After a somewhat rocky start to the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to get back to form led by NFL MVP candidate Ben Roethlisberger. With Big Ben leading the way, the Steelers reeled off four straight wins and appeared to be back on track in terms of competing for the AFC North division title and possibly yet another Super Bowl title under head coach Mike Tomlin.

Although the Super Bowl title aspirations were premature, Pittsburgh seemed very capable of at least clinching a playoff by and possibly challenging the Baltimore Ravens the division title.

Unfortunately, the Steelers had been decimated by injuries to some of their best players on the opposite side of the football. Tomlin’s squad began struggling when Big Ben went down with rib and shoulder injuries. As if Roethlisberger’s injuries were bad enough derail the team’s playoff hopes, the Steelers were also without perennial Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu.

The loss of Polamalu has greatly impacted the defense in Pittsburgh as they had been able to dominate on that side of the football in all areas.

Along with Big Ben and Polamalu, the Steelers also suffered injuries to Antonio Brown, Byron Leftwich and witnessed the benching of starting running back Rashard Mendenhall.

With the running game falling flat after the loss to the Cleveland Browns, Tomlin decided to bench Mendenhall in favor of Jonathan Dwyer. The benching was a surprise, but apparently needed with the Steelers running game not exactly firing on all cylinders with Mendenhall leading the way.

Fortunately, Roethlisberger might be back in the mix on Sunday against the Ravens in Baltimore. The two-time Super Bowl champion is doing everything within his power to get back on the field as soon as possible despite the extent of injuries and significant pain that he continues to feel while recovering.

Roethlisberger has been positive as of late and maybe ready to make his return on Sunday if cleared by the team’s medical staff to do so. The presence of Big Ben will greatly change the outlook of this game, but it remains uncertain if he’ll play or be stuck on the sidelines for a third straight week.

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