Another Emergency Steelers Update.

The Steelers won a football game Sunday night at Heinz Field, but lost another quarterback in the process.

Charlie Batch, who was replacing the injured Ben Roethlisberger for the second consecutive game, left with a fractured bone in his right pinkie finger late in the first half, giving way to third-teamer Tommy Maddox. Batch did not return for the Steelers' eventual 34-21 victory against the Cleveland Browns.

His status for next week was not immediately known, though coach Bill Cowher said it would likely be "a couple weeks" before Batch would return. The injury was described as a fractured metacarpal bone to the pinkie in his throwing hand.

Batch sustained the injury when his hand smashed into the helmet of a Cleveland Browns defender on a 15-yard completion to Hines Ward. The play gave Ward the Steelers all-time receptions record at 538, surpassing Hall of Famer John Stallworth.

Batch left the game after scoring on a 1-yard run with six seconds remaining before halftime. He said he could no longer bear the pain of taking snaps.

Batch finished 13 of 19 for 150 yards with a passer rating of 92.0.
"When you're going bone on helmet, you're not normally going to win," said Batch, who was then asked about his status for next week. "It all depends on the pain tolerance. We won't know that until we see if the swelling goes down the next couple of days."

Roethlisberger, who had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus Nov. 3, could potentially be back next Sunday at Baltimore after missing the past two games. Hours after Roethlisberger's surgery, Cowher said it was "very conceivable" that Roethlisberger would be ready for the Ravens game.

Roethlisberger intensified his rehabilitation last week, saying he was ahead of schedule in strengthening the knee. Asked if he'd play next week moments after last night's game, Roethlisberger was cautiously optimistic.
"I don't know yet, we got a little urgency now, so we'll see," he said.
(Thanks to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review for the heads up.)