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The Steelers should give Big Ben another week

By Tim Weaver

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As much pain as it will cause my fantasy team, I think the Pittsburgh Steelers should not consider playing Ben Roethlisberger this week against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Roethlisberger has missed the last three games due to a sprained MCL he suffered against the St. Louis Rams and the initial timeline for his return was expected to be around six weeks. However, Big Ben’s recovery is coming along faster than originally anticipated, and there’s a chance he could play on Sunday.

According to Bob Labriola, Roethlisberger is listed as questionable on the team’s injury report:

Pittsburgh is in a good position right now, having one two of the three contests that Roethlisberger has missed. Michael Vick was not playing well at quarterback at all but Landry Jones appeared to be perfectly comfortable running the offense when Vick went down against Arizona.

Jones threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns (plus a 149.3 passer rating) against one of the NFL’s best defenses in his first real game action.

Kansas City’s defense is giving up 26.5 points per game and 276.7 yards per game through the air, which ranks them as the league’s 25th best passing defense (Pittsburgh is one spot lower.) Moreover, since Jamaal Charles’ season ending injury their offense has really struggled to sustain drives, which means that in the second half Jones should get the benefit of throwing against a gassed Chiefs defense.

I don’t see why Mike Tomlin should risk rushing Roethlisberger back at all. Unless Jones gets injured too there’s very little to gain from playing Big Ben.

Roethlisberger’s long-term health is much, much more important than any one win or loss. Tomlin should give him another week to rest and prepare for the big Week 8 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, who have a two-game lead in the AFC North race.

Next: Game day grub: Breakfast lasagna

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