The Pittsburgh Steelers will have to take on the Detroit Lions without the services of their starting quarterback. In a bit of news that was announced on Saturday evening, Ben Roethlisberger will miss Sunday’s game at Heinz Field after it was revealed that he was placed on the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list.
STATUS UPDATE: #Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger will be placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and is OUT for Sunday’s game vs. the Detroit Lions.
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) November 14, 2021
This season, Roethlisberger has been solid yet unremarkable, as Father Time has caught up to the 39-year-old in a number of noticeable ways. Still, Pittsburgh has managed to go 5-3, including four wins in a row, and if they can beat the Lions on Sunday, they’ll move into a tie for first place in their division with the Baltimore Ravens. Roethlisberger has completed 196 of his 299 pass attempts this season — a 65.6 percent clip — for 1,986 yards, 10 touchdowns, and four interceptions.
In Roethlisberger’s place, the Steelers will turn to Mason Rudolph, who started eight games two seasons ago after the team’s longtime starting signal caller had season-ending elbow surgery. The team went 5-3 in 2019 with Rudolph under center during, and he has yet to appear in a game this year. The only other quarterback on the roster is Joshua Dobbs, who likewise hasn’t taken the field this year.
Mason Rudolph will start. https://t.co/LSO3X5gUEP
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 14, 2021
Sunday’s game between the Steelers and Lions is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. EST.