Roethlisberger is ailing but will play

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, MO.

Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t remember a whole lot about the last time the Pittsburgh Steelers played the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Steelers’ quarterback sustained a concussion when his head banged into the knee of Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson as he leaned headfirst during a running play in overtime. He came back to play some of his best games of the 2009 season afterward, twice throwing for three touchdowns without an interception and leading Pittsburgh to a second-place finish in the AFC North.

There have been numerous concussions, several knee injuries, and a fractured thumb sustained a few weeks ago against Cincinnati. Roethlisberger plans to play tonight against Kansas City, even though he admitted it’ll be painful, and that’s dreadful news to the Chiefs.

The truth is that Roethlisberger seems to play better when he’s ailing.

“He’s an extremely intense competitor,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, “and I think adversity such as that brings that out of him. I think it’s a characteristic that all good competitors have.”

Pittsburgh had last week off, giving Roethlisberger time to heal. But the thumb still bothered him in practice this week, and he didn’t take snaps under center early in the week, working out of the shotgun with a splint under his glove to protect it.

It’s unclear how Pittsburgh might alter its playbook in light of the injury, though it won’t be the first time there have been subtle tweaks. The team worked out of the shotgun and pistol last year against Baltimore to take some of the pressure off Roethlisberger’s sprained foot.

“I’ll be out there, I guarantee that,” Roethlisberger said. “It won’t be an issue that way. Will it be an issue with pain and throwing? I don’t know.”

Roethlisberger said he doesn’t plan to take an injection to numb the pain. Instead, he’ll simply play right through it, something he’s done with tremendous success at other times in his career.

“For me the reason I want to play is for my guys,” he said.