Steelers

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 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 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 fans. But, five months later, his first appearance in a uniform since then was greeted with shrugs. The only crowd reaction came when a few fans chanted,

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