PITTSBURGH (AP) — The adrenaline had long since worn off by the time Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger slowly — very slowly — trudged toward his locker following the Steelers’ 14-3 win over Cleveland on Thursday night.
As he talked to reporters, his sprained left ankle heavily taped, all Roethlisberger could think about was the chance to sit down.
The hard-earned rest came after he added to his growing resume as one of the league’s most rugged players.
Roethlisberger passed for 280 yards and two scores while playing the second half on basically one leg as the Steelers (10-3) kept the pressure on Baltimore in the battle for the AFC North title.
Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for a 79-yard touchdown with 2:52 remaining to give Pittsburgh its eighth win in its last nine games.
Their season appeared to be in jeopardy after Roethlisberger took a vicious hit in the second quarter.
Yet Roethlisberger’s recovery kept Pittsburgh alive.
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