The Ravens won't have to deal with Ben Roethlisberger this weekend.
The Steelers quarterback will miss Sunday's AFC North showdown after suffering a shoulder sprain on Monday night, the team announced on Wednesday.
"He's out," Head Coach Mike Tomlin said during Wednesday's conference call.
Veteran Byron Leftwich will start in his place.
"We got all the confidence in the world in Byron and what he's capable of and that's one of the reasons we laid the whole thing to bed," Tomlin said. "The less questions our guys need to answer in regards to [Roethlisberger's status], and they can focus singularly on what's in front of us, the task at hand, I think it helps us."
Roethlisberger suffered a **sternoclavicular (SC joint) shoulder sprain** while getting sacked in the third quarter of Monday night's game, and Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday that Roethlisberger was "questionable" for Sunday. Now the Steelers have decided to rest him rather than rush him back to the field.
In addition to the shoulder problem, Roethlisberger also reportedly has a rib injury that could be a "serious problem," according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Roethlisberger is off to an MVP-type campaign through the first 10 weeks of the season, and has the Steelers (6-3) just one game behind the Ravens in the division race. He has thrown for 2,287 yards, 17 touchdowns, 4 interceptions and has completed 66.1 percent of his passes.
The Ravens are 4-0 against the Steelers in games where Roethlisberger has been out, but those wins have come by a combined score of 15 points.
