Ben Roethlisberger has been called a little dramatic before, talking about his aches and pains and bruises and bumps before toughing it out and playing. I don’t mean to minimize any injuries but it seems like we’ve seen this story before.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin went to their postgame news conference on Sunday after beating the Dolphins and said there were no injuries of significance. 20-30 minutes later here comes Big Ben in a walking boot.
But don’t worry! He plans to play...
Roethlisberger promised to play Sunday when the Steelers travel to Kansas City for an AFC divisional round playoff game against the Chiefs. The game is at 1 p.m. Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
“You’re always worried about being hurt, but I’ll be out there next week,” Roethlisberger said.
No limp spotted after the game ...
Roethlisberger walking up steps after game. No limp. Seems fine. pic.twitter.com/fjIGLLHB8g
— Clay Wendler (@ClayWendler) January 8, 2017
I’m sure he has legit injuries that are hurting him. He’s 100 percent tougher than me because I’ve never even been in a walking boot, let alone the other injuries he plays though.
However, I have to point out the history. In the 2004 title game, Big Ben said he was playing with broken toes and his coach publicly denied that. Six years ago he said he had a broken foot while the team said that wasn’t so. Brian Billick has called him a drama queen and so has Bart Scott.
Fair or not, there’s a narrative that fans immediately go to when Big Ben is hurt.