The Pittsburgh Steelers have no knowledge that Ben Roethlisberger played the Super Bowl with two broken ribs, as the quarterback told a Web site.
According to SI.com, Roethlisberger said his fractured ribs did not show up on X-rays taken before he led the Steelers to a 27-23 win over Arizona on Feb. 1 but were revealed only during a magnetic resonance imaging he had last week.
"Luckily, in the game, I didn't take any big hits to make 'em hurt," he told SI.com. "But I knew all along there was something wrong. There wouldn't have been anything that could have been done about fractured ribs anyway. It was just suck it up and play."
Roethlisberger did not miss practice in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, though a pool report from the Wednesday practice said he tried to stretch his torso. He missed one practice during the off week before the Super Bowl because of what the team said was a back injury.
"Ben was fine to go," Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett said yesterday. "He was cleared to play. ... There was no doubt he was going to play."
The Steelers said it would have been difficult for Roethlisberger to play any better than he did in leading the decisive 78-yard drive that ended with a precisely thrown 6-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds left.
Roethlisberger did not mention any possible injury during post-game interviews.
NFL teams do not routinely require players to undergo medical tests during the offseason, and Roethlisberger isn't due back in Pittsburgh until offseason workouts begin in April.
Roethlisberger has previously exaggerated or misstated injuries he supposedly suffered during his five-season career.
For example, Roethlisberger said during training camp in 2006 that he played the Steelers' Super Bowl-winning season of 2005 with a broken thumb. He missed no playing time after supposedly being hurt Nov. 28, 2005, in Indianapolis. The team never revealed any such injury.
Jets: : New coach Rex Ryan drew from his Ravens ties by hiring Matt Cavanaugh as quarterbacks coach.
Cavanaugh, 52, was the Ravens' offensive coordinator from 1999 to 2004, during which time Ryan was a defensive coach in Baltimore. Cavanaugh was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Pittsburgh the past four years.
Cowboys: : Cornerback Adam Jones was released on the first day teams could make waiver requests.
