The short-handed (10-3) Pittsburgh Steelers [+3] will head to Candlestick Park on Monday night to take on the (10-3) San Francisco 49ers [-3], with the hopes that Big Ben will be ready to go. This MNF game is scheduled to kickoff tonight at 8:30 PM ET and it’ll be broadcasted live on ESPN. NFL Point Spreads specialists believe that the Steelers and Niners will combine and score an OVER/UNDER total of 38 points.
A couple days ago it seemed unlikely for Ben Roethlisberger to start against the 49ers tonight, after having suffered a left ankle sprain last Thursday, in addition to the broken thumb in his right hand. But the durable quarterback has shown more and more signs improvement after resuming team practices late last week. According to a local newspaper, Roethlisberger will indeed start tonight.
The article claims that the decision was made before the Baltimore Ravens lost to the San Diego Chargers, 34-14 on Sunday night. But Mike Tomlin is not confirming these reports, but did reiterate the progress of his quarterback. The Steelers’ coach spoke to an ESPN news editor on Sunday, and said:
“His ankle was better than it was last Thursday (when he injured it),” Tomlin said. “Something like this stokes his fire. He loves a little adversity. But we won’t be negligent. We’ll see how it unfolds.”
The veteran coach also mentioned that he has not made a decision as of yet, and would not make a final verdict until pre-game warm-ups. If for some reason, the resilient quarterback is not ready, veteran Charlie Batch will fill in for him. The last time Ben was injured enough to miss a start was in 2009.
There’s no doubt that Tomlin will keep the Niners guessing up until game-time. One has to assume that Jim Harbaugh has practiced all week assuming that Big Ben will be under center for this one. Jim would like nothing more than to prevent the Steelers from overtaking his brother’s team in the race for the AFC North crown.
“We did speak earlier this week,” Jim Harbaugh said. “We talked about (the Steelers). We talked about last week’s game, talked about this week’s game, as we often do.”
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