Dixon proved he belongs
BALTIMORE – Let’s get this out front right from the top, Dennis Dixon has no shot at becoming the Steelers starting quarterback. For Sunday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, he was simply the healthiest. In fact, he was the only healthy quarterback who was on the roster a week earlier.
No, Ben Roethlisberger and his two Super Bowl rings will reign over Steelers football for the foreseeable future. But what Dixon showed a national television audience in his first game action as a pro is that he belongs.
Dixon acquitted himself quite nicely in the face of the once-vicious Ravens’ defense. He wasn’t perfect, although his first-half passer rating of 136.2 was closer to perfection (156.3) than anyone could have expected. And he handed off nine more times than he was asked to throw through the first 30 minutes.
After a bit of a rocky start that included a three-and-out, a 31-yard scramble negated by a holding penalty and a 7-0 deficit, Dixon settled down and did what he was hired to do.
His first pass fell incomplete, but he completed eight of his next nine in the first half, including a beauty of a 33-yard scoring strike to Santonio Holmes.
Dixon got a big boost from the ground game, which seemed to expose Baltimore’s run defense by posting 70 yards by halftime. He didn’t quite get all the help he may have expected from the defense, which allowed an 89-yard touchdown drive that put the Ravens ahead, 14-7, at the break.
Dixon used a short field to get the Steelers within a score of the lead early in the third quarter. After the defense got back-to-back sacks and Stefan Logan returned a punt to near midfield, Dixon got 20 yards on a screen pass to Rashard Mendenhall and Jeff Reed booted a 44-yard field goal to make it 14-10.
As the third quarter wound to a close Sunday night, it became apparent the Steelers would need a big play or two from its defense in order for Dixon to pull out a win in his first pro start.
It became obvious the defense would have to make a play when the Ravens began a possession at the Pittsburgh 40-yard line and, two plays later, the defense delivered. Brett Keisel recovered a Joe Flacco fumble that Lawrence Timmons forced with a sack and Dixon was in business at the Steelers’ 46-yard line.
With plenty of time remaining, Dixon handed off twice for nine yards and snuck for a first down at the Ravens’ 43-yard line. He followed that play with a 14-yard pass to Holmes.
Dixon handled the offense with all the care a teenager gives dad’s car when he finally gets that first solo voyage. Like the teenager, Dixon knew there was a lot of horsepower under the hood of the Steelers offense, but he knew better than to put the pedal to the metal right off the bat. He knew he had to bide his time and wait for the right moment to hit the gas.
It came with 6:24 remaining, when Dixon went around right end for a 24-yard touchdown run to put the Steelers ahead, 17-14. The touchdown came on a third-and-5 play.
The defense gave up a field goal to force overtime and Dixon was out there again for the extra session. He made his only mistake of the game – an interception by Paul Kruger – and it cost his team the game, but Dixon showed throughout the game that he belongs.
The keys to the offense go back to Roethlisberger as soon as he is healthy, probably for Sunday’s home game against Oakland. But Dixon more than held up his end under the bright lights.
Sports editor Mike Ciarochi may be reached at mciarochi@heraldstandard.com.