Steelers will go with Batch against Ravens

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH, PA.

Mike Tomlin probably wishes his quarterback decision had been this easy all season.

Charlie Batch, buried so deep on the Steelers’ depth chart that he barely practiced during training camp, will start Sunday’s AFC North game against Baltimore. Batch hasn’t started successive games since midway through 2005, when Ben Roethlisberger had a right knee injury.

Batch started Sunday at Tampa Bay only because Dennis Dixon had left knee surgery last week and Byron Leftwich was recovering from a left knee injury, yet he completed 12 of 17 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns — his first scoring passes since 2007.

Leftwich, expected to start throughout Roethlisberger’s four-game suspension, is healthy, but Tomlin said Tuesday that Batch earned the right to remain in the lineup.

He did it through his play — he’s 4-1 as a fill-in starter since joining the Steelers in 2002 — and through his perseverance.

Batch played only one game the previous two seasons due to injuries, and his perceived fragility was partly why Tomlin started the inexperienced Dixon in the first two games. Batch declined to criticize the decision, nor did he complain when it seemed likely the Steelers (3-0) would cut him before Leftwich was hurt in the final preseason game Sept. 2.

“Guys have a great deal of confidence in him,” Tomlin said. “He’s a man who’s taken advantage of an opportunity, and you’ve got to be happy for him. It’s an awesome lesson learned for our young players, one I hope they’re taking heed to. This league is about perseverance, this profession is about perseverance and taking advantage of opportunities when they’re given. He’s given them a shining, clear-cut example of that at this juncture.”

Tomlin isn’t second-guessing his decision to start Dixon during tight victories over Atlanta (15-9) and Tennessee (19-11), even though Batch threw for Pittsburgh’s first three TD passes of the season. Batch also looked more polished and comfortable than Dixon. Dixon will be out for up to six weeks, but the Steelers don’t plan to put him on the injured reserve list.

Roethlisberger is eligible to return to practice next week, when the Steelers have a bye. He will start Oct. 17 against Cleveland.

The Steelers can go 4-0 for the first time since 1979 by beating the Ravens (2-1).