Big Ben Injury May Put Damper on Antonio Brown's Superhuman Sunday

Antonio Brown's legs covered an incredible 306 yards, and the Pittsburgh Steelers took a huge step ahead of the pack in the AFC wild-card race—but the most important step this Sunday was one not taken.

In the fourth quarter, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sacked by Oakland Raiders linebacker Aldon Smith; Roethlisberger immediately crumpled to the ground and grabbed at his lower leg. Unable to put any weight on his left foot, he was first helped off the field, then carted to the locker room. Then, per Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Roethlisberger was transported to a hospital for evaluation of his foot.

Fortunately for the Steelers, Brown continued to dominate. On the game's final drive, he helped out backup quarterback Landry Jones with a 57-yard catch-and-run that set up the game-winning field goal:

When kicker Chris Boswell's 18-yard chip shot hit the net with two seconds left, the Steelers claimed sole possession of the AFC's sixth playoff spot—and earned a crucial head-to-head tiebreaker over the Raiders. In the stratified AFC, this win could loom large in the final weeks of the season.

However, for the one-win lead (or tiebreaker over the Raiders) to matter, the Steelers will have to keep winning without Roethlisberger. Having gone 2-2 with a combination of Mike Vick and Landry Jones under center, it's not entirely out of the question—but the pressure on Jones, backup running back DeAngelo Williams and Brown to score points in bunches will be immense.

Brown and the Steelers knew how important this game was well before they took the field. At first, though, it wasn't clear if they'd brought their best game to Heinz Field, or if their best game would be good enough to cool down the red-hot Raiders.

On the first drive, the Steelers came up against a 4th-and-4 on the Raiders' 34; Tomlin showed great awareness by going for it. Brown, though, wasn't able to bring in what would have been a drive-extending catch. Two huge plays by Latavius Murray and Michael Crabtree later, the Steelers were down, 7-0.

That's when Roethlisberger started feeding Brown. He pulled off an incredible sideline toe-drag during the Steelers' first scoring drive. The next drive started with a 59-yard pass to Brown:

Williams, starting in relief of the injured Le'Veon Bell, would go on to cap off the drive with a three-yard touchdown plunge.

Two drives later, the Steelers repeated the feat: A 41-yard Brown reception set up another three-yard touchdown run for Williams. Just before halftime, two more Brown catches (including another sideline grab) put Boswell in position for a 38-yard field goal.

The Steelers took a 21-14 lead into halftime; Brown took a stunning 10 catches for 180 yards with him into the locker room.

In the third quarter, the game began to swing the Raiders' way. Brown didn't get his 11th catch until just 3 minutes and 33 seconds left in the period. During this stretch, Roethlisberger only threw Brown's way twice—one was incomplete and the other intercepted.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, though, two Steelers touchdowns sandwiching a Raiders kickoff-return muff put them ahead for good—or so it seemed. The Raiders quickly answered with a touchdown of their own. While trying to push the lead back up to two scores, Roethlisberger went down:

The Steelers defense kept the Raiders from capitalizing on the subsequent drive, but on the ensuing Raiders punt, Brown had his only mortal moment, losing a fumble while trying to inflate his all-purpose yardage total.

Both teams went back and forth for the rest of the fourth quarter, but the clock was on the Steelers' side. When Raiders receiver Michael Crabtree scored a game-tying touchdown with 1:15 on the clock, Brown had just enough time to make the 57-yard play that led to Boswell finally sealing this critical fifth win.

At 5-4, they're a half-game behind the 5-3 New York Jets and a full game (plus tiebreaker) ahead of the Raiders. Brown finished with 17 catches for 284 yards, plus 22 yards on two rushing attempts.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Despite the injury, Roethlisberger passed Johnny Unitas for 15th on the NFL's all-time passing list; that milestone will be cold comfort to him and the Steelers if he has to miss significant time. According to Bob Labriola of the team's official site, Roethlisberger is undergoing an MRI Sunday evening.

If he only misses a few weeks, as ESPN's Adam Schefter reported via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, the schedule is kind: The Steelers host the 2-7 Cleveland Browns in Week 10 before their Week 11 bye.

"Ben is our franchise quarterback," Brown said, per Fowler. "We live and die with him...hopefully he can be with us."

If Roethlisberger is gone for the season, though, the Steelers will face a brutal stretch without him from Week 12 on: at the Seattle Seahawks, hosting the Indianapolis Colts, at the Cincinnati Bengals, hosting the Denver Broncos and closing it out at the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns.

That's two divisional road games, three of the AFC's four division leaders and one of the toughest road destinations in the NFL. If the Steelers are going to come out of that run on top, they're going to need Brown to keep playing the way he did against the Raiders.