Steelers safety Troy Polamalu left Sunday night's 13-9 win over Kansas City after his head banged into the knee of offensive tackle Steve Maneri. Maneri lined up in the backfield as an eligible receiver and hauled in a short pass from Tyler Palko. Polamalu came up to make the tackle and dove at Maneri's legs, his head banging into the big offensive tackle's knee. Polamalu, who had been dealing with some sore ribs, looked a bit wobbly as he got up. He was helped to the sideline by trainers and did not return on Pittsburgh's next defensive series.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin doesn't expect Ben Roethlisberger's fractured right thumb to be an issue on Sunday. Tomlin says that Roethlisberger will start at quarterback against the Chiefs and while the coach can't tell how much the thumb will affect him, he expects Roethlisberger to be effective. "Those of us who know Ben understand that he's going to show and show for his teammates," Tomlin said.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has addressed the criticism surrounding his team this season. NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp and others have said that Pittsburgh is too old and slow to be contenders in 2011. "People make a big deal after Week 1," said Roethlisberger, currently nursing a broken thumb on his throwing hand. "You lose a game and everyone wants to jump on the hater bandwagon of the Steelers even more than they already are. We just kind of laughed it off and said, 'You know what, we'll just do what we do' and I think we've done that."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell met with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin on Thursday to review on-field issues that have been the focus of discussion recently, according to a source. Several Steelers have been fined for their play the past two seasons. Saftey Ryan Clark's hit on Ravens tight end Ed Dickson two weeks ago resulted in a $40,000 fine.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger fractured his right thumb on Sunday against the Bengals. He's not sure when it happened, only that he noticed it while coming out for the second half. "It was hard to determine it on the sideline, but we did all the tests (Monday), and it's fractured in there," Roethlisberger said. Roethlisberger didn't miss a snap as the Steelers improved to 7-3. He completed 7 of 11 passes for 70 yards in the second half, including a perfect 4-for-4 during the game-winning drive in the third quarter.

Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley will miss his second straight game because of a hamstring injury, and linebacker James Farrior likely will be back for Sunday's showdown in Cincinnati, according to an ESPN.com report.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh understands his team's rivalry with the Steelers, but he feels they went over the line on Sunday. Harbaugh is upset that the staff at Heinz Field played music designed to make fun of Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco. According to the Baltimore Sun, the Heinz Field sound system blared Lynyrd Skynyrd's "What's Your Name" while contrasting the stats of Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger on the scoreboard. Apparently, Harbaugh thinks the reference to "little girl" in the lyrics was supposed to be insulting Flacco. Flacco had no idea of the incident or Harbaugh's issue with it. "I have no idea what you're talking about," Flacco said. "They were playing a song?"

Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is expected to miss "a couple of weeks" after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee. Sanders is fourth on the team with 18 catches for 243 yards and two touchdowns. He started two weeks ago when Hines Ward was out with an ankle injury.

The NFL is expected to hand down a series of fines to linebacker James Harrison and safety Ryan Clark of the Steelers and Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis for questionable hits delivered during Sunday night's game between the teams, according to league source. The Harrison hit occurred in the third quarter when the Steelers linebacker appeared to hit Ray Rice helmet to helmet after the running back already was tackled. Harrison was not flagged. Clark was flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Ravens tight end Ed Dickson late in the first half. Clark hit Dickson in stride, appearing to lead with his shoulder, but both players' helmets made contact. Lewis knocked Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward out of the game in the second quarter with his hit, which was not flagged. Ward left with concussion-like symptoms after the helmet-to-helmet hit. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin called the injury "minor."

Michael Vick has come all the way back from prison to star in the NFL again, but he is still a divisive figure. Forbes.com has reported that Vick is the NFL's most disliked player, according to a poll by Nielsen and E-Poll Market Research. The site reports that 60 percent of those polled picked said they "dislike," "dislike somewhat," or "dislike a lot" Vick. Second on the list was Jets receiver Plaxico Burress at 56 percent, who also has returned from a prison stay, followed by Ben Roethlisberger, who was accused of sexual assault last year but wasn't charged.