The Steelers may look like a desperate team when they open the season as underdogs at home to the Atlanta Falcons Sunday. With quarterback Ben Roethlisberger out the first four games, and No. 2 quarterback Byron Leftwich injured and out at least for the next two, they will try to pull out all the stops with Dennis Dixon making his second start in three seasons.

In Dixon’s first start at Baltimore last November, coach Mike Tomlin put constraints on him. They had no real backup then—signing Tyler Palko only that week—and they could not afford to have Dixon get hurt. So they told him not to run unless he absolutely had to.

It will be a different case Sunday against the Falcons.