Oct 27, 2015 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Steelers head coach Mike Tomin reiterated Tuesday that he expects quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to be return Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals after a four-week absence.

That’s the good news.

The bad news?

During his career, Roethlisberger has struggled at times in his first game back from missing time with an injury.

In fact, Roethlisberger, who has led the Steelers to a 108-53 record in games he has started over the course of his career, is just 2-4 when returning from an injury.

The Steelers (4-3) can’t afford for that record to fall to 2-5 when they host the Bengals (6-0) at Heinz Field – not if they hope to catch Cincinnati for the AFC North title.

Roethlisberger’s passer rating in games in which he’s returned from injury is just 77.3, well below his career rate of 94.2.

There’s certainly concern that Roethlisberger will return rusty after sitting out the past four games – the longest stretch he’s missed because of injury in his career – with a sprained MCL and bone bruise. That’s one of the reasons why the Steelers had him practicing on a limited basis the past two weeks.

“There’s always a concern in that regard whenever someone is coming off an injury, but we’re not going to lose a lot of sleep over that,” said Tomlin. “Ben has played a lot of ball for us, he has great continuity and recall from his time in this system. He’ll have a full week’s preparation, and actually he participated in a partial capacity a week ago. Hopefully all of those things will allow him to push past some of the anxiety and so forth associated with getting back out there.”

Sunday’s game could mark the first time this season the Steelers will have Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant on the field at the same time. Bell was suspended for the first two games this season, while Bryant was forced to sit out the first four because of a violation of the NFL drug policy.

Tomlin did, however, say that if Roethlisberger experienced a setback during practice,such as swelling or pain, the Steelers could choose to sit him another game.

Roethlisberger said on his weekly call in to 93.7 FM that happened last week.

“I felt good in practice, but then Thursday night it just didn’t feel real good, it kind of ached on me a little bit, didn’t sleep a lot,” Roethlisberger said. “It was a little discouraging, but I guess that’s part of the rehab process.”

Roethlisberger suffered the injury in a 12-6 win at St. Louis on Sept. 27, meaning Sunday’s game will be five weeks to the day that he was hurt.

The Steelers went 2-2 without their starting quarterback in the lineup, with Mike Vick going 2-1 in starts and Landry Jones going 0-1, though he did relieve an injured Vick in the second half of a win over Arizona two weeks ago.

If, for some reason, Roethlisberger can’t play on Sunday, Jones would likely get another start. Jones, who threw for 209 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a 23-13 loss at Kansas City last Sunday, is now listed second on the depth chart ahead of Vick.

Tomlin, however, doesn’t foresee that happening.

“Ben will be preparing this week and preparing to play,” Tomlin said. “We don’t have any reservations or limitations about his availability. We will keep an eye on him as he participates in practice this week to make sure there are no negative reactions to that practice participation.

“We’re comfortable with where he is and his availability for this week. We’re going to need him, obviously.”

Odds and end zones

Tomlin said both safety Will Allen (ankle) and defensive end Stephon Tuitt (knee) have a good chance to return against the Bengals. Allen has missed the past two games, while Tuitt sat out against the Chiefs. … Cornerback Will Gay (shoulder contusion) will likely sit out practices early this week but is expected to play against the Bengals. … Tomlin said linebacker Terence Garvin suffered a knee injury last Friday and had minor surgery Monday. He is expected to miss a couple of weeks. … Vick (hamstring) also has a chance to return to practice this week.

Infobox

Roethlisberger’s returns

Yr Opp. Score Att/Comp Yds TD Int

2005 @Cincinnati W 27-13 9-14 93 2 1

2005 @Indinapolis L 26-7 17-26 133 1 2

2006 @Jacksonville L 9-0 17-32 141 0 2

2009 Oakland L 27-24 18-24 278 2 1

2011 @Cleveland W 13-9 23-40 221 0 0

2012 San Diego L 34-24 22-42 285 3 1