The hit that sent Ben Roethlisberger to the locker room briefly during Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers victory reportedly caused twice the injury as previously noted.
Roethlisberger suffered injuries to both knees, NFL Network reported, while he was sandwiched between Dallas Cowboys defenders Neville Gallimore and DeMarcus Lawrence after releasing the ball during a play late in the first half of a 24-19 win.
Roethlisberger appeared to be favoring his left knee, and he answered questions asked about a singular “knee” during a postgame video conference call with media.
Regardless of how many knees are ailing, Ian Rapoport tweeted “there is cautious optimism that (Roethlisberger) will be healthy enough to play” when the Steelers host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Tough pinball shot for Ben Roethlisberger between Neville Gallimore and DeMarcus Lawrence... pic.twitter.com/zTKUpDxh1b
— Joey Hayden (@_joeyhayden) November 8, 2020
Asked after Sunday’s game if there was any reason to be concerned the injury would affect him going forward, Roethlisberger said, “No, I will be fine.”
Gallimore hit Roethlisberger from the front, and their momentum carried Roethlisberger into Lawrence.
“While both knees got trapped, his feet not being stuck in the turf saved him from major injury,” Rapoport’s report read.
Roethlisberger finished that drive, throwing passes on each of the next four snaps, including a touchdown to James Washington. But Roethlisberger was wincing in pain and appeared to be favoring his left leg throughout the sequence. After the Steelers scored, Roethlisberger walked into the locker room alongside team physician Dr. James Bradley.
“We thought, ‘It’s the end of the half,’ so went in to get it looked it,” Roethlisberger said.
For the second consecutive game, #Steelers Ben Roethlisberger was at his best in the second half and engineered a come-from-behind win on the road. https://t.co/qlq2WpQuEv
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) November 9, 2020
Roethlisberger has played all but seven of the Steelers’ offensive snaps this season.
