After missing three straight games with a shoulder injury, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will start for the Pittsburgh Steelers when they host the San Diego Chargers, the team announced on Thursday.
Roethlisberger hasn't played since suffering a sprained right shoulder and dislocated rib against the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 12, but practiced for the second straight day on Thursday.
According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Ed Bouchette, Roethlisberger went through a full practice on Wednesday and had no issues on Thursday. "I saw him make the necessary throws today," head coach Mike Tomlin said after practice Wednesday.
Following Wednesday's practice, Roethlisberger felt good about his chances of starting.
"I'm hoping,'' Roethlisberger said to USA TODAY Sports. "I can play with pain. I'll give it everything I've got. Pain is not an issue for me. It's about performance and how hard can I throw the ball? How far can I throw the ball?"
Tight end Health Miller said that Roethlisberger took "90 percent" of the snaps with the first team in practice on Thursday.
"It's exciting, as long as there's no setbacks, to have him back,'' offensive coordinator Todd Haley said to USA Today Sports. "He's obviously such a big, big part of this team.''
Charlie Batch has started the past two games for the Steelers, including last Sunday's thrilling 32-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Batch threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Steelers to their first victory against the Ravens without Roethlisberger. The win also snapped a 15-game home winning streak for Baltimore.
The Steelers are 7-5 and have gone 1-2 without Roethlisberger starting at quarterback. He was hurt after getting tackled hard to the turf by Kansas City linebacker Tamba Hali and threw for 84 yards and one touchdown on 9-of-18 completions before getting injured.
This season Roethlisberger has thrown for 1,295 yards and 10 touchdowns with just two interceptions. In his last healthy start against the New York Giants on Nov. 4, Roethlisberger threw for 216 yards and two touchdowns as the Steelers won 24-20.
Roethlisberger has thrown for a touchdown in every game this season and has four scoring passes in a 34-31 loss to the Oakland Raiders on Sept. 23. Throughout his career, Roethlisberger has played through pain and injuries, including during the 2005 Super Bowl run.
In 2010, Roethlisberger played in a career-low 12 games, but has started at least 15 games every season for five of the past six years. During the 2005 season, Roethlisberger started only 12 games, but still led the team to a 21-10 Super Bowl victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Pittsburgh would have been eliminated from the AFC North division title with a loss against the Ravens and are currently in the sixth playoff spot tied with the Cincinnati Bengals (7-5) and two games New York Jets (5-7).
There was some controversy at the end of the game on Sunday after Steelers coach Mike Tomlin tried to walk away quickly from a handshake with Ravens coach John Harbaugh. Video showed Harbaugh pull Tomlin back in for an extra word before the Steelers coach walked off with his team.
On Wednesday night, some more light was shed on the situation from someone who knows the two coaches.
"There's bad blood between these two coaches," said NFL Network analyst Darren Sharper, who was a college teammate of Tomlin's at William & Mary, said on Inside the NFL on Showtime. "You think about the fact that the teams do not like each other, so that carries over to the coaches because they're the ones preaching to the team before the games. And before this game there was a little bit of an incident in which Coach Harbaugh had some comments after they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers which he knew the camera was on, too."
Following the comments, Inside the NFL aired a video clip of Harbaugh from the Ravens previous 13-10 victory over the Steelers two weeks before at Heinz Field.
"The toughest team won that football game," Harbaugh said in the locker room on the video. The mentally tough team won that football game. The better team won the football game. The team that knows how to win won that football game."
Sharper later elaborated on his comments.
"Coach Tomlin, like all coaches do, they watch everything. They read the papers - they try to say they don't - they read the papers, they look at television, and he thought that was a message towards his team," said Sharper. "I know this for sure. I talked to Mike, and after the game I asked him about the handshake, and he said that there is some bad blood there. And he did not appreciate what Coach Harbaugh said postgame after the first victory."
The Steelers passing attack is ranked 14th in the league, but should get a boost from the return of Roethlisberger. The team has a top five defense and is allowing just 93 rush yards per game.
"It's about when you get hot and come together as a team,'' Roethlisberger said. "Our defense is starting to get hot and click in. We're starting to put it together. All it takes is one win and then you just roll with it.''
Pittsburgh has lost two of the last three games, but faces an opponent they are historically successful against on Sunday.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, "The Steelers are 14-0 all-time at home against the Chargers in the regular season. That's the best home record for any team vs. an opponent in NFL history."
The Steelers won four games in a row before Roethlisberger was hurt after opening the season 2-3. Pittsburgh still has a road game against the Dallas Cowboys and home games against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns left on the schedule.