Ben Roethlisberger's injury could have AFC playoff implications

There is no official word on the injury suffered by Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger but I can tell you it does not look good by looking at the replay. Watch as St. Louis Rams safety Mark Barron makes the tackle on Roethlisberger and then watch as his knee bends in a way that knees aren't supposed to bend.

Here was the end-zone angle on Roethlisberger I mentioned https://t.co/b4orypXqNo

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 27, 2015

Former NFL team doctor David Chao writes on twitter that, based on looking at the replays, it appears that Roethlisberger has an MCL injury but that's not official. An MCL is better than an ACL tear, which would end his season. An MCL injury wouldn't necessarily end his season.

Missing any significant time for Roethlisberger would be significant for the AFC playoff race. The Steelers, Bengals and Ravens are all going to be competing for the AFC North title and whoever doesn't win the division will be in the Wild Card race. The Chiefs are probably going to be in that Wild Card race as well so this is notable.

There is quite the task ahead for former Chiefs head coach and current Steelers OC Todd Haley, who may have to go without Roethlisberger for a while.

Since we're talking AFC playoff implications, how about those Colts? They're staring at 0-3.