The Pittsburgh Steelers have lost three straight games. Their offense has scored less than 20 points in four straight games. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is responsible for seven turnovers over the team’s last five games with multiple turnovers in back-to-back losses to Buffalo last week and Cincinnati on Monday night.
With Roethlisberger being 38 years old and coming off an elbow injury that ended his season a year ago, it’s fair to wonder if Roethlisberger’s slip in performance has had something to do with injuries. But the Steelers and Roethlisberger himself won’t attribute any dip in performance to injuries.
Roethlisberger was asked after the 27-17 loss to the Bengals on Monday night if he’s 100 percent.
“Well I don’t think anybody that plays this game at any position whether it’s Week 1 or Week 16 feels 100 percent. So I would say, no, I don’t feel 100 percent, but nobody does right now,” Roethlisberger told reporters.
While Roethlisberger’s statement is accurate, it also does a good job of obscuring any issues he may currently be dealing with. He hasn’t practiced on Wednesdays each of the last two weeks but the team has listed is absences as not injury related. He has been listed on the report every week since Week 11 with not injury related designations paired with knee and quadriceps issues.
Last week against the Bills, Roethlisberger completed 21-of-37 passes for 187 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Monday night against the Bengals, Roethlisberger was just 20-of-38 for 170 yards with a touchdown, interception and lost fumble. It’s the first time Roethlisberger has thrown for fewer than 200 yards in consecutive games since a three-game stretch over the final three weeks of the 2013 season