While an injury to your starting quarterback is never good news, it did give Michael Vick his first chance to officially play as a Pittsburgh Steeler.
After Ben Roethlisberger was injured in the third quarter this afternoon, Michael Vick got his first opportunity to run the Steeler offense. Ahead of the Rams 9-3 with 5:53 to play in the third quarter, Vick took over for Roethlisberger, who had taken a sack and hurt his knee.
. @MikeVick is now in at QB.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 27, 2015
As ESPN reported, there is no official word on Ben’s injury. According to “a source,” however, Michael Vick will get at least four starts before the Roethlisberger is healthy enough to return.
Vick threw five for six this afternoon, helping lead the Steelers to a 12-6 victory. Michael passed for 38 yards and finished with a quarterback rating of 93.1. Vick was sacked two times.
Roethlisberger being one of the premiere quarterbacks in the NFL, Michael Vick has some big shoes to fill. But Vick doesn’t sound nervous.
After the game, Michael acknowledged that in his 15th year, he’s a “seasoned veteran.” Sounding every bit like the Michael Vick of old, he reminded us that he’s “got plenty of confidence; I feel like this is what I was born to do.”
As CBS Sports noted, the next game for Michael Vick comes on Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens. Vick will be looking to running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown for assistance on October 1. Assuming Vick also starts in Week 5 in San Diego against the Chargers, he will probably have Martavis Bryant as another option to throw to.
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Those additional offensive weapons may make Michael a good free agent to pick up in your NFL fantasy league. While Heavy points out that Michael Vick has only had a month to learn the Pittsburgh offense, the aforementioned weapons are the best he’s ever had around him in his long career. Although it could translate into a lot more work out of Bell, the 0-3 Ravens would make a great team for Vick to really test his chemistry with the Steelers’ receiving crew.
Michael entered today’s game with just a little over twenty minutes remaining. If you take his stats and triple them (to give you a full sixty minutes, which he should get on Thursday) he’d have thrown for 114 yards, going 15-for-18. He’d also get sacked six times.
But the historically bad Jets were coming off of a 2-0 start to the season. That’s a lot different than facing a team in Week 4 that hasn’t won a game yet. Vick has had some video game-level stats in some games in the past. Can he do it again Thursday?
You can watch Michael Vick starting for the Steelers this Thursday on CBS; kick-off is scheduled for 8:25 EST.
[Image credit Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images]
