Chill out or freak out: Steelers vs. Rams edition

The Steelers and Rams game started off with a fire on the turf field after a pyrotechnics display went awry. Unfortunately for the Steelers, the excitement continued when Ben Roethlisberger fell to a scary-looking injury in the third quarter. All other concerns about the Steelers receded into the background as No. 7 was carted into the locker room, but a few other key issues are on fans' radar going into the upcoming game against the Ravens.

Ben Roethlisberger's Injury: Freak out

The phrase "it's all relative" seems to fit here. When Roethlisberger was carted off of the field in the second half after a hit to his lower leg, it seemed the injury would be season-ending. His leg was bent in unnatural fashion and he was in such pain that he dropped the football.

Rumor has it that the injury is not season ending. His leg was not broken, and his ACL was not damaged. If it's indeed just an MCL sprain, he could miss as few as four weeks. This scenario is much better than losing the key to the Steelers' offense for the entire season.

Still, his injury is terribly unfortunate and will have a huge, very negative, impact on the team. Todd Haley's offense is designed around Big Ben, so the Steelers don't just need a person to replace the legendary quarterback, they also need a new game plan and strategy.

With several difficult games on the horizon, including the Ravens on Thursday, the injury to Big Ben is a real momentum-killer and will make watching games a lot more nerve-wracking for fans.

Short Week: Freak out

The Steelers got back to Pittsburgh on Sunday evening and await a face-off against the Ravens at Heinz Field on Thursday night. While they will have ten days between the Ravens game and the Chargers, they only have a few days to prepare for what's always a difficult battle.

This year, the Ravens are suffering with the loss of Terrell Suggs and other key personnel lost to other team in the off-season. Now the Steelers are facing a similar problem with the unexpected injury to Roethlisberger. DeAngelo Williams filled in admirably for Le'Veon Bell, but Ben Roethlisberger isn't as easily replaced. To make matters worse, backup Michael Vick will not have much time to prepare. Already new to the team, the short week poses significant challenges for the Steelers.

I'm freaking out.

Josh Scobee: Chill out

Scobee didn't receive much recognition on Sunday, but he was the hero of the game, nailing both of his field goal attempts. Ok. Maybe "hero" is a bit of an exaggeration, but he did his job as well as he could. This is Scobee's second week on Chill out or Freak out, and I think (knock on wood and fingers crossed) that it's time to stop analyzing his failures and successes week after week. Now that Ben is hurt, Scobee will have to establish some consistency and perform reliably for the team. I think he's up to the challenge.