Report: Roethlisberger out Sunday
Ben Roethlisberger has been ruled out and Byron Leftwich will start Sunday's game for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jay Glazer reported Wednesday Roethlisberger sprained SC joint would keep him on the sideline for at least this week. Roethlisberger was injured in the third quarter Monday when two Chiefs' defenders sandwiched him on a quarterback sack.
Leftwich played in his first real game in two years and that was only brief mopup duty in the final game of the 2010 season against Cleveland, when he threw seven passes. His only previous action came on Sept. 27, 2009 when he started the first three games for Tampa Bay and then did not play again and wound up on injured reserve.
Right now, he's their man.
"We feel comfortable any time one of our quarterbacks is in the game, whether it's Roethlisberger, Leftwich or Charlie Batch," receiver Mike Wallace said.
"Byron Leftwich will be ready to go," said halfback Jonathan Dwyer. "We believe in him. He's won a lot of games in his career. If he was anywhere else, he would be starting. He has sacrificed to be here."
Since drafting Roethlisberger, the Steelers are 0-4 against the Ravens when playing without Big Ben. The Ravens and Steelers meet twice in the next three weeks in a stretch that could decide the AFC North division.
Injuries continue to be a storyline for the Steelers, who in recent seasons battled offensive line and defensive line health issues.
Sunday night they're likely to take the field without Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown, safety Troy Polamlau and aren't certain whether safety Ryan Clark or running back Rashard Mendenhall will be able to return from injuries. Clark was diagnosed with his second concussion in three games Monday. Mendenhall has missed the past four games with an Achilles injury after missing the first three overcoming January ACL surgery.
