Ben Roethlisberger remains a question mark for the Steelers vs. Chiefs

The Pittsburgh Steelers watched Josh Dobbs take first-team reps during practice on Thursday as the team prepares for the Chiefs—perhaps without Big Ben.

The Pittsburgh Steelers once again practiced on Thursday without their most valuable player: quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. To miss a practice early in the week is nothing new for Big Ben, but as the team’s contest against the Kansas City Chiefs approaches, it’s becoming a bit more of a mystery as to whether or not he will play on Sunday afternoon.

Roethlisberger has missed the last two practices due to an elbow injury suffered on Sunday during the Steelers tie with the Cleveland Browns to open the season. On Thursday, new Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner was asked whether or not Roethlisberger would be able to start for the Steelers. He replied, “I wouldn’t be able to answer that at this point.”

Roethlisberger has enjoyed tremendous success against the Chiefs in a career bound one day for the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. While Big Ben has fared well against most teams given his exemplary play in the NFL, he holds a career record of 7-1 in 8 career games against the Chiefs, the lone loss coming by a mere three points in a 27-24 loss back in 2009. Against K.C., he’s completed 72.2 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in the regular season—good for a 115.8 passer rating.

Roethlisberger threw three interceptions last week in the tie with the Browns, which maybe shows that he was already hurting. Despite the lack of practice however, the Steelers often hold Big Ben out during the mid-week for the sake of resting their QB for the long haul. That said, if he’s somehow unable to play on Sunday, the Steelers will turn to Josh Dobbs to take over the offensive reins in his place. Dobbs was the team’s fourth round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. He’s never played a snap in an official NFL game.