If anyone thinks Ben Roethlisberger is going to play for the Steelers this week against Baltimore, I have a winning Powerball ticket and I’ll just give it to you.

Here. Take it.

It’s not going to happen.

There was footage from the Pittsburgh practice Wednesday showing Big Ben trying to throw a pass. He could barely lift his arm. Every movement was pained and the ball floated out of his hand as if Charlie Batch himself had thrown it.

Not good.

In fact, it doesn’t look like Roethlisberger will be back any time soon.

That’s bad news for the black and blue Black and Gold.

Season. Over.

I hate being Chicken Little and saying the sky is falling, but, you better get to some cover because the sky is falling.

The Steelers’ front office is to blame for that. They didn’t think ahead. They didn’t plan for this nightmare scenario.

Roethlisberger has missed only seven games in his career because of injury, but he’s played in many, many more with a list that could fill the pages of Gray’s Anatomy.

Instead of going out and getting a better (and younger) backup as a contingency plan, the Steelers decided to stick with old and slow Byron Leftwich and an even older and slower Batch this season.

Leftwich was bad in the first meeting against Baltimore, a game the Steelers could have and probably would have won with Roethlisberger or a capable backup.

Batch was even worse against the woeful Cleveland Browns.

Sure, Pittsburgh running backs coughed the ball up more than my Sasquatch of a cat coughs up hairballs, but Batch did nothing to help the cause, either.

In fact, after Lawrence Timmons picked off a deflected pass and returned it for a touchdown, the Steelers could have employed the “Waterboy” offense and taken a knee three times on every possession and punted and would have won the game.

If Roethlisberger is out even two more games, the Steelers have slim hopes of making the playoffs.

The defense is No. 1 in the NFL again without Troy Polumalu for most of the season. Roethlisberger was having an MVP season despite a half-effort at best from disgruntled No. 1 wideout Mike Wallace.

This team was 6-3 when Big Ben got hurt and was rolling.

Now, because the team didn’t take better care in securing a serviceable backup at the most important position on the field, a promising season may get tossed in the garbage like so many of Little Ben’s diapers.

I’m sure the front office will rectify this oversight in the offseason.

It may be too late.

The window is closing rapidly on this Steelers’ team. Age is catching up. Picking late in the first round of the draft because of their success is thinning out the talent.

Chances to win championships are so few. This chance may already be gone.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.