'Bad Ben' not shaken by outing

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Ben Roethlisberger appears on the David Letterman show tonight, and the Pittsburgh Steelers don't mind him spending his day off in New York. They probably figure he could use the laughs.
Roethlisberger looked like a rookie Sunday in Cincinnati after almost two months of playing far better than anyone expected, including his own employers. He scrambled when he didn't need to, looked indecisive at times and didn't lead a touchdown drive until late in the third quarter.
Rather than the Big Ben who appeared infallible for weeks, he was mostly a Bad Ben.
"You're all kind of waiting for Ben to have his [first bad] game. I guess this was his game," coach Bill Cowher said. "I'm like you guys, it's the first time I've seen him start to have a little bit of adversity. He handled it well. This guy never lost his composure."
Something else Roethlisberger hasn't lost: a game.
Still, not bad
Despite playing what was easily was his worst NFL game during Pittsburgh's 19-14 victory, Roethlisberger hardly looked like a bad Terry Bradshaw during his dreadful 1970 rookie season or, for that matter, even a bad Kordell Stewart.
His statistics were more than passable: 15-of-21 for 138 yards, a touchdown and no interception. And on a day when Pro Bowl receiver Hines Ward was held to three catches for 15 yards and Plaxico Burress spent the final 42 minutes sidelined with a sore hamstring, Roethlisberger coaxed just enough offense from his limited cast to improve his personal record to 8-0.
"He stayed poised and levelheaded, and you give yourself a chance when you do that," said Jerome Bettis, who enjoyed a third consecutive 100-yard game while subbing for the injured Duce Staley.
Of course, it didn't help that Roethlisberger received less protection than he is accustomed to getting from an offensive line that also played its worst game by allowing seven sacks -- a performance reminiscent of last year's 6-10 Steelers season.
"You've got to think, 'He's still a rookie,' " Ward said. "You can't put too much expectation on him. He's going to make rookie mistakes. You need a game like that. You can't play flawless the whole year."
Who's going to play?
Even if, until now, Roethlisberger has done exactly that, despite not having had a 200-yard passing game in six weeks.
"He worked through it, and he never really lost any confidence," Cowher said. "I think he grew tremendously with everything that took place. He did what he had to do, he led the team."
What Roethlisberger doesn't know yet is if he'll be leading a depleted team again Sunday against the Redskins (3-7) in Pittsburgh. The Steelers will match the second longest winning streak in their 72-season history if they win; they won 11 in a row in 1975 and nine straight after starting 1-4 in 1976.
Burress had an MRI test on his injured hamstring Monday, but neither Burress nor the Steelers (9-1) released the results. Burress said Sunday he was confident the injury wasn't severe.