Texans give Roethlisberger, Steelers the boot

Associated Press

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Ben Roethlisberger can take a hit.

But even a 6-foot-5, 241-pound guy has a tough time dealing with the beating he’s endured this year.

The quarterback left Houston in a walking boot on his left foot after he was sacked five times and hurried eight more behind Pittsburgh’s injury-plagued offensive line as the Steelers (2-2) lost to the Texans 17-10 on Sunday.

Roethlisberger hurt his foot on the second-to-last series when he was tackled from behind, but remained in the game until the end.

He limped into the locker room about 20 minutes after the game with his arms draped around a pair of Steelers employees and an ace bandage and a bag of ice wrapped around his injured foot. He sat alone at his chair with his head down and looked to be gazing at his foot for several minutes before putting on the walking boot to limp to the showers.

Roethlisberger had an X-ray after the game but said he didn’t know the results.

The Steelers were without two regular starters on the offensive line Sunday. Roethlisberger has now been sacked 14 times this season and hurried 22 other times.

Still, he didn’t blame Sunday’s problems on his line.

“I’ve still got to make plays,” Roethlisberger said. “I’ve got to make it easier on my guys and I didn’t do that today.”

Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said this week that he felt like they had the players to get the protection problems fixed, but he wasn’t sure after the game.

“It depends on the health of the men,” he said. “We’ll rally and see who we have coming back, look at the men who played in this game and make those decisions at the appropriate time.”

Houston’s Andre Johnson hurt his hamstring in the second quarter, but Arian Foster rushed for 155 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter to help the Texans (3-1) to the win.

Roethlisberger wasn’t the only Steeler to be injured. Pittsburgh also lost running back Rashard Mendenhall (hamstring), linebacker James Harrison (eye), defensive end Aaron Smith (foot) and linebacker Jason Worilds (left quad) during the game.

Roethlisberger said he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to play next week, but talked about how he played last year after breaking his other foot.

“You know me, if I can be out there, I’m going to be out there,” he said. “That’s so for next week too,” he said.

Harrison didn’t see a reason for optimism despite Pittsburgh playing better in the second half Sunday.

“I’m not happy with any of it,” he said. “It’s a loss. I’m not trying to look for a silver lining in any of it. We played like garbage. Period. We stink right now.”

Schaub threw a 30-yard pass to Daniels to the Steelers 42 early in the fourth. Foster took it from there, breaking outside and outrunning the Pittsburgh secondary to the end zone.

Antonio Smith and Mario Williams sacked Roethlisberger, and linebacker Connor Barwin swatted away Roethlisberger’s fourth-down pass with 2:38 left.

The Steelers had one last gasp after Houston had another touchdown wiped away by a penalty. Joseph intercepted Roethlisberger’s pass from the end zone and returned it for a score, but rookie J.J. Watt was flagged for roughing the passer.

The Texans got an interception that counted by Jason Allen to end the drive and clinch the win.