Jan 16, 2016 4 min read

It has been seven weeks since the Steelers played a real first-string NFL quarterback.

That was Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks back on Nov. 29, when you might have still been eating Thanksgiving turkey leftovers.

Maybe you remember Wilson’s five touchdowns in a 39-30 Seahawks win. For the next six weeks, the Steelers saw a string of backup quarterbacks.

Maybe that’s why they made the playoffs.

And here they are in the Divisional playoff round playing against a quarterback who came off the bench in his last game and has thrown 17 interceptions and nine touchdown passes this season, good enough for a 67 passer rating.

To give you an idea just how bad those numbers are, when former Steelers coach Bill Cowher humiliated Kordell Stewart in 1999 by banishing him from quarterbacks meetings and making him a full-time wide receiver, Stewart had six touchdown passes, 10 interceptions and a 64.9 passer rating.

Of course, Stewart’s not going to the Hall of Fame and he’s not on anybody’s list of all-time great quarterbacks. Peyton Manning is, but he’s also considered old and washed up. He’s considered one of the few reasons for anybody to think that the Steelers can beat the Broncos in Denver without wide receiver Antonio Brown and a healthy Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback.

So, this AFC Divisional Playoff game is all about how healthy Roethlisberger is and how old and washed up Manning is.

Or isn’t.

Roethlisberger took part in a full practice Friday and his receivers said he was throwing the ball pretty well.

Maybe the plan is to give Roethhlisberger a shot of something that will allow him to play pain-free and make all the throws he needs to beat the AFC’s number one ranked defense.

If the Broncos find out early that Roethlisberger can’t throw deep, then he will be useless and he might be carted off again.

Manning has one touchdown pass and eight interceptions at home this season. Those are Ryan Leaf numbers. He can’t be that bad.

When he came off the bench two weeks ago to replace Brock Orsweiller, Manning completed five of nine passes and almost looked like Peyton Manning. That was a lot better than his previous game, seven weeks earlier, when he went 5 of 20 with no touchdowns and four interceptions against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Come on, 5 for 20?

It had to be his foot injury, right?

Archie Manning could play today and go 5 for 20.

Everybody who’s rooting for the Steelers seems to be hanging their hat on Manning losing the game for the Broncos. With numbers like, that how can you blame them?

But what if it was his sore foot?

What if Manning is about to play a game for the ages and show everybody that he’s still an elite quarterback?

Nobody is betting on that but his coach, Gary Kubiak, who has a lot more riding on this game than you do. Kubiak saw Manning come off the bench last week and declared him the starter.

He’s watched him for the last two weeks in practice and hasn’t changed his mind.

Maybe he’s banking more on Manning’s head than his arm.

Manning can still read a defense and sometimes he will beat you by looking at your defense and checking off to a run that goes for a big play.

If Roethhlisberger is at 75 percent healthy, then the only way the Steelers advance to the AFC Championship is if Manning is at 50 percent.

I think the former is a lot more likely than the latter.

• What do you suppose it will take for Marvin Lewis and the Cincinnati Bengals to be convinced that having bad-character guys can ruin your season?

Maybe they could bring old Tom Coughhlin in to be their attitude coach. Coughlin resigned as New York Giants head coach two weeks ago and the Bengals should get a tape of his final news conference when he said, “My contention is that there is a higher ground, a greater purpose (than just winning). That purpose is team. It is the team concept. Winning, losing, playing hard, playing well, doing it for each other, winning the right way. That’s what motivates and inspires us. Championships are won by teams who love one another, who respect one another, who play for and support one another.”

“John Wooden said, ‘Reputation is what people think of you. Character is who you really are.'”

If Lewis and the Bengals had any sense, then they would have cut Vontaze Burfict and Pacman Jones before they went to bed last Saturday night.

John Steigerwald writes a Sunday sports column for the Observer-Reporter.