Roethlisberger expected to play; not looking good for Brown

The first is that Roethlisberger, by any measure, is a tough guy who heals quickly. He takes a lot of pride in battling back from injuries. Next up for them are the top-seeded Broncos in Denver on Sunday night, and any sort of educated guesswork should place Roethlisberger in the starting lineup. In 2013, his coverage of the Seattle Seahawks ended in heartbreak when they defeated the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. “As soon as I hit the ground, I felt something kind of crunch”.

His arm throbbing and his ability to get the ball down the field with any sort of velocity nonexistent, Roethlisberger – with more than a little help from the Bengals – managed to lead the Steelers on a drive that set up Chris Boswell’s winning field goal. The flag was already thrown, and for all he knew, the Steelers may have needed him for another play or two after the hit.

Eight days of recovery isn’t going to fully heal Roethlisberger’s shoulder.

Pittsburgh was the only opponent to score more than 24 points at the expense of Denver’s top-ranked defense.

The Broncos led the National Football League in total yards allowed in the regular season with an average of just 283.1 a game.

Roethlisberger said he still was sore and was taking things day-by-day.

“Torn ligaments” seems like a big phrase to throw around, but, just like any injury, they come in varying degrees.

The Bengals have earned their pedigree for coming apart in the biggest games, with their latest meltdown immediately turning into a defining moment.

Ward is expected to be close to 100 percent after battling a high ankle sprain over the last month of the season.

That, all told, is the best possible news for the Steelers.

But now both Roethlisberger and star receiver Antonio Brown are questionable for a rematch where a trip to the conference championship game is at stake. He did not speak with reporters, but coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that he is “on the outside looking in” as far as his availability goes for Sunday. It will need a true team performance as the odds begin to stack against it.

“Everything that Vontaze do, everyone think is dirty”, he said. The things that he is able to do prior to the snap to undress defenses, to gather information, to make the journey easier for an offense needs no endorsement from me. “But it was pushing forward to throw and then the end of the throw”.

During the Bengals’ wildcard playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, Burfict was penalized for lowered his shoulder and hitting defenseless receiver Antonio Brown in the head after an incompletion, which resulted in the suspension, according to the Associated Press.