Big Ben to miss at least four weeks with knee injury

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went down midway through the third quarter with a left knee injury in the Steelers' victory against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, an injury that is expected to keep the quarterback out for at least four weeks, ESPN reported.

CBS reported that MRI results confirmed that there was no ACL tear and that it was an MCL sprain.

Roethlisberger was carted off and didn't return to the game. He limped out of the stadium on crutches, which ESPN's Josina Anderson captured in this tweet:

	Josina Anderson @JosinaAnderson
Here is video of Ben Roethlisberger on crutches. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/h7aCKryhZx 1:21 PM - 27 Sep 2015

ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted:

	Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter
MRI revealed Ben Roethlisberger did not tear his ACL, but he sprained his MCL and now is expected to miss "probably 6 weeks," per source. 6:59 PM - 27 Sep 2015

CBS' report was slightly more optimistic, timetable-wise:

	Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora
MRI on Ben Roethlisberger confirms an MCL sprain. No damage to ACL. Expected to make a 4-week recovery 6:45 PM - 27 Sep 2015

The Steelers' next six games are as follows: vs. Baltimore Ravens (this coming Thursday); at San Diego Chargers; vs. Arizona Cardinals; at Kansas City Chiefs; vs. Cincinnati Bengals; and vs. Oakland Raiders. The Steelers' bye lands in Week 11.

Roethlisberger was sacked by safety Mark Barron, who came flying in on a blitz and hit Roethlisberger low and took him down for a 6-yard loss on third down with the Steelers leading 9-3. Roethlisberger remained down on the turf for a few minutes while being looked at by Steelers trainers before being carted off.

Barron was not penalized, but Fox's Mike Pereira said he believed it should have been called a personal foul for a low hit.

The hit was somewhat reminiscent of Carson Palmer being sacked years ago in a playoff game for the Cincinnati Bengals in a loss to the Steelers on which Palmer suffered a torn ACL. NFL rules have been changed since then to protect quarterbacks from dangerously low hits.

Michael Vick, the Steelers' backup quarterback, made his 2015 debut in replacing Roethlisberger. He went 5-for-6 for 38 yards and took two sacks.