By Brandon Wallace
SteelerNation.com
PITTSBURGH, PA - Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sidelined last Sunday against the Oakland Raiders with an apparent rib injury in the second quarter. He returned late in the fourth quarter with 5:20 remaining, only to see the defense give up a late touchdown, and to see kicker Chris Boswell slip and miss on a potential game-tying field goal as time expired.
The X-ray on Roethlisberger was inconclusive and Coach Mike Tomlin added Tuesday that it was "not clearly readable" during the halftime evaluation. It was further reported however that Roethlisberger did show that he had "multiple rib contusions."
"We never really had a full understanding specifically what the injury was on the stadium site," said Tomlin. "Because of the lack of information, we thought the best thing to do, the most prudent thing to do was to be only to make Ben available in emergency-like situations."
Roethlisberger told Tomlin that he was available if needed, but it seemed as though the coaches, as well as the front office, all wanted to make sure their star quarterback wasn't rushed back into action. "The team, and when I say the team it's (general manager Kevin) Colbert, it's everybody, was kind of like, 'Let's let this thing play out' because I think it was still the unknown of the injury," said Roethlisberger. "I think what they were probably worried about was making it worse because we didn't know what the injury was. You want to play unless you think you're going to hurt your team."
A lot of fingers pointed at Tomlin for not putting Roethlisberger back in sooner, but can you blame him? Let's debate. Did Tomlin make the right call, or would you have thrown Roethlisberger back in the game potentially risking further damage? Regardless, reports are that Big Ben seems ready to roll when the Steelers take on the New England Patriots, Sunday at 4:25 EST pm on CBS.
#SteelerNation
