When Ben Roethlisberger did not emerge from the locker room at the start of the second half, there was a sense of foreboding for a Pittsburgh Steelers team that had not won in Oakland since 1995. While Big Ben was inside receiving attention from the medical staff for a rib injury, Josh Dobbs would lead the team on two five play drives that covered 19 yards and 21 yards respectively, the second ending in a turnover on downs at the Raiders 42-yard line.
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Seen walking back towards the sidelines carrying his helmet with 8.45 on the clock in the third quarter, just as Dobbs had completed the first play of his second drive of the game, Roethlisberger had the look of a man who could be coming back into the game any moment.
Except he didn’t, not until Dobbs had played in two more series, the first of which ended with an interception after another five plays. When Big Ben eventually did re-enter the game with 5.20 left in the fourth quarter, he would show no signs of injury as he took the Steelers on a six play, 70-yard, touchdown drive.
However, with an admission that makes you question the sanity of the decision, Mike Tomlin revealed to reporters after the game that his future Hall of Fame quarterback could actually have come back into the game much sooner. Acknowledging that he had been medically cleared to play when he had first returned to the sidelines earlier in the third quarter, the explanation for still opting to hold him out was strange to say the least.
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