The Pittsburgh Steelers will meet the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field on Sunday for what will be the first AFC North contest of the new campaign. Every team in the division currently sits at 1-1, and will begin to try to separate themselves from the rest of the pack this week.

Before the Steelers take on Joe Burrow and the Bengals, they’ll have to make a fairly large decision that could impact the rest of their season. According to multiple reports, starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is dealing with a left pectoral injury and his status for Sunday’s game hangs in the balance.

Even if Roethlisberger is justifiably able to play on Sunday, it's fair to assume he wouldn't be doing so at 100% health. The Steelers will have to ask themselves a difficult question. Is a limited Roethlisberger more effective and impactful than a healthy Mason Rudolph?

The answer is no. The Steelers should play the long game by allowing Roethlisberger to heal and start Rudolph against the Bengals this Sunday.

Pittsburgh's offense struggled mightily in their Week 1 victory over the Bills. Roethlisberger was largely unproductive against Buffalo, completing just 18-of-32 passes for 188 yards. The Steelers followed that up with another stinker against Las Vegas in Week 2, mustering just 17 points and 331 total yards of offense at home against the Raiders’ defense. Simply put, Pittsburgh's offense is a mess right now and Roethlisberger is part of the problem.

Out of 72 passing attempts through two weeks, Roethlisberger has attempted just a handful of throws over the deep middle of the field, per Next Gen Stats. It meant for the second week in a row, the 39-year-old Roethlisberger looked rather pedestrian while receiving minimal help from his offensive linemen and rushing attack. There is little reason to believe that a less-than-healthy Roethlisberger can elevate this Steelers offense to the level required right now. There are a ton of far-reaching issues on this offense right now, but a banged-up Roethlisberger isn’t going to light the world on fire in 2021.

We know how important Roethlisberger has been to this offense throughout the years. If the Steelers are going to experience any semblance of success as a team in 2021, it’s imperative that Roethlisberger stays healthy for the duration of the new 17-game season. If holding him out of Week 3 gives them a better chance at doing that over the course of the year, then the decision to start Rudolph against the Bengals is the one that has to be made.

As head coach Mike Tomlin prepares to reach a conclusion regarding Roethlisberger’s status for Week 3 in the coming days, we hope he has a long-term outlook in mind.