Ben Roethlisberger throws first TD since devastating elbow injury (Video)

Ben Roethlisberger’s tossed his first touchdown back from last season’s elbow injury.

Ben Roethlisberger is back throwing touchdown passes for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The quarterback’s first score back rekindled his partnership with JuJu Smith-Schuster on Monday Night Fotball.

Roethlisberger faced pressure from the right, but it didn’t matter. He lofted the ball off of his back foot into the waiting arms of Smith-Schuster, who created plenty of separation from rookie cornerback Darnay Holmes for an easy 10-yard touchdown.

https://twitter.com/steelers/status/1305659594233044992

Ben Roethlisberger threw his first touchdown since 2018

The score was a long time coming for Roethlisberger. He hadn’t thrown a touchdown since Dec. 30, 2018 against the Cincinnati Bengals. That one was also 11 yards to Smith-Schuster.

Roethlisberger played in just two games for Pittsburgh last year before suffering an elbow injury which required Tommy John surgery. He didn’t score in either contest.

The veteran quarterback returned to his place as the starter with questions looming as to how effective he could be post-surgery. Would his arm hold up? Could he make all the throws he used to make?

It’ll take a few more games before he answers those questions, but he sure answered the important one: Can he find the end zone?

Without Roethlisberger at the helm last season the Steelers looked toothless. They went 8-8 with Mason Rudolph starting eight games and Devlin Hodges filling in for another six. The passing game was a struggle as the two combined for 17 interceptions against 18 touchdowns.

The Steelers are taking on the Giants on Monday Night Football in hopes of getting their playoff pursuit off to a strong start. A missed extra point following Roethlisberger’s touchdown kept them a point off New York in a 10-9 game.