The Steelers Eek One Out in OT, But Might Have Lost Ben Roethlisberger For a While

The Monday night game was a hard hitting, grind it out, lose your quarterback kind of game. The Chiefs actually looked decent as the Steelers strong rush defense got carved up by the combo of Jamaal Charles (23 carries, 100 yards) and Peyton Hillis (10 carries, 30 yards).

The Steelers came way with the win anyway, pulling it out in overtime. The only big news from the game was that BenRoethlisberger got sandwiched by two KC defenders and slammed to the ground. He stayed in for a couple more plays, but was obviously hurting after the series and didn't return to the game. That meant Byron Leftwich and his exaggerated throwing motion came in to finish the game. The guy winds the ball up from below his hip. I've always been amazed at how long his motion is and that he's still able to get rid of the ball. 

The Steelers could be in some trouble with Big Ben out, but Leftwich is a pretty good backup to have. Roethlisberger went to the hospital last night after the game and had an MRI, but the doctors said more evaluation was needed today. That means he probably is going to miss a couple of games. ESPN 'sources' say that it could be significant.

The Steelers play division rivals Baltimore twice in the next three weeks. Nice scheduling, NFL. The Steelers didn't have the running game last night that they had the previous month or so, and that needs to get corrected if they want to stay in the race. Leftwich is a former starter and perfectly capable of running the team, but he's going to need some help from his RBs.