Roethlisberger ruled out Sunday vs. Patriots

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the New England Patriots, head coach Mike Tomlin announced Tuesday.

Roethlisberger underwent a cleanup procedure on his torn lateral meniscus Monday. Opting against a full repair was thought to involve a much shorter recovery timeline, and the Steelers seemingly confirmed as much in expressing confidence that the star signal-caller wouldn't require a long-term absence.

Tomlin said Monday that he won't speculate about when Roethlisberger could make his return, but the bye week that follows the showdown with New England seemingly couldn't come at a better time.

After an additional week of rest, the next potential target date for Roethlisberger to get back on the field would be Pittsburgh's Week 9 matchup with division-rival Baltimore Ravens.

Fourth-year quarterback Landry Jones, who saw action in seven games last season, will step into the starting role until Roethlisberger is cleared to play.

Rather than asking the Oklahoma product to keep the high-powered passing game performing at its typical level, Pittsburgh can be expected to lean heavily upon running backs Le'Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams in an effort to steal a win from the Patriots.