ORCHARD PARK, NY – DECEMBER 13: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Ben Roethlisberger is once again trying to claim he has an injury after a poor performance.
What should’ve been an easy victory against the wounded Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football turned into a complete disaster for the Pittsburgh Steelers, as Ryan Finley led the Bengals to a victory over a beat-up Steelers team. After a day in which Ben Roethlisberger looked completely shot and unable to frequently throw the ball beyond 10 yards, the future Hall of Famer claims that he isn’t operating at full strength.
Right after head coach Mike Tomlin claimed that he doesn’t think Roethlisberger has any arm troubles, Roethlisberger countered that claim by saying he doesn’t feel 100 percent. He qualified that statement by saying no one heels totally healthy in late December.
Ben Roethlisberger has looked completely out of sorts over the last few weeks
Roethlisberger, who has thrown more passes than any quarterback in the league this year, might have 30 touchdowns against 10 interceptions this year, was so bad last night some fans were pining for Mason Rudolph to get in the game. Over his last five games, which includes three losses for the once 11-0 Steelers, Roethlisberger has thrown eight touchdowns against just six interceptions.
Yes, the Steelers’ running game is a complete non-factor right now, and Randy Fichtner is making Todd Haley look like Bill Walsh with some of his offensive game plans, but Roethlisberger’s performance against a bad Bengals defense was simply unacceptable, and the Steelers can’t even pretend to be championship contenders if that’s what their passing game looks like.
Roethlisberger has perfected the strategy of faking a little limp after a bad pick or big hit over the course of his career, but claiming an arm injury after that awful show of quarterbacking comes off as a little weak.