Big Ben, Antonio Brown banged up as Steelers survive and advance
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ two most indispensable players, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Antonio Brown, suffered injuries in the team’s thrilling, ugly 18-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday.
Brown suffered a concussion after a massive hit in the waning moments by Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict and is in the protocol after his neck snapped violently backward. Roethlisberger was sacked — guess who, Burfict again — in the late third quarter. Roethlisberger missed much of the fourth quarter but came on for the final drive that led to Steelers kicker Chris Boswell hitting the 35-yard game-winning field goal with 14 seconds left.
That sent the Steelers on to face the Denver Broncos in the divisional round next Sunday, Jan. 17. But how healthy will Roethlisberger and Brown be?
Roethlisberger deflected talk about his shoulder after the game but did admit that he lost a lot of velocity on his throws on that final drive, when the Steelers had to call a series of short throws. It’s possible he misses most of the week of practice, gets in one brisk session on Friday and is good to go against Peyton Manning and the Broncos.
But Brown’s future is far more murky. He’s in the protocol now, and we’ve seen players cleared the following day and others linger for weeks. There is absolutely no way to know where he stands until the team gives us an update, and head coach Mike Tomlin had nothing immediately after the game.
Without Brown, the Steelers could be in big trouble — even with Martavis Bryant stepping up for a show-stopping touchdown in the Bengals win. It’s possible, if not likely, that running back DeAngelo Williams will return this week, but the Steelers received a great relief performance from Fitzgerald Toussaint.
We expect the warrior-like Roethlisberger to play. But will he have his leading man, Brown? The Steelers are a tough bunch but even that might be too much to withstand.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
