Roethlisberger suffered a mild concussion late in the first half of Pittsburgh's 31-0 victory against Cleveland in Heinz Field on Sunday, but coach Mike Tomlin was optimistic the QB would be ready to start the team's first playoff game Jan. 11.

"He's doing better," Tomlin said after practice. "He's starting the process of taking the battery of tests that come after one sustains a concussion. I don't know where we are in regards to those tests."

Roethlisberger's concussion contained more drama than most because he was down for 15 minutes after getting hit by two Browns linebackers, then placed on a board and carted off the field. He was released from a hospital Sunday night.

Two years ago, Roethlisberger received a concussion in Atlanta and returned to play the following week in Oakland. The Steelers have little doubt he will start their first playoff game, but with the bye week, they can go even easier with him.

"We will proceed slowly with him because we have that luxury," Tomlin said. "But we feel comfortable with where he is relative to Sunday and where he's capable of being next week in preparation for our game."

Backup Byron Leftwich, who replaced Roethlisberger with the score 7-0 Sunday, took most of the snaps in practice Tuesday. Rookie Dennis Dixon also got some work two days after making his first, brief appearance in an NFL game.

Asked if he had any regrets about playing Roethlisberger in a game that counted for nothing in Pittsburgh's playoff hopes, Tomlin said, "I never second-guess the decisions that we make. We're thoughtful in the process of coming to those decisions, and when we make them, we live with them. That's what we're doing in this instance."