Ben Roethlisberger Injury: Could Pittsburgh Steelers Survive Without QB?

Ben Roethislisberger gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a major scare when he came out of Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks in the first quarter, but the dismay didn't last long.

Roethisliberger was hit late by the Seahawks’ Raheem Brock and went to the bench for the next two plays with longtime backup Charlie Batch taking over. With the Steelers driving, Batch tried to add to a 14-0 lead.

Although walking a little gingerly, Roethlisberger was back in the game two plays later, although the drive stalled and the Steelers had to settle for a field goal and a 17-0 halftime lead.

The veteran quarterback left the field a little early for halftime, but he was back on the field to start the second half.

The Steelers saw Roethlisberger throw for 132 yards on 12-of-15 passing before the injury, and Pittsburgh doesn’t want to think where the Steelers would be if Roethlisberger couldn’t make it back into the game.

Batch, 36, has been the primary backup to Roethlisberger for the last decade. But the last time they needed him, in 2010, his QB rating was just 76.2 with as many interceptions as touchdowns (three of each) and four sacks.

Pittsburgh was 3-1 when Roethlisberger was out last year with a four-game suspension, Batch getting most of the work, although Dennis Dixon also got playing time.

Even so, the Steelers were concerned enough that they were ready to turn to Byron Leftwich to take over as the backup, which could have either relegated Batch to No. 3 status or bumped him off the roster with Dixon still around.

But on Aug. 27, Pittsburgh saw Leftwich break his arm while making six yards on a scramble, and he wound up on season-ending injured reserve.