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Steelers Rewarded For Play As They Ready For Chiefs In Week 7

By Christina Rivers

As the Pittsburgh Steelers move to 4-2 on the season after a 25-13 win over the very tough Arizona Cardinals, they prepare for their Week 7 road game against the Kansas City Chiefs (1-5). Regardless of Kansas City's record, the Steelers have remained focused on continuing to improve. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returned to practice for the second week in a row as he shares snaps with Landry Jones with the first-team offense. Two Steelers' players even saw their Week 6 performances garner them special attention throughout the league.

Roethlisberger and Jones share time at quarterback

Although Roethlisberger spent limited time practicing last week, he was ready to get on the field on Tuesday and test his knee on Tuesday. After suffering a bone bruise and knee sprain against the St. Louis Rams, Roethlisberger had been focused on cardio and rehab, strengthening his left leg. Before practice on Wednesday, Roethlisberger admitted that he isn't worried about pain, but was clear that the decision-making factors on whether or not he plays in Kansas City comes down to the stability of the knee and how the coaching staff feels. "I think I can deal with the pain. Adrenaline helps with that a lot," Roethlisberger said. "We have a great training staff and doctors who have about six different knee braces...John Norwig is going to tape it too. Today is going to be a trial and error type thing."

Roethlisberger is also sharing time at the quarterback position with Landry Jones who had a great game after coming in for an injured Mike Vick against the Cardinals. "(Landry) did way more than I did [in my first game]," Roethlisberger pointed out. "I went into the Baltimore game and my head was spinning. I know Landry's a guy, above the shoulders especially, who is very talented. Very smart football player who knows his stuff. He knows what he's doing."

Boswell is money

The Steelers have finally found a healthy placekicker in Chris Boswell and since joining the team on October 3, he has not missed a single field goal or point-after attempt. Going a perfect four-of-four on extra points and five-for-five on field goals in two games, Boswell has become something of a hero, earning the nickname "Money." On Wednesday, Boswell was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after his four field goals in the win over the Arizona Cardinals. Boswell's longest field goal on the day went for 51 yards, he was also good for 27, 47 and 48 yards. Boswell is the first Steelers kicker since Shaun Suisham, who was injured in the preseason, to make four field goals in a single game. "So as long as I got good contact and good rotation, I just picked my spot," Boswell said after the game, adding that the game gave him confidence but that he couldn't ride the feeling forever, instead looking ahead to the new week and getting back to work.

Bryant nominated for NFL award for clutch performance

After a two-touchdown performance against the Cardinals, receiver Martavis Bryant saw his name on the nomination list with four other players for the Castrol Edge Clutch Performer of the Week. Bryant is joined by Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers), Calvin Johnson (Detroit Lions), Damarius Randall (Green Bay Packers) and David Bruton (Denver Broncos). When asked about the 88-yard catch for a touchdown, Bryant said, "It was a five-yard slant. It was a great ball by Landry [Jones]. Once I caught it, I just looked up field and saw who all was blocking for me...the best possible play I could make. I just took advantage of it." Bryant was the leading receiver for the Steelers over the Cardinals and finished the game with eight completions for 168 yards in addition to the pair of touchdowns in his first regular season game with Pittsburgh in 2015.

Christina Rivers has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers and National Football League professionally as a journalist and photographer for over a decade. Rivers studied Exercise Physiology and Sports Psychology at Brigham Young University as a student-athlete. Christina is a freelance writer covering all things NFL as well as a published author. Her work can be found on
Examiner.com.

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