Here five thoughts on Week 3 of the NFL season.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers lose Big Ben
The Steelers are once again without their star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He is expected to be out four-to-six weeks. During that time Pittsburgh’s schedule looks like this:
- Week 4 vs. Baltimore Ravens
- Week 5 at San Diego Chargers
- Week 6 vs. Arizona Cardinals
- Week 7 at Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 8 vs. Cincinnati Bengals
- Week 9 vs. Oakland Raiders
If it’s four games that’s two home games and two on the road. If it’s six games you’re looking at four home games and two road games. The Ravens game is on a short week coming up on Thursday night — not optimal, but the extra days to prepare for San Diego is nice. The last time Big Ben missed consecutive games was in 2012 and the Steelers went 1-2 with Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich at the helm. In 2010 the Steelers were able to go 3-1 with Dennis Dixon and Batch playing QB, but that Pittsburgh team had the number-one ranked defense by DVOA on the season.
Pittsburgh is going to need to rely a ton on Le’Veon Bell with Michael Vick taking over Roethlisberger. It’s been many years since Vick has been competent. Martavis Bryant is back after this week to at least add another weapon to the mix. It’s looking like a nine win team will make the playoffs in the AFC. If Pittsburgh can be at 2-3 when Roethlisberger is back they should be ok.
To continue reading this article by Bryan Gibberman at Bloguin, click here.
