“No Doubt” that Ben Roethlisberger will start Sunday vs. Bengals

Hopeful optimism is increasingly turning into concrete confirmation by the day in Pittsburgh, with starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger looking more and more likely to suit up for this Sunday’s crucial divisional clash with the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals.

Steelers beat reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Ed Bouchette, took things one step further. He tweeted that there was “no doubt Ben will start Sunday”, adding that Roethlisberger told him there were “no issues with the knee” and that “it feels good again.”

The man himself offered something of a more cautious diagnosis, claiming he “won’t get his hopes up” regarding his game status, but with head coach Mike Tomlin declaring otherwise, it appears the Steelers offense will be back to its high-octane best this week.

In fact, barring any unexpected setbacks during practice, this Sunday will mark the first time since week 17 last season that all four of Pittsburgh’s “Killer Bs” will be on the field at the same time. Star running back Le’Veon Bell was injured in the division championship match with Cincinnati last year, causing him to miss Pittsburgh’s wild card loss against Baltimore.

Both Bell and Martavis Bryant served suspensions of two and four weeks respectively to open the 2015 season, but no sooner had Bell re-taken the field that Big Ben was carted off said field in St. Louis with an injury many feared was season-ending.

Only Antonio Brown has held strong through the turmoil of the team’s offensive turnover, though his stats and general game involvement have suffered dramatically without his veteran signal caller at the helm.

For many years, Roethlisberger’s improvisation and clutch intuition have coloured over Pittsburgh’s many flaws on offense. With Ben back, the team is hoping to be dominant on that side of the ball, and not merely competitive like in seasons past.