AFC NORTH QB from MAC attacks again

Ben Roethlisberger will go head-to-head against Chad Pennington.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Having survived the strong right arm of quarterback Byron Leftwich of the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Pittsburgh Steelers will face another former college hotshot in Chad Pennington of the New York Jets.
"Oh, another MAC quarterback," Steelers coach Bill Cowher said.
It will be the second week in a row that overachieving quarterbacks from the Mid-American Conference square off in the NFL.
Something about that league
Steelers' rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came out of Miami (Ohio). Leftwich came out of Marshall. So did Pennington.
"I don't know if there's a correlation, but they've all come in and they're very humble and they've worked hard," Cowher said. "They all have great leadership skills, unique in their own way."
Leftwich has the best arm of the three, but could not pass effectively in the red zone during Sunday night's 17-16 loss to the Steelers.
Leftwich completed only 2-of-6 passes for 10 yards in the red zone and the Jaguars settled for three field goals.
Big Ben's big numbers
Pennington, who hasn't thrown an interception in the red zone during his five years in the league, returned from a three-game hiatus last week to lead the Jets to a 29-7 win over the Houston Texans. In his first game back from an injured right rotator cuff, he completed 20-of-27 passes for 155 yards and had a passer rating of 97.
Roethlisberger had a rating of 158.0 out of a possible 158.3 and rallied the Steelers on Sunday night. With less than two minutes remaining and the Steelers trailing, he completed 3 of 3 pass attempts for 39 yards. He spiked the ball on the next play to set up Jeff Reed's 37-yard field goal with 23 seconds remaining. Roethlisberger is fourth in the NFL with a passer rating of 103.2.
"In this business, you're judged by what you can do over an extended period of time, what you can consistently do week in and week out. He welcomes the challenge," Cowher said. "He's leading this football team. He doesn't get overwhelmed with any situation he's faced with."
Injury sidelines Riemersma
Roethlisberger threw touchdown passes on the Steelers' first two possessions against the Jaguars. The first was for 37 yards to Hines Ward, the second for 26 yards to tight end Jay Riemersma, who was injured on the catch.
The Steelers replaced Riemersma on Monday with 10-year veteran Walter Rasby, whom the Steelers brought into the league in 1994 as a rookie free agent out of Wake Forest.
The 6-foot-3, 252-pound Rasby started six games with the Washington Redskins this season. He caught 5 passes for 52 yards before being released.
"We just didn't want to lose anything from an experience standpoint and it's good to have him out there," Cowher said.
Riemersma joins cornerback Chad Scott (quadriceps muscle) and inside linebacker Kendrell Bell (groin) as Steelers scratches for Sunday's game against the Jets.
Listed as questionable were wide receiver Plaxico Burress (hamstring), defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen (knee) and reserve defensive end Brett Keisel (hamstring).
Scott has missed the past six games and Cowher said he still has trouble cutting, stopping and starting. Without him, the Steelers allowed 6.8 yards per pass attempt and have an opponent passer rating of 73.8. With Scott, the Steelers allowed 5.8 per attempt and have a rating of 67.0.
Bell has missed the past two games and a total of eight this season. Cowher said he's making slow progress.
Burress has missed nearly three games after injuring his hamstring at Cincinnati, when he left the game during second quarter.
"He's got to be 100 percent or real close to it for us to put him out on the field," Cowher said.