Steelers sputtering in Roethlisberger's quick return from surgery

When Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus on Oct. 17, the most optimistic projections had him returning to the field after four weeks.

Sunday, 20 days after going under the knife, Roethlisberger was back on the field and starting for the Steelers against the Baltimore Ravens.

No one doubts Roethlisberger's toughness, but it's fair to ask whether he and the Steelers erred by allowing him to play so soon after surgery.

Roethlisberger completed 7-of-14 passes for 50 yards in the first half of Sunday's game, and the Steelers managed just two first downs and 67 yards of total offense under his direction. The Ravens also missed a pair of easy interceptions.

Though Roethlisberger's mobility in and out of the pocket didn't seem to be much of an issue, with him escaping pressure on numerous occasions, something about his play looked a little off. He missed passes he would otherwise hit and seemed tentative to take shots downfield against the suspect Ravens secondary.

Of course, it's worth noting that the Ravens' offense wasn't much more effective (outside of a 95-yard touchdown by Mike Wallace), and it's possible the game is simply the sort of sloppy, physical battle we've seen from these two teams in the past.

Could the Steelers ultimately regret letting Roethlisberger return so quickly instead of rolling with backup Landry Jones for at least one more week? The second half should answer that question.