Ben Roethlisberger’s lapse in judgment has put the Pittsburgh Steelers behind the eight ball before the season even begins.
With Roethlisberger suspended for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy and backup Byron Leftwich hurt, Dennis Dixon will make his second career start when the Steelers host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Roethlisberger, who is coming off his best statistical season, was initially suspended for the first six games after allegations surfaced that he sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman in a nightclub bathroom in March. Charges were never filed against him
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reduced the suspension from six to four games last week.
Still, Roethlisberger, who was not voted a captain for the first time since his rookie season, has put the Steelers in a serious bind. Leftwich was slated to serve as a stop-gap until the Week 5 bye, but he suffered a torn MCL in the finale preseason game and is out indefinitely.
Therefore, the unproven Dixon is in charge of keeping the Steelers competitive in a tough AFC North until Roethlisberger returns in Week 6.
Dixon’s lone career start came last November against Baltimore when Roethlisberger was out with a concussion. He went 12-of-26 for 145 yards with a touchdown and one interception in a 20-17 overtime loss.
The former Oregon star will be throwing to a different receiving corps. Super Bowl XLIII MVP Santonio Holmes was traded to the New York Jets in the offseason shortly after he was accused of throwing a drink at a woman in a nightclub.
Second-year speedster Mike Wallace, who led the NFL with an average of 19.4 yards per catch last season, will fill the role of deep threat opposite Hines Ward.
But with the untested Dixon, Pittsburgh will likely need to rely on its running game and hope that its once-feared defense regains its swagger.
The former will hinge on the play of second-year tailback Rashard Mendenhall. A first-round pick in 2008, Mendenhall ran for 1,108 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
The latter rests largely on the shoulders of star safety Troy Polamalu, who is healthy and ready to help fix a defense that gave up five fourth-quarter leads last season. Polamalu missed six games last season with a sprained knee, but has looked good in the preseason. He is the key to the Steelers’ zone blitzes.
Pittsburgh’s newly minted Hall of Fame defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau will use those blitzes to try to disrupt the rhythm of third-year Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.
Ryan, who returned from a toe injury to lead the Falcons to consecutive winning seasons for the first time in franchise history, threw for 2,916 yards with 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season.
He and the rest of the Falcons should benefit greatly from a bounce-back year from running back Michael Turner. Turner was slowed by an ankle injury last season and managed just 871 yards and 10 touchdowns after rushing for 1,699 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2008.
Atlanta is also hoping for improvement from a defensive unit that ranked 21st in points allowed and 27th in pass defense last season. The Falcons signed free-agent cornerback Dunta Robinson to a six-year, $57 million deal and drafted linebacker Sean Witherspoon with the 19th pick to help in that area.