By Jordan Long
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Miami Dolphins 30-15 on Sunday. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger left the game with 8:18 left in the first half. He was hit by Dolphins’ defensive end Mario Williams who nicked his leg as he was running out of the pocket. Doctors thought he had hyperextend his knee on the play. Amazingly, Roethlisberger missed only one series but the injury was much worse. He tore his meniscus in his left knee and had surgery on Monday to repair it. His return is uncertain.
Roethlisberger was having a decent start to the season throwing for 1,685 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was protecting the football with only 6 interceptions helping the Steelers to a 4-2 start, on top of the AFC North division. With him out, they will have to go with Landry Jones who has been in the NFL for 4 years.
Jones doesn’t have much playing experience. He suited up in 7 games last season and started in two of them. He threw for 513 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions while Roethlisberger dealt with a knee injury. The Steelers went 1-1.
The Steelers are forced to start Jones this upcoming week against the New England Patriots. At least he knows the offense and can throw the football. The only downside with Jones is that he can’t scramble when he is outside the pocket. The Steelers will not be able to run the bootleg as effectively. Jones will still have to find the open receivers for the Steelers to have a chance to win football games.
This is a significant loss for the Steelers because of what Roethlisberger does on offense. If Jones struggles under center, the only other quarterback on the roster is Zach Mettenberger who also has experience in the NFL. Mettenberger was with the Titans the last two years, throwing for 2,347 yards and 12 touchdowns. The downside with Mettenberger is the interceptions, tossing 14 in his NFL career.
The Steelers are in good hands with Jones. He must protect the football for them to win games. Hopefully he will be able to have a winning record while Roethlisberger is out of the lineup.
How do you think Landry Jones will do while Ben Roethlisberger is out of the lineup?
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