After an unfortunate but not unforeseen season-opening loss, the Pittsburgh Steelers seemed to have gotten on a role soon after, steamrolling through the 49ers before marching up and down the field against the Rams, in spite of lacking the points to show for it.
That all changed in a hurry during the third quarter in St. Louis when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took a shot to the knee that resulted in a sprained MCL and a bone bruise that has prohibited him from returning to the field since that time.
In that span, the Steelers have had to endure 17 quarters of football without him, during which they staved off one potential comeback in a close game to secure a victory in the game in which the injury occurred, and followed it up by posting a 2-2 record in his absence.