"I feel better," Roethlisberger said Wednesday. "Obviously it's sore. Who in here isn't sore who plays this game? It's definitely better and we're making progress."

The issue came to a head Sunday when NBC-TV reported that Roethlisberger had a separated right shoulder. The network said the quarterback gave them the information. Coach Mike Tomlin denied it, saying it was merely "sore" but then admitting it was an AC sprain.

No matter. Thanks in large part to Roethlisberger's performance, the Steelers take a 2-0 record into Philadelphia. At 136.3, he has the highest passer rating in the NFL and he has not thrown an interception in his past five regular-season games.

Now all they have to do is protect him. Roethlisberger has been sacked five times and thrown 33 passes. That's a higher percentage of sacks then when he was dropped 47 times and threw 404 passes in 2007.

It's not just the sacks, either. Houston defensive tackle Amobi Okoye hit him low and caused a slightly hyperextended knee in the opener. It did not come on a sack and no flag was tossed even though hitting quarterbacks low supposedly is a no-no.

Last Sunday, 350-pound Cleveland nose tackle Shaun Rogers slammed into Roethlisberger after he threw a pass. His teammates felt the hit came late, although again there was no penalty. They said Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley's hit on Derek Anderson wasn't as late and he was penalized for it.

"I think Woodley got called on something like that I thought was kind of suspect," Roethlisberger said. "But it's a judgment call, they call it and they don't."

His worst hit, though, was a blindside sack by Houston defensive end Mario Williams, who yanked the ball out of his hands as Roethlisberger's right shoulder hit the turf on a clean play. It was that hit that caused his injury.

"They kept showing that on TV," guard Kendall Simmons said. "It looked awful to me. It looked pretty awful the way he fell. I think anybody would have gotten hurt from that."

Steelers offensive linemen have vowed to do everything in their power to protect Roethlisberger, even going after anyone who hits him late.

"We'll do what we have to do," Simmons said. "If we have to go after the whistle, if they're doing it, then that's part of it because we need him in there."

Roethlisberger has not gone a full season without missing at least one game. He missed four in 2005, just one in each of the past two seasons.

Veteran backup Charlie Batch was placed on injured reserve before the start of the season after his clavicle was broken in a preseason game on a botched play that caused him to run off tackle. Byron Leftwich was signed as Roethlisberger's new backup.

SERIES HISTORY: 76th meeting. Eagles lead the series 46-26-3, including a 25-8-2 record in Philadelphia, where the Steelers have not won since 1965. They've lost their past seven games in Philly. The Steelers, however, knocked the Eagles from the unbeaten ranks when they last met in Nov. 2004 in Heinz Field, a 27-3 Pittsburgh victory.