustrating because I put a lot of stinking time in. More than I probably ever have. And I’m not really sure I gotta get it figured out though because I’m frustrated that I am not playing well enough.
“The good news is that it’s still early, you know, we got a long road ahead of us and we got a lot of time to get it fixed.”
Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense struggled against the Raiders. To illustrate, the veteran quarterback recorded 295 passing yards on 27 completions in 40 attempts, along with one touchdown and one interception.
Moreover, his team could hardly string together much in the run game either. First-round draft pick out of Alabama, Najee Harris, did minimal damage on just ten carries for 38 yards. Meanwhile, backup running back Benny Snell Jr. had two rushes for one yard.
As for his receiving corps, Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool were Roethlisberger’s two most successful targets. Johnson tallied six receptions for 105 yards, while Claypool had three receptions for 70 yards.
Unfortunately, Johnson appeared to have sustained a knee injury on the last play of the game. However, there’s been some good news since — recent reports out of Pittsburgh say the early indications point to the injury not being serious.