Ben Roethlisberger

After undergoing surgery on an elbow injury that ended his 2019 season following just two games, Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a 26-16 victory in his return on Monday.

Roethlisberger completed 21 of 32 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns as the Steelers started their 2020 season with a win.

But the veteran quarterback was full of praise for the Steelers' defense, who intercepted Daniel Jones twice and sacked the Giants QB three times.

"They're unbelievable. Unfortunately, I have to face them every day in practice," Roethlisberger told reporters.

"They're one of the best defenses I've played with and I've played with some really good ones so I'm excited to be on the football field with them.

"As a quarterback, they allow you to play more free because if you do make a mistake you can count on them to bail you out of it and they did it tonight numerous times, creating turnovers, big stops, I just can't say enough about the way they play."

A two-time Super Bowl winner, the 38-year-old Roethlisberger is in his 17th season in the NFL.

While there was talk Roethlisberger could retire after his elbow injury, the QB was happy to be back.

"I'm excited we won the game. I told the guys before the game it's not about me, individually the reason I came back is for these guys, for this team," he said.

"It's a special group of football players and men and so I'm just thankful to be a part of it."

Roethlisberger, 38, left the field before half-time during the Steelers' 24-19 NFL victory on Sunday after a suspected knee injury.

But the star QB had no doubt he would be okay after helping the Steelers improve to 8-0 for the first time in their history.

"No, I'll be fine, thank you for asking," Roethlisberger told reporters.

He earlier said: "Someone hit me right in the side of the knee, it felt like it kind of bent my knee a little bit.

"It's part of the game of football, guys get hit all the time, I just had some discomfort so we thought at the end of the half we'll head in and get it looked at.

"Doctors wanted me to keep them updated in the second half so I was just keeping it loose and keeping it warm."

Roethlisberger joined Tom Brady as the only QBs in NFL history to lead their teams to an 8-0 start at age 38 or older (must have started all eight games).

He completed 29 of 42 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns, including connecting with JuJu Smith-Schuster and Eric Ebron as Pittsburgh scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

"I'm just really proud of the way the guys fought and just played good football," Roethlisberger said.

"We didn't do what we wanted to do, we didn't control the ball, we didn't convert on third downs a lot, but we found a way to win.

"We've got to stop playing so ugly on offense, but it [Dallas] is a good team."

The veteran quarterback addressed the swirling speculation about his future with the only franchise he has ever known on Thursday, telling The Athletic that he has approached the Steelers about restructuring the final year of his contract.

"I want to do everything I can and made that very clear to them from the very beginning that it was my idea to basically help the team however I can this year," Roethlisberger said. 

Speaking to a group of reporters earlier, Steelers president Art Rooney II affirmed that Roethlisberger has informed the team of his desire to play an 18th NFL season but added that keeping the two-time Super Bowl champion on the roster would be unfeasible with the Steelers' current salary cap situation.

Roethlisberger has a $41.25million cap hit for 2021, the highest of any player, and next year's cap is expected to drastically decrease due to a loss in league revenue caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"I think we've been up front with Ben in letting him know that we couldn't have him back under the current contract. I think he understands we have some work to do there," said Rooney per ESPN.

"We'll have conversations internally, and we'll have more conversations with Ben, and we'll have to know what the cap number is to finalise some of those decisions."

Rooney would not say whether the Steelers would ask Roethlisberger to take a pay cut instead of restructuring his deal to spread the remaining $22.5m in guaranteed money across future seasons.  

He said: "I think that those are discussions we'll have with Ben and his representative. It takes two to figure that out, and whether we can agree with what he wants, we'll just have to see."

Rooney added the Steelers remain open to Roethlisberger, who turns 39 in March, returning next season despite his advanced age and decline in play during the second half of a 2020 campaign that ended with a disappointing home loss to the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Wild Card playoff round. 

"We owe it to him to have a conversation about how he wants to end his career, and we intend to that," he said.

Roethlisberger made a successful comeback from a career-threatening elbow injury that limited him to two games in 2019, though his effectiveness waned as last season wore on.

The six-time Pro Bowler threw for 22 touchdowns and only four interceptions while producing a 103.0 passer rating through the first nine games – all Pittsburgh wins. He was intercepted six times with an 83.2 rating over the next six as the Steelers went 3-3 and eventually dropped to the AFC's number three playoff seed.

Roethlisberger did set an NFL postseason record with 47 completions while throwing for 501 yards and four touchdowns in Pittsburgh's lone playoff game but was picked off four times as the Steelers were dealt a 48-37 loss to the Browns.

Despite the rough ending to 2020 for himself and his team, Roethlisberger expressed confidence that both remain capable of performing at a high level next season.

"I am pretty sure I want to go one more year," he said. "I think I can do it and give us a real chance at winning."

Roethlisberger underwent surgery on his right throwing elbow in September and was expected to make a full recovery and return for the 2020 NFL season, though question marks remain.

There has been speculation the 37-year-old – who turns 38 next month – and two-time Super Bowl champion could retire but Colbert said Roethlisberger is on track in his rehab.

"All signs are good at this point, and where that goes, we're hopeful he can make a complete recovery," Colbert said. "As of right now, he's on schedule for that. Where it goes from here remains to be seen.

"He had an injury to his right arm, but other than that, he's relatively healthy. We're not minimising the right arm injury to a right arm quarterback, but we don't think he's at the end of the road."

Colbert added: "Optimistically, [Roethlisberger] is on schedule to return and we hope to return to maybe even a better Ben Roethlisberger than he was previous to the injury.

"In the meantime, we understand who our backups are. We're comfortable with who those backups are. I thought they did a great, representable job in 2019 under the circumstances."

Steelers veteran Roethlisberger suffered the injury in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Roethlisberger, who hurt his right elbow in a 28-26 loss to the Seahawks, was seen shaking his throwing arm at various points during the first half of the team's home opener and even left for the locker room before returning to the sideline to play through the injury.

In April, the six-time Pro Bowler signed a two-year contract extension with the Steelers through the 2021 season.

Since being drafted by the Steelers in 2004, Roethlisberger has played 218 games, and completed 4,651 passes for 56,545 yards and 363 touchdowns.

The Steelers veteran was hit 10 times and sacked twice in Pittsburgh's 26-17 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2.

Roethlisberger was also sacked twice in the Steelers' 23-16 win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 1.

The 39-year-old is nursing a left pectoral injury which will impact his preparation for the Bengals game, and potentially his on-field role.

"We'd better be ready to be adjustable," Tomlin told NFL Network.

"He took too many hits. We can run the ball better. We can get the ball out of his hand quicker.

"We can stay on schedule and not get behind the sticks and get in situations where the line of the game is so far that that that enhances the rush."

Tomlin added that he was unsure how Roethlisberger picked up the pec complaint.

"I don't know specifically when Ben got injured in game. I don't know that he does," he said.

"Sometimes just in the midst of competition, adrenaline and so forth, you just don't know. Sometimes things just come up after."

The Steelers have numerous injuries including T.J. Witt, Alex Highsmith, Devin Bush and Joe Haden.

Roethlisberger revealed in January that he is planning to return for an 18th NFL season, ideally with the Steelers. Such is his desire to stay with the franchise, the 38-year-old confirmed a willingness to restructure his contract.  

That current deal would see him count for $41.25million against the salary cap – a number that may be too high for Pittsburgh's taste. 

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, general manager Kevin Colbert said Roethlisberger could yet continue with the franchise, though stopped short of making any commitment to a player they selected with the 11th pick in the 2004 draft. 

"As we sit here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers," Colbert said, according to ESPN reporter Brooke Pryor. 

"He reiterated to us that he wants to continue to play. We told him we have to look at this current situation." 

Roethlisberger threw for 3,803 yards with 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2020, helping the Steelers finish the regular season with a 12-4 record that was enough to win the AFC North.  

However, after reaching 11-0 at one stage, they suffered a late-season slump that continued into the playoffs, as they lost 48-37 to divisional rivals the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round.  

"Ben Roethlisberger did a lot of really good things last year. We anticipate that he could still do really good things going forward," Colbert continued.  

"Hopefully we can figure out how to do what's best for the organisation and for Ben. Hopefully he'll be able to see that." 

Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin had said it was "reasonable to assume there is a chance" of Roethlisberger returning for another campaign following the surprising postseason exit.  

A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Roethlisberger threw four touchdowns and 501 yards but was also picked off four times in the defeat to the Browns on January 10. 

The 38-year-old underwent surgery on his right elbow in September last year after appearing in just two games of the 2019 season. 

Roethlisberger will be entering his 17th NFL season and ranks fifth among active quarterbacks with 363 passing touchdowns and fourth with 56,545 yards. 

"It's hearsay because I have not witnessed his workouts," Tomlin said of the 2004 first-round pick during a Zoom media call. 

"I have communicated with him consistently throughout. He's comfortable and pleased with where he is. 

"Some of the people that have had an opportunity to work out with him have been impressed and are pleased with where he is. 

"The medical experts are comfortable with where he is in the rehabilitation process and the overall trajectory of his readiness for 2020. Those things being said, I'm comfortable with where he is." 

With Roethlisberger absent, Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges struggled in his place. 

The two combined for 18 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, the Steelers averaging 186.3 passing yards from Week 3 through the end of the season – ranking them 31st in the NFL. 

The Steelers are due to play their first preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys on August 7 as part of their preparations ahead of a Week 1 trip to the New York Giants.

That opener is due to take place on September 14 and while the coronavirus pandemic has cast doubts over the planned schedule, Tomlin has a positive outlook over the 2020 season.

"I'm hopeful. I am always an optimistic person," said Tomlin, who also said he expects to play preseason games.

"I have been a part of the process. When you are a part of the process, I sit on committees, I've had intimate conversations with logistical people and professionals.

"There is probably greater comfort when you are part of the process than when you are on the outside, so it allows me to be optimistic about both things."

There was to be no magical ending for Roethlisberger as Pittsburgh fell to a 42-21 reverse against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round on Sunday.

The Steelers quarterback threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns on 29-of-44 passing, but he also had to watch Patrick Mahomes' brilliance cut open his side and end their postseason bid.

While Roethlisberger has not specifically said he is retiring, he hinted at as much after bidding a tearful farewell to Heinz Field following a Week 17 win over the Cleveland Browns.

On Sunday, the two-time Super Bowl winner, who has donned the Steelers' black and gold for his entire career, spoke glowingly of his time in Pittsburgh as he looked back on his time with the franchise.

He said post-game: "Yeah it's tough, but I'm proud to play with these guys. God has blessed me with an ability to throw a football and has blessed me to play in the greatest city, in Pittsburgh, with the greatest fans and the greatest football team and players. 

"And it has just been truly a blessing, and I'm so thankful to him for the opportunity that he's given me.

"Just a bunch of guys that fought for each other, that fought their butts off and just competed. It wasn't always pretty, but there are a lot of games that we found a way. 

"I'm so proud of this group of men and the way they fight for each other, for the black and gold, for our fans. It's just been an honour to play with them."

Roethlisberger's opposite number Mahomes finished with 404 passing yards and five touchdowns, and the veteran heaped praise on his fellow quarterback, who will next face the Buffalo Bills.

Mahomes responded in kind as he congratulated Roethlisberger on his Hall of Fame career.

"[He is] a tremendous player that I have a ton of respect for – the way he plays the game, the competitor that he is," Mahomes said. 

"He's won Super Bowls. He's a guy that I've watched growing up, and I have a ton of respect for him. That's what I told him, that if this is his last game, he did it the right way."

Roethlisberger is now hoping this Steelers team can carry on the legacy he has left behind.

"I've been here a long time, and it's been a lot of fun," Roethlisberger added. 

"Like I said, God has blessed me. We joke about the Browns and going there [in the NFL Draft], but it was meant to be that I was going to wear black and gold. Draft day I had a black suit on with a gold tie.

"I'm just so thankful. I hope that I'm able to pass the legacy of what it is to be a Steeler from Dan Rooney. We all miss him, anyone that knew him misses him. 

"Hopefully I can pass some of that on to some of the guys and they can continue the tradition of what it means to be a Steeler and get passed down.

"Whenever you get a bunch of new guys, once you start to lose some of the old regime if you will, you've got to find ways to pass it down. 

"And we've got some guys in there that will continue to do that. I gave Cam [Heyward] a big hug and told him it's on him now. It's his job to pass it down and to keep teaching and holding guys to the Pittsburgh standard."

As Roethlisberger prepares for whatever the next challenge is that is thrown his way, he remains thankful for the opportunities he has had, including the Steelers' improbable progression to the playoffs following a dramatic end to the regular season.

"We thought last week was going to be the end," he continued. "We didn't know what was going to happen and God blessed me to play another football game. 

"It didn't end the way we wanted it to. But it's a blessing to be able to play this game. I try and tell those guys how lucky we are that we get to play football for a living. We need to count our blessings and understand how lucky we are. 

"We're out there getting beat up and this and that, but we get to entertain millions of fans and throw, catch, run, do what we've all done as kids. That's our job and when we say our prayers thank God for that.

"I don't know if it's emotional because it's the end of the season. I mean, this would be emotional no matter what. We never like to lose and go out and I'll miss these guys. It'll probably really hit me come training camp time."

Roethlisberger has reportedly former team-mates and people within the Steelers organisation that he expects 2021 to be his final season with Pittsburgh.

There were doubts over the 39-year-old quarterback before he committed to another campaign in Pittsburgh.

Drafted by the Steelers in 2004, six-time Pro Bowler Roethlisberger has guided the franchise to two Super Bowl victories during his career at Heinz Field.

After helping the Steelers hold off the high-flying Ravens on Sunday, Roethlisberger dismissed the report as he refused to be drawn on his future.

"I haven't told everybody that, no," Roethlisberger said at the post-game news conference after the Steelers snapped a two-game skid and three-game winless run in total. "Honestly, we've just got done with this game, I'm exhausted.

"We play in a couple hours, it feels like. That's my focus. My focus is on Minnesota and what we have to do to get ready.

"I'll address any of that stuff after the season. I've always been a one-game-at-a-time, one-season-at-a-time person. I'm going to stay that way."

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin insisted there was no distraction to manage, fresh from Roethlisberger throwing two touchdown passes, completing 21 of 31 attempts for 236 yards, to beat the Ravens.

"There's nothing to manage," Tomlin said at the news conference. "Ben doesn't allow it to become an issue.

"Ben has been pretty solid in terms of his expressions that he's singularly focused on what it is that we're doing now. He'll deal with those things on the other side of this journey, and I'm with him on it."

Last week in an article published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Roethlisberger said one of the reasons the Steelers faltered in the playoffs in the last few seasons was because young players today are more focused on personal goals rather than team goals.

"I feel like the game has changed," he said. "I feel like the people have changed in a sense. Maybe it's because I got spoiled when I came in. The team was so important. It was all about the team.

"Now, it's about me and this, that and the other. I might be standing on a soapbox a little bit, but that's my biggest takeaway from when I started to the end. It turned from a team-first to a me-type attitude. It was hard."

Those comments did not sit well with Heyward, a team-mate of Roethlisberger from 2011 until the future Hall of Fame quarterback retired following the 2021 season.

"We have a lot of young players that come from different backgrounds, have experienced different things from what others or I may have experienced," Heyward said on his own Not Just Football podcast on Wednesday. "That doesn't make them selfish or more of a me-type attitude. There are a lot more team-first guys than me-type attitude. I took offense to that."

On Thursday, Roethlisberger walked back on his comments.

"I probably should've been more detailed, more specific," Roethlisberger told 102.5 DVE in Pittsburgh. "It's not the majority of guys are that way."

The 40-year-old Roethlisberger played for the Steelers for his entire 18-year career in the NFL, leading the franchise to a pair of Super Bowl championships, eight AFC North Division titles and 12 playoff berths.

However, much of that success came in the first half of Roethlisberger's career, as Pittsburgh have not won a playoff game since the 2016 season, losing its last three postseason appearances.

"I get Cam supporting his team-mates," Roethlisberger said. "I wasn't trying to bash anyone specifically, I was just making a broad stroke comment. I agree with him and I should've been more clear. The majority of guys on that team are team-first guys."

The Steelers opened camp on Wednesday ushering in a new era with Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph and rookie Kenny Pickett competing to replace the retired Roethlisberger.

On Monday, he shared a video proving he had earned his grooming.  

Roethlisberger posted a clip to Twitter showing himself throwing to team-mates, indicating the 38-year-old has made a full recovery from the operation that ended his season in 2019.  

The video begins with Roethlisberger explaining his promise to himself last year. 

"I'm not going to shave or cut my hair until I can throw a football again … throw it to one of my team-mates, like a legit NFL pass," he said.  

Roethlisberger is then shown firing passes at Quaker Valley High School in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania to wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Ryan Switzer, along with running back James Conner.  

The video ends with Roethlisberger's hair cut and Smith-Schuster looking directly at the camera to declare: "He's back." 

The Steelers managed an 8-8 record last season despite a series of injuries to key contributors, especially on offense.  

Roethlisberger injured his throwing elbow in Week 2 in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks, while Conner missed six games and Smith-Schuster sat for four games.  

Mason Rudolph was Roethlisberger's primary replacement at quarterback, playing 10 games, but undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges made six starts, including in each of the season's last five games.  

Roethlisberger, a six-time Pro Bowl selection, has led the Steelers to three Super Bowl appearances and two titles in his 16 seasons with the team.  

He has a career 94.0 passer rating and is Pittsburgh's all-time passing leader with 56,545 yards and 363 touchdowns.   

After opening the 2020 NFL campaign 11-0 – the 13th team to achieve the feat in the Super Bowl era – Pittsburgh were upstaged 23-17 by Washington on Monday.

The Steelers (11-1) squandered a 14-0 lead as Washington (5-7) used a 13-3 final quarter to become the first team with a losing record to win a road game against a side with an 11-0 or better record, per Stats Perform.

Steelers quarterback Roethlisberger finished 33-of-53 passing for 305 yards, two touchdowns and one interception as Pittsburgh's bid for an undefeated season came crashing down in a boil over.

"I need to deliver us into plays that are best suited for situations and things like that. Starts with me. I need to be better," Roethlisberger said post-game.

"I didn't play good football. Regardless how much I practice, don't practice, I need to be better for this team."

After his touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson in the second quarter, Roethlisberger ensured he had a passing TD in all 12 games this season, joining Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes as the only players to have one-plus passing touchdown in every one of their team's games this term.

Johnson had his fifth straight game of six-plus receptions, becoming the fifth Steelers player in the Super Bowl era to record such a streak.

Inside linebacker Robert Spillane's sack of Washington quarterback Alex Smith in the first quarter extended Pittsburgh's streak of registering at least one sack to an NFL record-tying 69 consecutive games – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers established the mark from 1999-2003.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was scathing of his team following last week's hard-fought victory against the Baltimore Ravens.

But Tomlin appeared in a much better mood, despite Pittsburgh's defeat at home to Washington.

"Different points along the journey you get a chance to learn about yourself, who you are, what you're made of, individually and collectively," Tomlin told reporters.

"And it takes the journey to reveal that. We're faced with a loss now. We get the opportunity to smile in the face of it."

"We just got to make routine plays routinely," Tomlin said. "I say that often, but there's a lot of truth to it. Got to make routine plays routinely. We're not making them routinely enough right now, so it's affecting our fluidity as a collective group."

A $41.25million cap hit on Roethlisberger's previous contract meant his future with the team was in doubt as the offseason began.

After a meeting with the QB last month, Steelers president Art Rooney II issued a statement indicating the team's desire to have Roethlisberger back for an 18th season with the franchise.

Roethlisberger had also said he was willing to have his cap hit lowered and the two teams confirmed on Thursday – under two weeks before the start of free agency – that a deal had been done.

"It is my greatest honor to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and give my all for this organization," Roethlisberger said after the new contract was confirmed. 

"I am grateful to be at this stage of my career and more than happy to adjust my contract in a way that best helps the team to address other players who are so vital to our success. 

"I love this game and love to compete, and I believe in this team and my ability to deliver when called upon. 

"It all starts with great preparation and I am ready to go."

Roethlisberger helped Pittsburgh – who have one of the best defenses in the NFL - to an incredible 11-0 start last season.

But they ran out of steam badly down the stretch, losing four of their last five to finish 12-4 before a stunning 48-37 Wild Card playoff defeat to divisional rivals the Cleveland Browns.

Roethlisberger, 39, was coming back from a serious elbow injury which saw him miss all but two games of the 2019 campaign.

His play was steady but unspectacular, leading a Steelers offense that averaged 250.5 net passing yards per game, 15th best in the NFL.

Roethlisberger threw for 3,803 yards, 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 15 games, with a 94.1 passer rating (19th among qualifying QBs).

At 9.65 yards per completion – the lowest rate in the league – the veteran was more of a game manager than the downfield threat of old.

But despite fellow 2004 draftee Philip Rivers joining Eli Manning in retirement, Roethlisberger will play on in pursuit of a third Super Bowl.

"We are excited we were able to come to an agreement with Ben Roethlisberger on a new contract for him to return to the Steelers in 2021," said general manager Kevin Colbert. 

"We know that Ben can still play at a high level and do special things for this team. 

"Our goal remains the same – to put together a roster that will compete for another championship. 

"We are happy that Ben will be one of our leaders to help us accomplish that goal."

The Steelers were unable to clinch a first NFL playoff place since 2017 at Bills Stadium on Sunday as they slumped to a second defeat in the space of six days.

Injury-hit Pittsburgh were unbeaten before facing the Washington Football Team last Monday and are now 11-2 and facing doubts over whether they can win the AFC North.

Quarterback Roethlisberger, who was 21 of 37 for 187 yards with two scores and two interceptions in the loss to the Bills, says the Steelers need to raise their game and knows he has to step it up.

He said: "We've lost two. We're facing some adversity. We're not hitting the panic button. Offensively, we're not very good. Right now, we're not playing good football and that starts with me.

"So we all need to look in the mirror. It starts with me and understand that we all need to be better. I think that we will be.

"I think this is a team that's got a lot of resilience and that is resilient and understands what it takes to win football games and understands what time of year it is and that the way that we're playing right now is unacceptable."

Roethlisberger expects the Steelers to regroup before locking horns with the Cincinnati Bengals next Monday.

"Defenses can play pass if you can't run the ball," he added: "We need to do better at being a more balanced offense and we need to do better at executing the plays that are called.

"We have to find a way to collect ourselves and make sufficient plays, but we didn't. We accept responsibility for that and get ready for our next opportunity."

Baltimore went for the two-point conversion and the win after the Ravens scored a touchdown with 12 seconds remaining on Sunday, but Jackson's pass went agonisingly off Mark Andrews' fingertips with the endzone in sight.

The Steelers prevailed in another thrilling AFC North battle to snap a two-game skid after Roethlisberger (21-of-31 passing for 236 yards and two TDs) threw two fourth-down touchdowns to fuel Pittsburgh.

After a scoreless opening period, Devonta Freeman rushed for a TD as the Ravens (8-4) took a 10-3 lead into the final quarter away to the Steelers (6-5-1).

The fourth period came to life, veteran quarterback Roethlisberger started the comeback with an early 29-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson before the pair combined against less than two minutes from the end.

Trailing 20-13, former MVP Jackson (23-of-37 passing for 253 yards and a touchdown) led an eight-play, 60-yard drive for his only touchdown of the game but Baltimore were unable to complete the two-point conversion at the death.

Since the 2016 season, six of Pittsburgh's seven wins against Baltimore have come by seven points or less, per Stats Perform.

Seahawks snap skid by sinking Niners

The Seattle Seahawks needed a victory and they got it after powering past the San Francisco 49ers 30-23.

In a mistake-filled contest, the Seahawks ended their run of three consecutive losses behind Russell Wilson's two-touchdown display in Seattle.

Future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson made his debut for the Seahawks and scored his 126th career touchdown on a one-yard rush. It broke a tie with Hall of Famer Walter Payton and moved the 36-year-old into a tie with Jim Brown for 10th in NFL history.

Jimmy Garoppolo threw two interceptions for the beaten 49ers.

The Los Angeles Rams also snapped a three-game skid, rolling over the Jacksonville Jaguars 37-7 after Odell Beckham Jr., Cooper Kupp and Van Jefferson all caught TD passes from Matthew Stafford.

The Steelers are 1-2 to open the 2021 campaign following last week's surprise 24-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Doubts over two-time Super Bowl champion Roethlisberger have emerged after the 39-year-old quarterback threw two interceptions, finishing 38-of-58 passing for 318 yards and a touchdown.

Through three games, Roethlisberger – a seven-time Pro Bowler – has completed 83 of 130 attempts for three TDs, three interceptions and eight sacks.

Despite the poor start, Steelers head coach Tomlin is refusing to panic heading into Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers (2-1).

"We're not going to push the panic button," Tomlin said during Tuesday's news conference. "What do I mean by the panic button? We're not going to dramatically change who and what we are at this juncture.

"We're not resistant to change for the purposes of getting better, but we're not going to be so unsteady that we move away from our compass, our identity that we've worked hard to develop.

"We will continue to work hard to develop and the emphasis on the style of play, whatever that may be in all three phases."

Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a franchise-best 11-0 start to the season in 2020 and an AFC North crown before losing to the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round.

This season, only Miami Dolphins signal-caller Jacoby Brissett (67.8), Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Trevor Lawrence (60.3) and first-year New York Jets QB Zach Wilson (51.6) have a worse passer rating than Roethlisberger (79.0).

Roethlisberger's completion percentage (63.8) is only good enough for 25th, well adrift of Dallas Cowboys star and NFL leader Dak Prescott (77.5).

"This guy has a body of work over the course of not only what we've done in preparation this season, but over the course of 18 years that has us taking that approach," Tomlin said of Roethlisberger and his ongoing rest days on Wednesday.

"That is a global approach. It rests him and rightfully so. He's an older guy, and the wear and tear of plays affects him differently than younger guys. But also, he's an older guy and he has a volume of plays that most guys can't pull from that probably requires more physical work in an effort to be ready to play.

"Also, you've got to look at the totality of the journey. We're going into Game 4. We've got many games that lay ahead, and I don't want to be fielding questions late in the year about the quality of his throwing arm, for example."

The last time Rudolph faced Cleveland the game was marred by a post-play fracas involving Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.

Garrett was suspended for ripping off Rudolph's helmet and striking him over the head with it with seconds remaining.

Pittsburgh (12-3) have already clinched the AFC North crown but cannot claim the top seed in the AFC, prompting coach Mike Timlin to give Roethlisberger the weekend off.

Timlin does not expect a drop in intensity, however. He said: "It does not change our intentions, football is a game.

"Our job is winning. We intend to do our job, we're not seeking comfort. We're not grading ourselves on a curve, the standard that is the Pittsburgh Steelers will be the standard."

Cleveland (10-5) can also clinch a play-off berth with a win at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Russell Wilson's phenomenal displays have helped the Seahawks go 6-2 to top their division, but Jared Goff has strung together some impressive performances and is coming off a bye week ahead of a mouth-watering clash at SoFi Stadium.

The Buffalo Bills have made their best start to a season since they made the Super Bowl after the 1993 season, but their defense will need to be strong to keep DeAndre Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals at bay.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be hoping to improve to 9-0 against the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend but could be forced into doing something that has not occurred in 22 years.

We use Stats Perform data to preview the standout matchups in Week 10.
 

FEATURED GAME

Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams - Sunday, 4.25pm (all times Eastern)

- The Seahawks average 34.3 points per game and allow 30.4; their games produce an NFL-high average of 64.7 total points. Rams games, meanwhile, see an average 43.1 points scored – 24.1 by Los Angeles and 19.1 by their opponents – which is the fourth lowest in the league.

- Wilson needs two touchdown passes to reach 30 for the fourth consecutive season and fifth time in his career. Dave Krieg is the only other Seahawk to have hit that mark, having thrown for 32 touchdowns in 1984.

- Goff has thrown TD passes in seven straight games, setting a personal high for consecutive games with a touchdown pass in a single season. The last such single-season streak of eight or more games by a Rams QB occurred in 2005 by Marc Bulger (eight games).

OTHER KEY GAMES

Los Angeles Chargers at Miami Dolphins – Sunday, 4.05pm

Tua Tagovailoa has won each of his first two starts, throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions. Only one Dolphins quarterback has started his NFL career 3-0 before, Damon Huard in 1999.

Buffalo Bills at Arizona Cardinals – Sunday, 4.05pm

- The Bills' 7-2 start is their best through nine games since 1993 (7-2), when they made their fourth straight Super Bowl appearance. However, wideout Hopkins has 60 receptions this season, the most by a player in his first eight games with a team in NFL history, and is eight receptions away from becoming the first player with 700 receptions before turning 29.

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers – Sunday, 4.25pm

- Ben Roethlisberger was this week added to the Steelers' reserve/COVID-19 list and if he is unable to start Pittsburgh would be the first team since the 1998 Denver Broncos to change starting QBs with an unbeaten record and eight or more wins. His absence would deny an entertaining matchup with Bengals signal caller Joe Burrow, who has passed 330 times, has five 300-yard games and 284.0 yards per contest with a record of 2-5-1 after eight starts in his rookie campaign. At the same point in his debut season in 2004, Roethlisberger attempted 172 passes, had no 300-yard games, averaged 176.5 yards per game – and went 8-0.

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots – Sunday, 8.20pm

- Cam Newton has six more rushing touchdowns (eight) than passing touchdowns (two) this season. The last player with that big of a difference was Chicago's Johnny Lujack in 1950, who finished with 11 rush TDs to just four pass TDs (minimum 100 pass attempts in season).

ELSEWHERE…

Houston Texans at Cleveland Browns – Sunday, 1pm

- Nick Chubb has been designated to return from injured reserve this week after missing the Browns' previous four games. Cleveland have averaged 204.5 rushing yards per game in four games with Chubb in the lineup this season and 95.5 yards per game without him.

San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints – Sunday, 4.25pm

- The 49ers are averaging 53.5 rush yards per game and 2.74 yards per rush over its past two games compared to 137.7 per game and 4.77 per rush over their first seven.

Roethlisberger was not ready to discuss his future after the Steelers surprisingly lost to the Cleveland Browns in last week's NFL Wild Card clash.

The 38-year-old has spent his entire professional career in Pittsburgh, where he has become a franchise pillar and guided the Steelers to two Super Bowl triumphs.

But question marks emerged following the Browns defeat after Roethlisberger threw four interceptions – finishing 47-of-68 passing for 501 yards and four touchdowns.

Roethlisberger has one year remaining on his contract worth $41.2million and when asked about the six-time Pro Bowler, Tomlin told reporters on Wednesday: "I don't have a clear assessment of the overall impact of the cap ramifications, so I might not have a direct answer to your question.

"But I think it is reasonable to assume there is a chance that he will be back, certainly. The depths of the ramifications of the cap discussions, I am not privy to as I sit here right now."

Led by Roethlisberger, the Steelers opened the season 11-0 but he and Pittsburgh faded dramatically.

Roethlisberger finished his 17th season ranked third in completions (399), 16th in yards (3,803), tied for seventh in touchdowns (33) and tied for eighth for fewest interceptions (10).

"We haven't made any decisions about any of our personnel along those lines," said Tomlin. "All of those discussions are interrelated, and we are just beginning to scratch the surface in terms of what 2021 looks like in terms of the makeup of our team and the issues relative to it.

"In regard to Ben, I can't say enough about his performance this year. With the uncertainly coming off of injury, and particularly not having an opportunity to perform in preseason games and so forth, there really was a high level of concern about his health and his ability to perform. I can't say enough about his efforts. I can't say enough about the efforts of our medical staff and our rehabilitation staff that worked hand in hand with him to get him to that process and get him to stadiums this year.

"I was more than pleased with the performance of his health and his ability to stay up. In terms of the quality of his play and our play, we'll begin to assess that in the upcoming days, but in terms of him responding to the challenges that he specifically came into the season ready to face, spectacular."

Pittsburgh had opened the 2020 campaign with 11 consecutive wins – the 13th team to achieve the feat in the Super Bowl era – to stand alone in the NFL.

But the Steelers were handed their first loss of the season, upstaged by Washington after the visitors used a 13-3 final quarter to reign supreme in Pittsburgh on Monday.

Washington (5-7) became the first team with a losing record to win a road game against a side with an 11-0 or better record, according to Stats Perform.

The Steelers surrendered a 14-0 lead as Washington beat Pittsburgh for the first time since 1991, snapping a six-game losing streak, per NFL Research. In 1991, Washington finished 14-2 before going on to win Super Bowl XXVI.

Alex Smith was 31 of 46 for 296 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions for Washington, who have won three consecutive games to join the New York Giants atop the NFC East.

Steelers counterpart Ben Roethlisberger finished 33-of-53 passing for 305 yards, two touchdowns and one interception as Pittsburgh's bid for an undefeated season came crashing down in a boil over.

After his touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson in the second quarter, Roethlisberger has a passing TD in all 12 games this season, joining Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the only players to have one-plus passing touchdown in every one of their team's games this season.