Dennis Dixon led the Steelers to a 23-7 victory against Detroit.
In Saturday’s preseason match-up featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions, it wasn’t Ben Roethlisberger who led the Steelers (like most expected), and it wasn’t Byron Leftwich who is taking over signal calling while Roethlisberger serves his suspension.
Instead, the Steelers No.3 QB, the backup to the backup, stepped up to guide Pittsburgh to a 23-7 victory at Heinz Field. Dennis Dixon completed 6-of-7 passes for 128 yards, and finished with a 158.3 passer rating.
The Lions took a brief lead, with Calvin Johnson scoring the first touchdown on a pass from Matthew Stafford. Pittsburgh struck back with Leftwich commanding a 61-yard drive to set-up Jeff Reed’s 37-yard kick to make the score 7-6.
The reigns were then handed over to Dixon who led the Steelers with scoring drives of 75, 79 and 68 yards.
Dixon found Arnaz Battle down the field, and completed a 51-yard pass to set-up Isaac Redman’s 1-yard TD run. A 68-yard pass to Antonio Brown for the game’s final touchdown sealed the Pittsburgh victory.
Ndamukong Suh, the Lions’ No.2 drafted rookie out of Nebraska, played for a short time but did not record any tackles.