Not just an L in the loss column

 

Former Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon made his first NFL start on Sunday. For the first time, he played for more than just a snap. 

Normally, a quarterback’s first NFL start would be for a less than average team. Like the Raiders, or the Chiefs, or the Lions. And the team probably wouldn’t be poised to take a wildcard spot and make a legitimate run for the Super Bowl.

Dixon’s first start wasn’t normal. He started for the 6-4 Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers stood towards the top of the long list for an AFC wildcard spot. And so were the 5-5 Baltimore Ravens, the young quarterback’s foes for the night.

Ben Roethlisberger left the Steelers game against the Kansas City Chiefs two Sundays ago in overtime with “concussion like” symptoms. Back up quarterback Charlie Batch took his place, and the Steelers ended up losing the game by a field goal.

No worries. All week, it was reported that the constantly battered Big Ben would play on Sunday. And, of course, if he couldn’t there wasn’t reason to fret too much. Batch was a good back up quarterback who could lead the Steelers into a heated divisional game in Baltimore. He has been Roethlisberger’s back up for a few years now; he knows the system and the players.

Let the worrying begin. Batch was put on IR with an injured wrist early in the week. Roethlisberger had been having headaches all week and his start was scratched Saturday. So now, the Steelers were left with a third string guy in only his second year in the NFL who had never taken a professional snap.

Boy, it sure didn’t look that way.

Dixon played smart for the majority of the game. Until the fourth quarter and overtime, he made smart passes and even had two large runs in very open territory. Against one of the best defenses in the league, Dixon looked like a quality quarterback. He threw a great touchdown, made some amazing passes, and even ran the ball along the right sidelines for 24 yards to score another touchdown.

It wasn’t all Dixon though. Wide Receiver Hines Ward made sure to point out everything going on with the defense so that he didn’t miss anything. Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arinas kept the offense to about 15 plays that Dixon had said he felt comfortable with. And of course, Big Ben was on the sidelines helping him throughout the entire battle.

Despite all of the help, Dixon showed that he could be a quality quarterback for a team in need of one. He won’t attract big money—he shouldn’t—but he should grab the attention of some teams in need of a quarterback, or a back up one, this off season.

As for Pittsburgh, they may have lost a pivotal game against a dangerous foe, but they showed just how good they could become. They stayed in with the Ravens despite the loss of their pro bowl safety—Troy Polamalu is out with a knee sprain—and their pro bowl quarterback. If both, or even either, had played Sunday night, the Ravens would not have been flying as high as they were. Pittsburgh could easily have taken that game. And that is something to be truly fearful of.

Pittsburgh may have loss in Baltimore Sunday night. And Dennis Dixon may have loss his first start. But both made a statement that goes beyond the standings.