Roethlisberger sits in victory

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Ben Roethlisberger never got off the bench in a return to Heinz Field that couldn’t have been much quieter. Byron Leftwich probably wishes he had stayed on the sideline, too.

Leftwich, the quarterback who will replace the suspended Roethlisberger when the season starts, was ineffective despite playing much longer than expected, but the Pittsburgh Steelers still beat the Detroit Lions 23-7 behind backup Dennis Dixon on Saturday night.

Leftwich was outplayed by Matthew Stafford in the Lions quarterback’s first game action since injuring a shoulder against Cincinnati on Dec. 6.

After Stafford left following a 2-yard TD pass to Calvin Johnson, the Steelers came back from a 7-6 deficit as Dixon led scoring drives of 75, 79 and 68 yards with reserves playing.

A night that couldn’t have been any shorter for Roethlisberger, who never bothered to put on a helmet or warm up, was much longer than expected for both teams as lightning and heavy rain stopped play for 1 hour, 13 minutes late in the second quarter.

Roethlisberger’s behavior during a March night of drinking in Georgia that led to accusations of sexual assault but no charges visibly stirred anger among Steelers fans. But, five months later, his first appearance in a Steelers uniform since then was greeted with shrugs. The only crowd reaction came when a few fans chanted, “We want Ben, we want Ben” as Leftwich struggled.

When the rain finally let up, the teams played the final 1 minute, 37 seconds of the first half and then immediately began the second half with many in the crowd of 55,248 already long gone.

Leftwich was expected to play eight to 12 snaps, but instead played nearly twice that as Tomlin was displeased with the offense’s first two series. Two running backs fumbled, Leftwich was sacked for 8 yards and also unintentionally spiked a pass as the starters gained only 16 yards in 12 plays.

Stafford (8 of 11, 61 yards, 1 TD) was much more efficient than Leftwich (6 of 10, 43 yards).