Ben Roethlisberger Proves Again He Can Carry Steelers Through Almost Anything

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was supposed to be a spectator Sunday after needing the assistance of a cart to leave his last game. Most beings from this planet who feel pain probably wouldn’t have been available in any capacity only a week removed from suffering a sprained foot.

When Roethlisberger went down against the Oakland Raiders in Week 9, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported he would likely miss several weeks. Later, the expected course of events following his injury actually wasn’t all that shattering for the Steelers offense. Roethlisberger would miss one game against the lowly Cleveland Browns, rest during a Week 11 bye and then be freshly mended for the stretch run.

Even when Roethlisberger surprisingly returned to practice Thursday, the standard expectations and assumptions didn’t disappear. He’s not playing, we thought, and it didn't take much reaching to support that stance.

After watching him in workouts, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette took a bucket of ice water to any remaining optimism:

But we’ve seen this act before. Often it begins with those expectations and assumptions building to the point of near certainty throughout a week, and then Roethlisberger erases them after calmly trotting out to play as if nothing happened.

This time it was different, though, because this time he did more than make his sprained foot a memory. This time the Steelers “backup” quarterback entered a game against the Browns, and as ESPN Stats & Info noted, he nearly set a career high for first-half passing to begin a blowout 30-9 win:

The Steelers probably would have preferred to win without Roethlisberger. Sure, he may have starfish-like powers that allow him to regenerate bones and/or limbs. But team doctors still need to treat him like a somewhat-normal human.

The 33-year-old quarterback has already missed four games this season due to an MCL injury. He had to be approached with caution, which is why despite the sort of quick recovery that would make The Terminator jealous, logic said giving Roethlisberger Sunday off and two weeks to reset with an upcoming bye was the best course of action.

So he stood in full gear to start Sunday’s game, missing only his helmet. He wore a hat instead as the backup, with the Steelers hoping Landry Jones could coast past the Browns, giving Roethlisberger his needed rest.

It was a fine plan that lasted seven snaps.

Usually only darkness and doom follows when a team’s cart is occupied by two different quarterbacks over two straight games. But again, normal isn’t something that really exists in Roethlisberger’s world.

He replaced Jones for Pittsburgh’s third possession midway through the first quarter. As he entered the game, so did more assumptions. His movement would be limited, we thought, and so would his ability to push the ball downfield on a wounded foot. And he definitely wouldn’t respond well to pressure.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Then, as they have so many times before, those doubts faded instantly.

Roethlisberger’s fifth pass attempt resulted in a 44-yard completion lofted perfectly to wide receiver Martavis Bryant, hitting him in stride. It was the first of four 30-plus-yard completions during a game when Roethlisberger did so much more than nearly set a new personal first-half passing high.

"I kinda surprised myself," Roethlisberger told ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler. "My foot was basically black and blue [early in the week]"

The Steelers’ backup on this day was, by at least one important metric, the best backup in single-game history, again via ESPN Stats & Information:

That yardage wasn’t compiled with low-percentage throws or a conservative approach with a quarterback functioning at something-less-than-full health. Instead, Pittsburgh received the full Roethlisberger treatment, and the linchpin of their firework-filled offense returned.

He may have limped slightly at times, but his passing form didn’t falter. Roethlisberger averaged an incredible 11.5 yards per pass attempt. It was just the second time he posted more than 11 yards per attempt during a game since Dec. 8, 2011, and the two-time Super Bowl champion did that with a passer rating of 147.5 in the first half.

He also threw three touchdown passes in a game for the second time this season. Generally, he was the steady, physically imposing dart thrower we’ve all come to love, fear or at least respect, depending on what colors you wear while screaming obscenities at your television every Sunday.

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Roethlisberger made a surprise return to his rightful place as the centerpiece of Pittsburgh’s juggernaut offense. He did it while leading a unit that averaged 7.8 yards per play and featured two pass-catchers with 135-plus receiving yards (Bryant along with fellow receiver Antonio Brown).

Now the 6-4 Steelers enter their much-needed bye as the AFC’s fifth seed, and there's a game separating them from the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets. They’ll rest and get healthy, which is a terrifying thought, because Roethlisberger doesn’t seem to need full health.

He can always take over a game, even while walking wounded, and even after a week when all hope to play seemed lost. He just needs to get onto the field. Often the rest falls into place.