It had been over 11 months prior to tonight since Eli Rogers last took the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers, having suffered a torn ACL in the team’s postseason loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in January. They waited until the start of training camp to re-sign him, and he spent that time until yesterday on the Physically Unable to Perform List.
But the Steelers activated him on Saturday and played him immediately, starting on the first snap of the game. He was targeted quickly, catching a short pass on third down for a conversion that was part of an excellent opening drive that ended with a red-zone touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Vance McDonald.