Steelers Ben Roethlisberger Injured, Overshadows Victory

"The armies separated; and, it is said, Pyrrhus replied to one that gave him joy of his victory that one more such victory would utterly undo him. For he had lost a great part of the forces he brought with him...." - Plutarch

Do you know what a Pyrrhic victory is? A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost that the heavy toll negates any sense of gain or profit.

Both Ben Roethlisberger and Ryan Clark, the Steelers offensive and defensive MVPs in the first half of the season, went down with injuries in the Steelers 16-13 overtime win on Monday Night Football.

Ryan Clark seems to have a concussion. He may miss the Ravens game next Sunday night. Big Ben may be more serious.

Big Ben left the game in the third quarter after being sacked by Kansas City Chiefs defenders Justin Houston and Tamba Hali. He was taken to the locker room and then to hospital for further evaluation.

Adam Schefter tweeted from his Twitter (@AdamSchefter) account that the "Steelers officials have not been told anything about Ben Roethlisberger having a separated shoulder. They have been told it is sprained."

"Ben Roethlisberger at hospital. Maybe shoulder will turn out to be separated. But all Steelers have been told so far is it is sprained."

Tomlin confirmed that Big Ben left the stadium and was evaluated at a nearby hospital, but didn't speculate on Big Ben until more is known. He said he doesn't "live in the hypothetical world." He simply said they did enough to win. - http://tinyurl.com/a2ucy7f

There is no official word at present, however there is speculation that Big Ben suffered a shoulder sprain. No word as to what grade it is or whether it's an acromioclavicular joint sprain or sternoclavicular sprain.

Cliff notes version is that in Grades I or II sprains, the injury is treated with what we in the industry (I've revealed in previous blogs that I studied and worked in E.M.S. and Massage Therapy) PRICE: Pressure, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Anti-inflammatories, or NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), such as naproxen sodium (Aleve) or ibuprofen (Motrin amongst others) are used. This is a two to three week situation.

If it's a Grade III sprain, where major tearing of the connective tissue is involved, surgery may be required. But, either way, IF this is the situation, no Big Ben for the Ravens games. - http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8625787/ben-roethlisberger-pittsburgh-steelers-leaves-game-injury

With Big Ben missing most of the second half with a right shoulder injury, overtime was needed and Lawrence Timmons’ interception on the second play of the 5th period set up Shaun Suisham’s 23-yard field goal to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 16-13 in overtime over on Monday night.

In danger of losing to a team that hadn’t led in regulation all season, receiving their first lead Monday night, the Steelers were able to pull out the victory. A victory that many, including yours truly, said should've been easy.

“We made it hard on ourselves,” linebacker Larry Foote said. “We never make it easy.”

Though, again, the Steelers haven't yet revealed the severity of Big Ben's injury or how long he'll be out. The players are naturally concerned over their leader. Some didn't at all hold back their feelings on the matter.

“It scares you,” said offensive lineman Willie Colon. “Hopefully it’s not as bad as they’re saying.” - http://tinyurl.com/as7w7oy

Hopefully, Willie. Hopefully.

Without Big Ben, the Steelers turned to Byron Leftwich for their fourth straight victory.

Leftwich hadn't played in almost two years. It showed as he was very rusty at first, before hitting Emmanuel Sanders on a 31-yard pass that set up one of Sushi's three field goals.

Whether or not Big Ben had played the entire game, the Steelers didn't look ready for this game from the beginning. It isn't unusual for the defense this season to start slowly, but the offense usually generates early points.

Steelers offensive players said all week that they wanted to win this one for Haley. They did. Barely.

The normally on-point Steelers quarterback was just average in the first half. He was just 9-18 for 84 yards and a touchdown when he left the game.

The defense picked it up and kept the Chiefs scoreless most of the second half after being gashed early on the ground, but the offense never did come around.

Jamaal Charles put the Chiefs up, 7-0, with a 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and an Isaac Redman fumble gave the ball back to the Chiefs at the Steelers’ 10-yard line, but they weren’t able to punch it in and had to settle for a 22-yard Ryan Succop field goal to take a 10-0 lead.

A Sushi field goal gave the Steelers three points before Mike Wallace made a circus catch off of a Roethlisberger seven-yard pass in the end zone to even the game at 10-10 late in the second quarter. Wallace somehow kept the ball off the turf by holding it between his knees and securing it before rolling out of bounds.

Many of the details of the second half are all a blur for most Steelers fans as the only thing that really matters is that the Steelers mid-season defensive MVP and franchise quarterback are down and their status is uncertain at present.

If the injuries end up being relatively minor, we'll look back at a game that should have been won by a lot more than three points.

If the injuries are as feared, the victory could be a meaningless one. A Pyrrhic victory.