Stop me if you have heard this one before: The Steelers look like Super Bowl contenders, but Ben Roethlisberger is injured, forcing the team to cross its fingers and try to survive behind a backup quarterback for a while.
Sounds like last year. And 2012. And 2010. And 2005.
Roethlisberger rarely plays a full 16-game season. Sometimes he misses just one start due to injury, like in 2011 or 2009. But he often misses a multigame chunk of the season. Roethlisberger underwent surgery for a torn meniscus on Monday. With the bye coming after a visit from the Patriots, it is not clear whether Roethlisberger will miss just one game or a "chunk.