vise a play and avoid a sack, one reason he tends to hold onto the ball longer. Leftwich mostly

vise a play and avoid a sack, one reason he tends to hold onto the ball longer. Leftwich mostly stays in the pocket but delivers a harder pass, and he also gets rid of the ball faster.

“Whoever is in the game, either Ben or Byron, we feel confident that both quarterbacks can go out there and get the job done,” Hines Ward said. “We’re in a fortunate situation to have two quarterbacks like that. A lot of teams don’t really have a backup as capable as Byron.”

Leftwich won’t start debating in his mind whether he will play, especially because he might not know until Friday — or later. So he always prepares himself during practice as if he will play.

“I need to go out there and play well enough for us to win,” he said.