Ben Roethlisberger Injury Makes Pittsburgh Steelers a Lock for First-Round Exit

Man, the Pittsburgh Steelers really showed what life without a healthy Ben Roethlisberger looked like last night, and it wasn't pretty. The Steelers fell 20-3 to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football as a hobbled Roethlisberger had one of the worst games we've ever seen him play.

Nursing an injured left ankle, Big Ben completed 25-of-44 passes for 330 yards, with no touchdowns and three interceptions, while fumbling twice and losing one. Playing on a badly injured left ankle, Roethlisberger never looked comfortable last night, and it clearly hampered his ability to throw the ball. He finished the night with a passer rating of 52.3 and failed to throw a touchdown pass for just the second time this season.

Right now, the Steelers rank eighth in the NFL in passing offense (260.5 yards per game) and 17th in rushing offense (112.4 yards per game). Looking at those numbers, it's pretty obvious that, without their 29-year-old quarterback, the team suffers a huge drop-off offensively. 

While Pittsburgh still leads the NFL in total defense (allowing just 276.9 yards per game), without an effective passing game, the team's defense will have a ton of pressure put on it. 

As it stands right now, the Steelers appear headed for a wild card spot thanks to their two losses to the Baltimore Ravens. If they have to play a game on the road in three weeks and Roethlisberger's gimpy left ankle hasn't healed, it's certainly in the realm of possibility that the defending AFC champions will be out after the opening weekend of the playoffs.

Unless Roethlisberger and the Steelers can figure out how to get him healthy and soon, a once promising season could slip away from them.