The biggest cloud hanging over the Pittsburgh Steelers this week is the health of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Big Ben suffered torn ligaments in his throwing shoulder in addition to a sprained AC joint during Saturday's win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Steelers quarterback said Wednesday that he doesn't know when he'll throw, plans on getting "mental reps" today and called himself "hour by hour," via NFL Media's Aditi Kinkhabwala. Roethlisberger did not practice Wednesday.
When asked when he'd need to throw by in order to feel ready to play Sunday against the Denver Broncos, Big Ben would only reply, "I'd like to throw every day."
Later in a conference call with Denver reporters, Big Ben added that he will participate in some of today's practice. "We'll see to what extent," he said, per The Denver Post.
"I always expects to play, whether my body reacts the same way, I don't know, but I always expect to play," Roethlisberger said, according to NFL Media's James Palmer.
In their Week 15 meeting, Roethlisberger torched the Broncos for 380 yards and three touchdowns. Antonio Brown (concussion) also went off for 189 yards and two TDs on 16 catches. Big Ben said even if he and Brown were healthy he wouldn't expect the same results.
"We got lucky last time. It's not going to be as easy," he said. "This is the biggest challenge we've faced."
A big challenge made massively bigger by a badly injured shoulder and a concussion.
