Oct 25, 2015 4 min read

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – If somebody told you a month ago that the Steelers would go 2-2 without the services of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, then you probably would have signed up for that.

After all, that looked like the best-case scenario for the Steelers when Roethlisberger suffered a sprained ligament and bone bruise in his left knee Sept. 27 in a win at St. Louis.

The Steelers weren’t taking any consolation in that following their 23-13 loss Sunday to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

“Not a bad situation, but our goal was to go 4-0 without him,” said Steelers guard Ramon Foster. “Some analysts had us losing all four, so you’ve got to get by on that.”

The Steelers expect to get Roethlisberger back next Sunday for a key showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals – something that can’t happen too soon.

The loss dropped the Steelers to 4-3 and they’re not happy with that. If they have any hope of catching the Bengals (6-0), having Roethlisberger in the lineup is a must.

The Steelers are not ready to make excuses about the loss to the Chiefs, a game in which they didn’t play their best.

“Every team has injuries. Every team is going through their own things,” said defensive end Cam Heyward. “For us to do that would be stupid and makes us whiners if we say, ‘Feel sorry for me because we didn’t have all of our people.’

“Even though (Roethlisberger) hasn’t been playing, we feel we have a chance to win games. It would be great to get him back, but we had full faith in Landry (Jones) or whoever is out there. We’ve got the pieces around him to make plays.”

They didn’t make enough plays to make a difference against the Chiefs.

Kansas City, meanwhile, did enough to win, forcing three turnovers and converting 9 of 16 third downs, none bigger than a 26-yard catch by tight end Travis Kelce on third-and-4 in the fourth quarter after the Steelers had kicked a field goal to draw within 16-13.

“We get off the field there and I think it’s a different outcome,” said linebacker Jarvis Jones.

Possibly. But we’ll never know.

Perhaps that’s the biggest disappointment regarding this game. While the Steelers’ offense turned the ball over three times, something that might be expected with Jones, the third-string quarterback, the Pittsburgh defense allowed too many sustained drives. It also couldn’t force Kansas City punts.

Sure, the Steelers stopped the Chiefs inside the 20-yard line three times and forced them to kick field goals, but they allowed Kansas City to drive into the red zone five times.

There’s something to be said for bending and not breaking. On this day, the defense bent too much.

“Early on, as a defense, we stood up in the red zone,” said Heyward. “(But) we can’t allow a team to keep driving and keep getting into the red zone. We’ve got to get a lot better. I think we will. It’s just one game. I’m not going to say it dictates our season.”

With Roethlisberger returning, it shouldn’t.

The Steelers played very conservative, largely mistake-free football in their first three games without Roethlisberger, turning the ball over just one time. And the defense had been opportunistic with six takeaways.

The script was flipped in this one and the Steelers paid the price with a loss.

They still find themselves in a good spot with Roethlisberger set to return. They play their next three games at Heinz Field.

“I think it’s positive,” said Brown of where the team is at right now. “It always could be better, but it could be worse. I think we’ve just got to be onward and upward from this point.”

F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.