Ben Roethlisberger's Return Not Enough to Lift Steelers to Victory

The return of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was supposed to be a triumphant one for his team. The signal-caller had missed the previous four games after suffering a knee injury in Week 3; this homecoming against the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals was pegged as an opportunity for the Steelers' high-powered offense to regain its footing after Pittsburgh went 2-2 in Roethlisberger's absence.

But that did not come to pass on Sunday, with the Steelers falling to the Bengals, 16-10, dropping their record to 4-4. The Bengals, meanwhile, are now 7-0 for the first time in franchise history.

All seemed to be back on track early, with Roethlisberger connecting with receiver Antonio Brown on a one-yard touchdown pass on the Steelers' opening drive. But a third-quarter Chris Boswell field goal resulted in the only other points the Steelers scored on the day.

	Atts.	Comp.	Comp.%	Yds.	TD	INT	Sack	Hits
1st Half	21	13	61.9%	98	1	0	1.0	3
Final	45	28	62.3%	262	1	3	3.0	6

In the first half, Roethlisberger showed signs of rust but was still effective, completing 13 of his 21 pass attempts for 98 yards, one touchdown and one sack taken. He was connecting well with Brown, who caught all four passes thrown his way in the half, as well as with tight end Heath Miller.

Miller ended the day on a high note as Pittsburgh's leading receiver, catching 10 passes for 105 yards. But it was the only real highlight of the Steelers' passing offense. In the second half, Roethlisberger's time off combined with a renewed pass-rushing effort by the Bengals defense saw the wheels come off.

Roethlisberger threw three interceptions in the second half and took two additional sacks while being hit six times on the day. And while Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was also constantly harassed by the Steelers defense—also being sacked three times and hit seven, leading to two interceptions thrown of his own—Pittsburgh's offense could not put up points after the turnovers.

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Cornerback Antwon Blake's interception of Dalton led to a Steelers punt. Safety Mike Mitchell's interception led to Roethlisberger throwing a pick to the Bengals' Shawn Williams on the ensuing drive.

Meanwhile, the Williams interception led to a touchdown by Bengals receiver A.J. Green, and one of Bengals safety Reggie Nelson's two interceptions of Roethlisberger led to a field goal.

Not capitalizing on an opponent's turnovers while turning over the ball yourself is how the Steelers could hold the Bengals to just four third-down conversions on 15 attempts, give up just one touchdown on three red-zone appearances, outgain the Bengals 356 yards to 296 and still not win. 

It's also how the Steelers undid all the good the defense put forth, including those sacks, hits, turnovers, seven tackles for loss and seven passes defensed. Where once the offense could reliably carry the weaknesses of the defense, on Sunday it's what doomed the Steelers despite the defense playing one of its better games of the season.

Roethlisberger's rust after four weeks away is understandable. And running back Le'Veon Bell's second-quarter knee injury—the severity of which is still being evaluated, per CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora—did not help things to say the least.

While backup DeAngelo Williams handled rushing duties well without Bell, carrying the ball nine times for 71 yards, he's not the same force in the passing offense as a receiver as Bell is. The fact Roethlisberger lost that valuable quick-pass and checkdown option on a day when he was getting reacclimated to playing while under heavy pressure did not help.

Roethlisberger's down day was an uncharacteristic one for him, and it's hard to imagine these struggles continuing into Week 9 and beyond. But the Steelers desperately needed a win over the Bengals on Sunday to stay relevant in the AFC North and the AFC as a whole.

The big bounce-back the Steelers expected with Roethlisberger's return just did not come to pass, and the result was an anemic 10-point performance for an offense capable of so much more.