Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been dealing with an elbow injury since the season opener.
Roethlisberger revealed in a radio interview earlier this week that the elbow was affecting him in Sunday’s 41-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
“The second half, I had a talk with myself and said I had to suck it up and deliver the ball like I need to and force my way through it,” Roethlisberger said.
Roethlisberger initially hurt the elbow when he was sacked late in a Week 1 tie at the Cleveland Browns. There were questions as to whether he would be available the following week and Roethlisberger has skipped practice on Wednesdays since.
“We’ve been dealing with it,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s something I need to mentally get over in terms of my throwing motion. I’ve got to keep the arm high to keep the ball driving instead of sailing, that’s all.”
Roethlisberger pointed out that he has to be mindful of his throwing mechanics due to the injury. He struggled in the first half against the Falcons before throwing a pair of touchdown passes to Antonio Brown in the second half. He had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 after the break.
“I was just dealing with a little bit of an elbow issue,” Roethlisberger said of his first-half struggles. “It made me drop my elbow a little bit for the comfort factor, which causes the ball to sail.”
Pittsburgh (2-2-1) visits AFC North-leading Cincinnati on Sunday before entering its bye. Roethlisberger will be shut down from throwing next week to give the elbow some rest.
“I don’t know that it’s completely healthy,” Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said of Roethlisberger’s elbow. “But I don’t know that in any given season anyone — or any arm — is going to be completely healthy all the time.
“We try to do the right things to manage numbers of throws in the week, and I know that after this weekend he will get an extended rest and it will be good for him. But as far as being able to make throws, he can make the throws, and as far as practice, he can practice.”
The 36-year-old Roethlisberger has thrown for 1,664 yards with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions for Pittsburgh.
