Byron Leftwich struggles through debut as Steelers starter

• Leftwich scored on a 31-yard touchdown run on the Steelers' first drive
• The Steelers failed to score a touchdown after that drive
• Starter Ben Roethlisberger is out for the unforeseen future

PITTSBURGH – In a matter of seconds, Byron Leftwich made Pittsburgh Steelers fans forget about Ben Roethlisberger.

It was 31 seconds actually, enough time for the 32-year-old veteran quarterback to run a three-play touchdown drive on his first series as a Pittsburgh starter, one that culminated in the 6-5, 250 pound quarterback scrambling down the right sideline for a 31-yard score.

"I joke with my teammates all the time," Leftwich said. "I'm not a slow quarterback. I'm just the slowest black quarterback. I can move around just as good as any of these other pocket passers in the league."

Unfortunately for the Steelers, rumors of his improved mobility had been greatly exaggerated. The remaining 59 and half minutes of the game didn't come quite as easily for Leftwich, as the Baltimore Ravens (8-2) stifled the Pittsburgh (6-4) offense and held on for a 13-10 victory at Heinz Field Sunday night.

"We just couldn't get a rhythm," Leftwich said. "There were a lot of third and mediums and third and longs. We just never could put two, three, four, five,six plays together."

With Roethlisberger out for the unforeseen future with both a sprained SC joint in his right shoulder and a dislocated rib, Leftwich used rhythm as a buzzword in practice earlier this week, insisting that it was his goal to make it so the offense didn't miss a step. If the team's first series resembled Beyonce, the rest of the game was Ke$ha, with blown assignments, shorted throws and two third-quarter timeouts keeping the offense woefully off key.

"We were just flat on offense," wide receiver Mike Wallace said. "We scored one touchdown on the first drive and after that we were flat."

Leftwich completed 18 of 39 passes for 201 yards for no touchdowns and one interception. Pittsburgh converted only 5 of 17 third down attempts, a steep decline from the nearly 50 percent success rate they had coming into the game.

The Ravens defense keyed up on the Steelers' vulnerable pass protection, with defensive end Paul Kruger blowing by rookie right tackle Mike Adams for a first half sack, while defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and safety James Ihedigbo each delivered brutal sacks that ended consecutive fourth quarter drives.

"They dialed up a few more blitzes," Wallace said. "They know that Ben can move around a little more so they don't want to do that on him."

Thanks to a stingy Pittsburgh defense, the Steelers offense still had a small window late in the fourth quarter when they started a final drive at the own 16 down 13-10 with 1:05 left in the game. By the time Leftwich took the field after being checked for a rib injury between series, it was obvious that he was struggling through some pretty intense pain as he converted a second down play before throwing four incompletions to end the game.

"I thought [Leftwich's performance] was great," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "We knew this was going to be a Baltimore-Steelers type football game. It was going to be nip and tuck. I thought it was great. Obviously, not enough plays by him or by any of the rest of us to secure victory."

Leftwich claimed after the game that he was physically "OK," and while the team is certainly hoping for a quick return from its two-time Super Bowl winning starter, no one in the Steelers locker room seemed to express any doubts in the backup's ability to help the team win games in his absence.

"It doesn't have a lot to do with who's at quarterback," tight end Heath Miller said. "We just need to check ourselves individually and we need to get better."