Ben Roethlisberger

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger aggravated his sprained left ankle in a 13-9 win at Cleveland last weekend but expects to play in the wild-card game at Denver Sunday. Roethlisberger said he experienced a "setback" early in the third quarter but isn't sure when it happened. He completed 23 of 40 passes for 221 yards while taking every snap. Roethlisberger was limited in practice yesterday and walked into the trainer's room afterward with a noticeable limp. He injured the ankle while beating the Browns on Dec. 8 and missed a 24-0 win over St. Louis on Christmas Eve before...

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has graduated from Miami University in southwest Ohio, about nine years after leaving for the NFL. The university says the 30-year-old Roethlisberger (RAWTH'-lihs-bur-gur) received his bachelor's degree in education and joined nearly 600 students during Sunday's commencement at the campus in Oxford. His wife, parents and grandmother attended. Roethlisberger, who's led the Steelers to two Super Bowl titles, played football for Miami from 2001 to 2003 and set several school passing records.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says he may eventually need surgery on a broken right foot that bothered him during the team’s run to the Super Bowl last year. Roethlisberger told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review he could have opted for surgery following the season but decided to let it heal after talking to doctors. Roethlisberger aggravated the injury during a game against Buffalo last November, though he did not miss a snap. He played the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs with a special cleat fitted with two metal plates.

PITTSBURGH — Hines Ward believes he can still play football. The longtime Pittsburgh wide receiver known for his high-wattage smile and his bone-crunching blocks just couldn't stomach the thought of doing it in some strange uniform on some strange field with nary a Terrible Towel in sight. ‘‘I just wouldn't feel right," Ward said. So rather than play for a 15th season — and his first outside the Steel City — a tearful Ward opted to retire on Tuesday and secure a legacy unmatched in the franchise's long history.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and linebacker Lawrence Timmons have agreed to a new six-year contract. The deal, announced early Tuesday, will pay Timmons $50 million through 2016. Timmons is the second linebacker to sign an extension with the Steelers in the last month. Teammate LaMarr Woodley agreed to a six-year, $61.5 million contract on Aug. 5. The 26-year-old Woodley and the 25-year-old Timmons are considered the young core of a linebacker group that includes 33-year-old James Harrison, 31-year-old Larry Foote and 36-year-old James Farrior.

Ben Roethlisberger tied a team record with five touchdown passes — including two to Hines Ward — and the Pittsburgh Steelers rolled past the Tennessee Titans 38-17 on Sunday. Other than a slight limp when he ran, Roethlisberger appeared to have no issues with his sprained left foot, also hitting Mike Wallace, Heath Miller and David Johnson for scores as the Steelers (3-2) ended Tennessee's three-game winning streak. The five touchdown passes tied a single-game team record Roethlisberger already shares with Mark Malone and Terry Bradshaw.

PITTSBURGH - The Super Bowl-winning Steelers’ season was starting to unravel with consecutive losses in the final 15 seconds to the Bears and the Bengals. Determined to make sure their bad start didn’t last a moment more, they needed less than 15 minutes to effectively put away one of the AFC’s best teams. The Steelers (2-2) opened a 28-point lead behind Rashard Mendenhall (165 yards rushing, two TDs) and Ben Roethlisberger (333 yards passing, two TDs) and shut down the Chargers’ ground game like no team has since 1992 during a 38-28 victory Sunday night.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has agreed to restructure his contract to help the team get under the $120.4 million salary cap by Thursday. Roethlisberger's agent says the team approached his client about the move. Ryan Tollner adds that the restructuring would not affect the length or the terms of Roethlisberger's current eight-year, $102 million deal signed in 2008. The Steelers entered training camp about $10 million over the salary cap and last week released veterans Max Starks, Flozell Adams and Antwaan Randle El to shed payroll.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has graduated from Miami University in southwest Ohio, about nine years after leaving for the NFL. The university says the 30-year-old Roethlisberger (RAWTH'-lihs-bur-gur) received his bachelor's degree in education and joined nearly 600 students during Sunday's commencement at the campus in Oxford. His wife, parents and grandmother attended. Roethlisberger, who's led the Steelers to two Super Bowl titles, played football for Miami from 2001 to 2003 and set several school passing records.

Counting the preseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have used nine different combinations of starting offensive linemen in nine games this season. They're also facing the possibility of being without their two most prominent running backs for their next game on Sunday. Pittsburgh's All Pro outside linebacker and five-time Pro Bowl nose tackle certainly won't play. The Steelers' former Pro Bowl defensive end, starting left guard and up-and-coming second-year linebacker?

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Antrel Rolle's season had been over for more than a month by the time the Giants met the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII four years ago. His Arizona Cardinals had gone 8-8, finishing second in the NFC West, and Rolle went down to Brazil. Finding a place to watch the Super Bowl there apparently is an adventure, the way Rolle tells it. "There was only one place in Brazil showing the game," he said. "I was standing on top of maybe two barstools and probably a midget was under me, who knows?

DENVER - The Patriots knew they'd be getting a rematch in the divisional round when the Broncos and Steelers faced off yesterday in an AFC wild-card playoff game. New England probably didn't think it'd be getting this one. The Broncos, an 8 ½-point home underdog after finishing the regular season with an 8-8 record, shocked the defending conference champion Steelers with a 29-23 victory at Sports Authority Field thanks to an 80-yard touchdown pass from Tim Tebow to Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime.

Ben Roethlisberger was rarin' to go after rallying the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth quarter. Standing on the sideline, the banged-up quarterback with the balky ankle was anxiously waiting for his chance to take the field in overtime. Given the new rules, all the Pittsburgh defense had to do was hold the Denver Broncos to a field goal — or, even better, a punt — and Roethlisberger would get another crack. It didn't happen. The next time Roethlisberger stepped onto the field was to congratulate the Broncos.

DENVER - The Patriots knew they'd be getting a rematch in the divisional round when the Broncos and Steelers faced off yesterday in an AFC wild-card playoff game. New England probably didn't think it'd be getting this one. The Broncos, an 8 1/2-point home underdog after finishing the regular season with an 8-8 record, shocked the defending conference champion Steelers with a 29-23 victory at Sports Authority Field thanks to an 80-yard touchdown pass from Tim Tebow to Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger aggravated his sprained left ankle in a 13-9 win at Cleveland last weekend but expects to play in the wild-card game at Denver Sunday. Roethlisberger said he experienced a "setback" early in the third quarter but isn't sure when it happened. He completed 23 of 40 passes for 221 yards while taking every snap. Roethlisberger was limited in practice yesterday and walked into the trainer's room afterward with a noticeable limp. He injured the ankle while beating the Browns on Dec. 8 and missed a 24-0 win over St. Louis on...

Rashard Mendenhall leaned on his crutches and bowed his head. The pain wasn't unbearable for Pittsburgh's leading rusher. However, the thought of missing the AFC playoffs might have been too much to handle. Mendenhall injured his right knee in the first quarter Sunday and had to watch the Steelers stumble their way to a 13-9 win over the Cleveland Browns, who kept it close but again couldn't come up with the big play to pull off the upset. Isaac Redman replaced Mendenhall and scored a touchdown, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made enough big plays on his fragile left ankle and...

FOXBOROUGH -- The Patriots secondary isn't drawing much respect from opponents. Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward said he didn't feel the need to push himself to play with an ankle injury against the Patriots Sunday. In looking at the matchups, the Steelers believed they held an advantage. The following quote was provided by Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I probably could have forced it and played but we have some great wideouts," Ward said. "I wasn't really concerned.