Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Ben Roethlisberger on the Steelers sidelines after being forced out of yesterday's game by a rib injury. Click photo for larger image.

The Baltimore Ravens, the team responsible for ushering in the Ben Roethlisberger era, also have become the team responsible for bringing his record-setting regular season to a premature end. Maybe.

Roethlisberger left the game in the third quarter of the Steelers' 20-7 victory yesterday at Heinz Field with an undetermined injury to his ribs that could cause the Steelers not to play him in the meaningless regular-season finale Sunday at Buffalo.

Roethlisberger was injured on a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jerame Tuman when he was tackled by Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs, after which Suggs was penalized 15 yards for roughing the passer. Roethlisberger returned for the following series, but he felt pain in his ribs after throwing a 26-yard pass to wide receiver Plaxico Burress on the second play. After throwing a 9-yard pass to running back Jerome Bettis on the next play, Roethlisberger took himself out of the game and was replaced by Tommy Maddox.

Coach Bill Cowher would not elaborate on the extent of Roethlisberger's injury but said he could have returned if something happened to Maddox.

"He felt he could still throw it, but after one pass to Plaxico, at that point, it really bothered him," Cowher said. "He came out but he had to be ready to go because, as you can see on our depth chart, our third quarterback was [Antwaan Randle] El at that point. That is why we had to keep him ready to go, just in case we had to have him hand off if something would have happened to Tommy."

Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Tommy Maddox makes his only pass of the game after replacing injured Ben Roethlisberger in the third quarter yesterday. The throw was complete to running back Verron Haynes for no gain. Click photo for larger image.

For Maddox, it was his first appearance since his throwing elbow was injured in Week 2 in the first meeting in Baltimore. It was Maddox's injury that forced the Steelers to start Roethlisberger, and they haven't lost since.

Along the way, Roethlisberger has evoked comparisons to Dan Marino and John Elway, not to mention establishing an NFL record for most consecutive victories to start a career with 13.

Before he departed, he completed 14 of 19 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns, including a 36-yarder to Burress on the Steelers' first possession.

"He's probably a little sore, but if he had to go out and play that game, he probably would have," Burress said. "Why put yourself in a situation where we have a good lead ... why risk anything else?"

By clinching home-field advantage for the AFC playoffs, the Steelers are guaranteed a first-round bye and will not play a postseason game until the weekend of Jan. 15-16. That will give the Steelers three weeks to rest Roethlisberger's injury, should they elect not to play him in Buffalo.

Asked if Roethlisberger will play against the Bills, who have won six in a row and trail Denver on tiebreakers for the final wild-card playoff spot, Cowher said, "I don't know."

"We'll see," said offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. "It's a little too early for that. We'll see how Ben feels and see what's going on."

"Ben is a tough guy," Bettis said. "I'm not worried about the guy. He wanted to keep going in the game. I really think they stopped him from going. He is a competitor."

Maddox had not played since his throwing arm was hit by Ravens safety Gary Baxter in the third quarter of the Steelers' 30-13 defeat in Baltimore.

He attempted only one pass against the Ravens -- a dump pass to running back Verron Haynes at the Ravens' 22 -- and spent most of the time handing off to Bettis and Haynes. The Steelers ran 19 plays after Roethlisberger exited, 18 of which were running plays. Maddox attempted a quick flat pass to wide receiver Hines Ward that lost 5 yards, but the play was considered a run because it was ruled a lateral.

"It felt like home," said Maddox, who had been the team's starter since Week 4 of the 2002 season. "It felt good to get in and get to play a little bit once again. Our offensive line played great. The third and fourth quarter ... they stepped up, and we were able to run the ball and run a lot of the clock away. It's always good anytime you can get in there and play and do those things. I felt like I've been doing a good job of preparing, in case I got in. The more time you can spend in there, the better off you're going to be."

The season has turned drastically since the last time Maddox was the starter. The Steelers were 1-0 when they played in Baltimore, but Maddox struggled in the season opener against the Oakland Raiders and was just 4 of 13 for 67 yards when he was injured against the Ravens.

With Roethlisberger, the Steelers have the NFL's longest winning streak at 13 and the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

"It's the same offense with a lot more confidence and a lot of guys playing well," Maddox said. "We're doing a lot of the same things. Our offensive line is playing unbelievable. We're running the football when we want to. It doesn't matter if there are eight or nine guys in the box -- we're still able to run the football and we're doing a great job of that. It takes on a little different personality."