It was landing on his elbow as he got sacked that caused Roethlisberger’s injury. (J.D. Cavrich/www.altoonamirror.com)

The media storm hit Pittsburgh in full force Tuesday morning, just hours after Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger left the Monday Night Football game at Heinz Field against the Kansas City Chiefs after taking a sack.  Roethlisberger was evaluated in the locker room and subsequently sent to a local hospital that night for an MRI to further evaluate his injury.  His agent, Ryan Tollner, mysteriously called the injury “non-traditional” and said it was ”unique” and “not something the training staff typically sees.”

Twitter buzzed for hours as sports reporters speculated whether the franchise QB had sustained a shoulder separation or merely a sprain to the shoulder on his all-important throwing arm.  The following day, head coach Mike Tomlin described the injury as a sternoclavicular (SC) joint sprain.  » Continue reading “House Calls: Demystifying Ben Roethlisberger’s Injury”

For a brief time, Chiefs fans remembered why they love football. Then the Chiefs did what they’ve done best this season, and lost. They lost in Pittsburgh to the Steelers in overtime on a Matt Cassal interception, 16-13.

Kendrick Lewis displays my sentiments

In the end, it didn’t matter that the Chiefs led for the first time in regulation all season and actually played like a real NFL team, despite the rainy conditions. It didn’t matter that Peyton Hillis and Jamaal Charles were absolute beasts, with Charles having 23 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown and Hillis shouldering and strong-arming like a stampeeding bison.

It did matter that a bunch of questionable penalties by the refs took away two Chiefs scores, and that Ryan Succop missed a field goal. It did matter than in the most crucial moment of the game, KC gave up it’s 30th turnover of the season and in a bunch of other crucial moments, no one (mostly Bowe: where was my rain-Bowe?) couldn’t catch and hold onto the ball. It did matter that Matt Cassel was only 11 of 26 for 154 yards and despite making some good clutch decisions during the game, threw an interception in OT that literally handed the Steelers the win.

Even with Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger out of the game with an injury in the 3rd quarter, the Chiefs couldn’t pull it off. Sadly, my favorite moment of the game came from the sack celebration that caused the injury (as douchey as it sounds, they/I didn’t know he was injured at the time):

The Chiefs wanted it so bad! They finally were showing life! Matt Cassel had at least one of those excited fist swings of celebration he does! But in the end, it’s just another L in the books and life can go on being depressing for sports fans in Kansas City.

Because that’s such a downer, here’s another GIF for you. I’d like to pretend that Chiefs GM Pioli and the coach he fired, now Offensive Coordinator for the Steelers, Todd Haley, are exchaning pleasentries about the weather. Because obviously:

The 1-8 Chiefs square off against the Bengals next Sunday at noon for more boatloads of fun.

Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan

We’ve just about at the mid-point of the 2012 NFL season. With Week 8 kicking off tonight, it’s time to break down the quarterbacks in the league and see where they rank power-wise.

1. Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons
As a rule of thumb, until you’ve been beaten, you’re the best. Ryan and the Falcons are 6-0 (the only undefeated team left), coming off a bye-week, and are preparing for the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. in the first six weeks he’s completed 160 passes in 236 attempts for 1,756 yards with a 67.8 completion percentage. He’s thrown 14 touchdowns and ran in a touchdown himself. Ryan is connecting well with Julio Jones and is utilizing his tight end Tony Gonzalez better than ever. Ryan, though, has already been sacked 13 times for a loss of 107 yards and has thrown six interceptions. A little better movement in the pocket, and no one is going to stop this guy. The Falcons are going to eventually lose a game, but it won’t come this week.

2. Eli Manning – New York Giants
Sometimes he has great games and sometimes he has not so great games. However, at the end of the day, Manning finds a way to win. Manning is one of those quarterbacks that will continue to prove that games are never over until the clock reads 00:00 and will set the team up for either a field goal or a touchdown to tie or take the lead. So far this season he is 169-for-265 for 2,109 yards with a 63.8 completion percentage. He’s also been sacked only five times for 40 yards. Manning has a way of staying calm in the pocket and finding his receivers for big yards. He’s coming off a fourth quarter comeback against the Washington Redskins where he threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz with under two minutes left in the game. There’s no stopping him when there are less than two minutes remaining.

3. Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers
It’s been a season of ups and downs for the Packers, but they are 4-3 and the last two weeks for Rodgers have been powerful ones. He handed the Houston Texans their first loss of the season when he threw six touchdowns on the night. His offensive line does have to get better though as he’s already been sacked 26 times for a loss of 142 yards. He’s been sacked five times in the last two weeks, but still managed to throw nine touchdowns for 680 yards. He is coming off an MVP season and if Packers can protect Rodgers better, he will be one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the league. Sorry, Rob Parker, but Rodgers is not the best quarterback in the league this year. » Continue reading “2012 Mid-Season Quarterback Power Rankings”

Tim Tebow celebrates after Denver's defeat of Pittsburgh. Photo via the Denver Broncos

For the Denver Broncos, who eeked their way into the playoffs, defeating the Steelers’ league leading defense and the more experienced playoff team was an unlikely scenario. Not to mention the fact that they team they would face featured a quarterback who was 3-0 in road games in the playoffs.

Yes, the Broncos had their work cut out for them. They seemed to face an insurmountable task. But that is exactly why the legend that has become Tim Tebow and the 2011 Denver team continues to grow. The young quarterback, who lacks the passing precision of the prototypical NFL quarterback, somehow just keeps finding ways to lead his team to victory.

To be fair, that has not been the case all season. The reason why Denver didn’t make it to the playoffs until the last minute is because they dropped the last three games in the regular season.

But boy, did the Broncos find a way to bounce back.

The first quarter largely as expected, with Denver trailing Pittsburgh 3-0 at the end of the first quarter. But Denver owned the second quarter, first scoring with a 19-yard TD pass to Eddie Royal, and then an 8-yard rushing touchdown by Tebow, in addition to a field goal to lead the Steelers 20-6 at the half.

While injuries were clearly having an impact on the Steelers, they came out swinging in the 2nd half. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger connected with WR Mike Wallace for a 1-yard touchdown pass in the 3rd quarter and connected with wideout Jerricho Cotchery for a 31-yarder in the 4th. With a field goal also in the 4th quarter to match a FG put up by Denver, the game was tied at 23 a piece.

Overtime in the playoffs. Does anything get better than that?

You just wait…

The play that will define this game now and for years to come was the 80-yard touchdown play from Tebow to WR Demaryius Thomas on the opening play of OT. It was a wonder to behold. And with that, the Broncos had won the game 29-23, just 11 seconds into overtime. The fastest overtime defeat in the history of the NFL.

All the Steelers could do was watch, absolutely stunned.

Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, nothing clicked the entire game. Roethlisberger’s injury proved to be too much for the Steelers’ offense to overcome. The defense allowed 447 yards and permitted Tebow to have an impressive passing game, throwing for 316 yards and 10/21 with 2 touchdowns for a passer rating of–get this–125.6.

And so the legend of Tebow and the 2011 Broncos team continues to grow as the team faces the Patriots in Boston in the NFC Divisional round next Saturday.

Brandyn Campbell is Senior NFL Editor for Aerys Sports and Philadelphia Eagles reporter for Philly Sports Muse. You can follow her on Twitter at @sports_muse.

Tebow as superhero. Oy. Image by Scott Koblish, Marvel

A singular man will go up against an entire NFL team all on his own come Sunday.

At least that’s what you would think was happening if you listen to most coverage of the Steelers v Broncos AFC Wild Card game.

It’s not terribly surprising, given the national obsession with all things Tebow. But it’s a little distasteful to disregard the efforts of the entire Broncos team to focus only on how the Tebow Tale of the 2011 season will continue. Or end.

You know it’s bad when the coverage is so obsessive that even Big Ben says it’s a bit much. USA Today reported that the Steelers QB said

“Every time you turn it on, you see something about Tebow. I can only imagine what it’s like for his teammates. Just watching today, it’s the Steelers versus Tim Tebow. No, it’s the Steelers versus the Broncos, so I can only imagine what it’s like for him with all the eyes and the attention on him and the pressure. It can’t be fun. I feel for him a little bit.”

Feel for him, feel annoyed by him…take your pick.

Denver has some advantages heading into their Wildcard matchup. Home field advantage. Significantly fewer injuries than the Steelers. But it will all be with a young quarterback at the helm who struggles with his passing game.

In theory, Pittsburgh should be the hands-down favorite. A team that’s won multiple Super Bowls and finished #2 last year. Though Roethlisberger has proven that he can and will battle through injuries that would sideline every other person on the globe, how long can he keep pushing himself on his sprained left ankle and how much will it affect his play? Safety Ryan Clark won’t play due to his sickle cell anemia and how Denver’s altitude negatively affects his health. Center Maurkice Pouncey is out. RB Rashard Mendenhall is done for the season because of his knee, leaving Pittsburgh’s running game in the hands of  Isaac Redman.

Who will ultimately triumph on Sunday, Tebow or…whoever that less appealing quarterback on that less exciting team his playing? Will the health issues of the Steelers prove to be too much for the team to overcome, despite more recent experience and success in the playoffs?

It’s worth noting that Big Ben is 10-3 in the playoffs and has never lost a road game. And I just can’t imagine him starting now, even if he has to crawl in the final minutes of the game. If there’s one thing we know about Ben Roethlisberger, it’s that he just doesn’t stop. Ahem.

Tune in for what may be your last chance to see Tim Tebow in action in the 2011 season on Sunday at 4:30 EST pm on CBS to find out if this is how the story ends or if it’s just the beginning for the Tebows–err, Broncos in the playoffs.

For expert insight into tomorrow’s game, check out Denver Horse Force’s game preview.

Brandyn Campbell is Senior NFL Editor for Aerys Sports and Philadelphia Eagles reporter for Philly Sports Muse. You can follow her on Twitter at @sports_muse.