Ben Roethlisberger

If Ben Roethlisberger looked like an improved quarterback in the second half Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, it was because he recognized that a previous elbow injury was hurting his throwing motion.

“I was just dealing with a little bit of an elbow issue,” Roethlisberger said. “It made me drop my elbow a little bit for the comfort factor, which causes the ball to sail.”

Roethlisberger injured his elbow late in overtime of the season opener against Cleveland on a strip sack. Roethlisberger missed two days of practice that week and has not practiced on Wednesdays in subsequent weeks.