PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger's body wore down as his rookie NFL season progressed.
It's natural, given that the 2004 campaign was longer than any of his college seasons at Miami University.
But the Steelers' quarterback had one injury that nobody knew about until Tuesday -- one suffered in the AFC championship loss to New England.
As he cleaned out his locker and left the team's practice facility, Roethlisberger told reporters that he broke a toe on his right foot while trying to evade a tackler late in the first half of Sunday's game. He returned for the second half and threw two touchdowns, but was unable to rally the Steelers past the Patriots.
Roethlisberger, who also threw three interceptions in the game, admitted making bad decisions.
"I feel like I let a lot people down, from the players to the coaches to the fans and some of the veteran players," he said. "That is the tough thing about it. I guess it comes with the territory."
After a terrific start, Roethlisberger began tiring toward the end of the season -- though he said it's no excuse for a dropoff in play.
"The body definitely started to wear down," he said. "It helped mentally that we started to win football games. I think it would have been a heck of a football season if we weren't winning football games."
"Mentally, it started to wear on me a little bit. Physically, it started to wear on me. But you have to be able to push on, and it will help me for next year."
When Roethlisberger returns for camp in August, one of his favorite targets may be missing. Wide receiver Plaxico Burress discussed the possibility of leaving via free agency when asked by a reporter after the Patriots game.
If the choice was Roethlisberger's to make, he would keep Burress on the roster.
"Plax is very misunderstood," Roethlisberger said. "People always think he's so selfish, and he's not even close to that. He's a great team player and a team leader ... I love Plax and I hope he comes back."
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