PITTSBURGH (AP) – Most days when the starting quarterback limps off the field, the resulting emotion as the backup jogs out to the huddle isn’t relief.
Sunday, however, wasn’t most days. And Ben Roethlisberger isn’t most backups.
Wearing a modified cleat to protect his sprained left foot, Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers tormented the Cleveland Browns yet again in a 30-9 triumph that sent the Steelers surging into their bye week while providing a reminder that even on one good leg, Roethlisberger remains at the height of his considerable powers.
Roethlisberger laid out the proof over three sometimes spectacular hours, throwing for 379 yards and three scores and hardly looking like the same guy taken to the locker room in a cart a week earlier.
“The guy was literally in a boot and on crutches Monday,” wide receiver Antonio Brown said. “I can’t speak highly enough about him. He is a tremendous warrior. You never know what he is capable of doing. He is on the brink of greatness.”