Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) Ben Roethlisberger exchanged high-fives with teammates after the touchdown that extended the Pittsburgh Steelers' lead in the fourth quarter.

Going all out: Pittsburgh's Santonio Holmes dives for a touchdown in front of Washington's Carlos Rogers in the fourth quarter on Monday night. The Steelers beat the Redskins 23-6. AP PHOTO

With his left hand. While wearing a baseball cap.

With Roethlisberger sidelined after reinjuring his throwing shoulder, the local kid who used to sneak into Washington Redskins games made an unexpected appearance on the field.

D.C. native Byron Leftwich came on at halftime and led two touchdown drives in the Steelers' 23-6 victory over the Redskins on Monday night.

"We all know Ben's the guy," Leftwich said. "Ben's the quarterback of this football team, and I know I was going to be there in case something happened. Something happened today."

What happened was Roethlisberger's 1-yard sneak that gave the Steelers a 10-6 lead in the final minute of the first half. On the play, the quarterback reaggravated the slightly separated right shoulder that has bothered him since the second week of the season.

"I have no update on Ben at this point," Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. "Potentially, he was capable of going back in the game, but we went down the field with Leftwich in there to start the second half. We'll just see how he is."

Roethlisberger was 5-of-17 for 50 yards and an interception, while Leftwich went 7-of-10 for 129 yards and a touchdown as Pittsburgh (6-2) beat an NFC East team for the first time in three attempts this season.

Leftwich had 44 friends and relatives at the game — all of them Redskins fans growing up — but he said jokingly that "none of them better be upset" after the Steelers handed Washington (6-3) its worst loss of the season.

"I truly don't know the offense yet," said Leftwich, who signed with the Steelers in August. "I just got here late in the preseason, so that's what makes it tough. . . . That's why I came out so early during halftime. It's like, 'If I'm going to play, I've got to get loose.' "

Pittsburgh's ' top-rated defense had seven sacks and became the first team this season to intercept Jason Campbell. It also held Clinton Portis to 51 yards rushing, ending his streak of five straight games with at least 120 yards.

"We were hoping to go out and play our football, play smash-mouth football," Portis said. "Instead, we got smashed."

While Pittsburgh remains atop the AFC North, the Redskins lost ground to the New York Giants in the NFC East. Washington enters its bye week needing to tweak an offense that puts together promising drives but struggles to find the end zone.

The Redskins came close to scoring a touchdown only once — when Campbell threw incomplete on fourth-and-goal at the 1 in the fourth quarter. Campbell went 24-of-43 for 206 yards and his streak without an interception reached 271 attempts — 249 this season — before cornerback Deshea Townsend grabbed a pass tipped by Portis late in the third quarter.

Campbell, on the run for much of the game, threw another interception in the fourth quarter.

"When the team that they're playing has to throw, they just kind of put the warrior bandanna on — and here they come," Washington coach Jim Zorn said of the Steelers pass rush.

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