QB Byron Leftwich, Pittsburgh Steelers

HT: 6-5, WT: 240, Born: 1-14-1980, College: Marshall, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 7

2013 Projections

2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 10 - Leftwich bounced his first pass attempt to Mike Wallace, before throwing an incompletion on his next attempt. He didn't look comfortable on the field initially, but sparked a good rapport with Emmanuel Sanders to kickstart the offense. Leftwich limited the effectiveness of the Steelers' short passing game because of his slow release. If Leftwich is to be the Steelers' starting quarterback moving forward, the team will likely have a very different gameplan than they showed tonight as they will have time to work with him in practice. Leftwich is not Roethlisberger, but he did show off his big arm on occasions in this game with the highlight being a big third down conversion to Jerricho Cotchery over the middle from his own goalline.

Week 11 - Byron Leftwich delivered a gritty, gutty performance in the place of Ben Roethlisberger. On his first play, Leftwich threw a deep post route to Mike Wallace that resulted in a defensive pass interference penalty. Two plays later, Leftwich rumbled for a 31-yard touchdown. On one of the most peculiar plays in recent memory, Leftwich scrambled to the right and decided to run for the first down. Ten yards into the play, Leftwich ran through a half-hearted Bernard Pollard arm tackle, lumbered untouched for an additional 21 yards, and scored. Pollard appeared ready to unload a big hit, but held back and tried to arm tackle Leftwich. After scoring, Leftwich was unable to stop his momentum and fell onto his right shoulder. For the rest of the game, Leftwich was clearly favoring the shoulder and his throws lacked velocity. After the touchdown drive, six of his seven first half drives resulted in punts. Leftwich’s longest first half pass play, a 25-yard slant route to Emmanuel Sanders, was completed due to a blown coverage. Leftwich completed just 7-of-17 first half attempts for 85 yards. During his first second half drive, Leftwich attempted to establish some rhythm by feeding his running backs. After two Rashard Mendenhall runs, Leftwich stepped up and found Sanders on a deep post route for 37 yards. Velocity was not an issue on this throw. Two plays later, Leftwich was once again targeting Sanders on a deep post route, but the ball was underthrown and intercepted by Corey Graham. Unlike his last completion to Sanders, this throw lacked the necessary velocity. While his turnover led to three critical Baltimore points, Leftwich would atone for this mistake by leading his most impressive drive. Leftwich deployed his running backs as both receivers and runners as he paced the Steelers down the field. Leftwich completed four of his six pass attempts, but failed to convert in the red zone. On a 3rd-and-2 play from Baltimore’s three-yard line, Leftwich had Mike Wallace open on a fade route, but threw the ball too far to the sideline and Wallace was unable to get two feet in bounds. Pittsburgh needed a touchdown drive, but settled for a field goal. As the fourth quarter progressed, Leftwich continued taking big hits. Leftwich was grimacing after each one, but stayed in the game. Arm strength was an obvious issue as Leftwich attempted to fuel the late game come back. Asking an injured Leftwich to lead a fourth quarter drive against the Baltimore Ravens is a tall order. Leftwich is an adequate backup, but the Pittsburgh offense clearly missed Ben Roethlisberger.