Nov 8, 2015 4 min read

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If Ben Roethlisberger was going to get hurt again this season – and the way things are going, why wouldn’t he? – he might have picked a good time to do it.

Cleveland comes to Pittsburgh next week with its horrid run defense and then the Steelers head into their bye week. After that, it’s off to Seattle.

The Steelers need to find a way to win next week against the Browns – perhaps they’ll break out the wishbone or spread option in honor of an all-Big 12 matchup of Landry Jones vs. Johnny Manziel.

If they can do that, there’s an off chance Roethlisberger will be ready to play against the Seahawks coming out of the bye. If not, at 6-4, the Steelers would have some leeway to allow him another week to heal up, though we all now know that he is 2-6 when coming back the first game after an injury.

If he sits against Seattle, his next opportunity to play would come Dec. 8 in a night game against Indianapolis.

Besides, if you’re going to lose a game at this point, one against Seattle, an NFC team hurts the least.

@ Watching that injury, I thought for sure Roethlisberger’s season was over.

@ I asked Antonio Brown if he felt like he was in the zone during Sunday’s game – you know, that time when a player knows he can’t be covered, can’t miss a shot or won’t ever give up a hit.

“Absolutely, had a good flow, positive energy every series, and we were getting the looks that we had practiced for, so it was a good day,” said Brown.

All Brown did was catch a team-record 17 passes for 284 yards and put up 306 total yards, the most in franchise history. That’s about as in the zone as you can be.

@ Oakland seemingly kept leaving its corners on an island against Brown. The Raiders did double him when he went deep but seemed content to let him work underneath.

That wasn’t a good move.

As much as people like to complain about the Steelers’ coaching staff, the other teams have coaches, too.

@ The Steelers’ secondary isn’t the greatest in terms of coverage to be sure. But they are showing off a physical presence that is making teams take notice.

As much as you might not appreciate Mike Mitchell’s theatrics, he is playing well and creating havoc.

The same goes for much-maligned Antwon Blake.

@ The Raiders did a good job of picking up Pittsburgh’s blitzes in this game. And the Steelers weren’t winning any one-on-one battles.

Oakland came into this game having allowed 10 sacks. It left with 10 sacks.

And the Raiders ran the ball effectively, as well.

That’s a good, young offense, one that the Steelers were fortunate to come away with a win against.

But, as defensive end Cam Heyward said, “We played like (garbage).”

@ Jacoby Jones looked a lot like Dri Archer returning kicks Sunday, and it wasn’t just because he chose to wear No. 13. There wasn’t a lot of running room for him, either.

Jones didn’t show me much as a punt returner, either, which might have led head coach Mike Tomlin to put Brown back there in the fourth quarter.

Brown fumbled.

@ I don’t know how many more 29-touch games DeAngelo Williams has left in his 32-year-old body. But he was tremendous in this one.

Then again, he now has just 16 career 20-carry games, so maybe he can hold up.

“Oh yeah, it feels great,” said Williams of his body after this game. “The ball’s not heavy at all.”