Ben Roethlisberger seems to excel when hurt

Ben Roethlisberger has a broken right thumb, but that in no way means it’s thumbs up for Kansas City.

The Pittsburgh quarterback seems to play even better when he’s a little banged up.

“I’ll be out there; I guarantee that,” Roethlisberger told reporters this week during a break from preparations for Sunday night’s road game against the Chiefs.

Roethlisberger didn’t take snaps from under center for the first part of the week, instead working out of the shotgun with a splint under the glove on his throwing hand to protect his thumb. He sustained the injury a few weeks ago against Cincinnati and had the benefit of a bye last week to recuperate.

He said he plans to play through the pain rather than taking an injection to numb the area around his thumb. Pain of that type in the past has seemed to bring out the best in him.

“When you’re dinged up a little bit, you have to play a little better, concentrate a little bit more,” he said.

The Steelers need him to come through, seeing as they’re a half a game behind Baltimore in the AFC North, and Cincinnati is in contention also.

Roethlisberger played with a broken thumb for a few games in 2005, when the Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl.

“It’s almost the same exact thing,” he said. “I guess there’s peace of mind with me that I’ve gone through this before. It doesn’t feel better physically, but at least mentally it feels better in that sense.”