Quarterback Pains: Brett Favre Injures shoulder, Ben Roethlisberger breaks nose
In football being the quarterback is like having a bulls-eye on your head. Every time a quarterback is on the field there is a whole line up of defensive players who want to throw him to the ground and do other things that would hurt too. If it wasn’t for
the offensive line, there would hardly be a game from which the quarterback could come out unscathed.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t quite as lucky this Sunday. Although Big Ben led the Steelers to a 13-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens to take first place in the AFC North division, he paid a steep price for
it, his nose. Roethlisberger broke his nose in the first series against the Ravens.
“Someone just came through and a hand got through my face mask,” Roethlisberger said. “The next thing you know, I feel blood running down my face.” His jersey was marked with blood as he tried to stop the bleeding. But it would take more than a broken nose
to stop Big Ben, more than a broken nose and a broken bone in the foot to be exact. Roethlisberger played through the pain and played brilliantly. He was 22 for 38 and 253 yard against the Baltimore Ravens. “That's a Steelers-Ravens game, right? Hard-fought
all the way to the end,” Roethlisberger said. “Everybody contributes.”
This marks his sixth straight win over the Baltimore Ravens. In his career Roethlisberger has played the Ravens 10 times and lost on only two occasions. Both the Steelers and the Ravens appear set for the playoffs. Pittsburgh has three contests scheduled
in the coming weeks against teams who have a combined win loss tally of 8-28. Their only real challenge would be against the New York Jets.
The Steelers won’t be knocked off the top spot unless the Ravens win every single one of their remaining games. The remainder of Baltimore’s schedule too is a breeze. Three of their opponents combine for 8-28. The NFC North battle would be settled when the
Ravens face off against the New Orleans Saints.
Meanwhile in Minnesota, the unstoppable Brett Favre continues on with his record breaking starting streak and he won’t let his shoulder get in his way. Favre has sprained his ankle as well. You might wonder if the quarterback would start
next week, but this is Brett Favre we are talking about.
Vikings’ newest coach Leslie Frazier, replacing Brad Childress after he got fired, said that the key for Favre was to rest his shoulder. He said that physicians would do some exercises with Favre to help him along, but surgery was not an option for Favre.
Frazier said that during the week they would observe Favre and see how much the pain affects his ability to pass the ball.
Frazier said that he expected Favre to bounce back after the hit. “There's nobody tougher than Brett Favre to ever play the quarterback position.”
Favre wasn’t as sure as he usually is. He said that they would wait to see how he responds to treatment before they decide if Favre would start next week or not. Frazier said that if Favre was confident that he could play, then he would start again for the
Vikings. He however made sure that Favre’s unbroken starting streak did not factor into the decision.
If the Vikings win all four of their coming games they would finish the season with a record of 9-7 in a division where the Chicago Bears are 9-3 and the Green Bay Packers stand a game behind at 8-4. The Minnesota Vikings are all but out of the playoff race.
They will face the NFC East leaders, Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants and division rivals, Chicago Bears in the coming weeks. The three teams are all fighting for playoff spots and which team would go through could come down to how they do against
the Vikings.
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