Oct 13, 2015 4 min read

SAN DIEGO – Steelers quarterback Mike Vick was terrible Monday night against the San Diego Chargers – until the fourth quarter.

Vick struggled mightily in his second game in place of injured starter Ben Roethlisberger, passing for just 87 yards on eight completions in 15 attempts through three quarters.

He threw passes that would have been intercepted if not for exceptional efforts by Pittsburgh receivers to break up the play.

But with the game on the line, Vick came through in a big way, throwing a 72-yard bomb to wide receiver Markus Wheaton, then directing a game-winning drive in the closing moments as the Steelers improved to 3-2 with a 24-20 victory.

Vick finished with 203 passing yards, throwing for 112 yards and a score in the final quarter.

“The whole drive, it didn’t seem real,” said Steelers guard David DeCastro of the team’s final possession, which ended with running back Le’Veon Bell scoring a one-yard touchdown run as time expired.

“To finish a game, as an offensive lineman, with your running back lying in the end zone and the official with his arms raised for a touchdown is really surreal.”

The game-winning drive was the 15th in the career of the 35-year-old Vick. He did it with both his passing and his running.

Typically, a quarterback who likes to run – Vick holds the NFL record for rushing yards by a quarterback with more than 6,000 – his only scramble in this game was a 24-yard run on third-and-6 from the San Diego 41-yard line that kept the Steelers’ hopes of a victory alive.

“My confidence never wavered,” said Vick. “But at times, I was second-guessing myself when guys would become open and I was looking in a different direction and trying to do too much at times.”

In the fourth quarter, Vick settled down following the touchdown throw to Wheaton and took what the Chargers were giving him.

“I think as the game wears on, they get comfortable with what it is they are looking at,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. “I think the same could be said for both quarterbacks. I think Philip Rivers got comfortable with what he was looking at, I think Mike got comfortable with what he was looking at and both offenses picked up.”

That should help build Vick’s rapport with the team. He’ll be the Steelers’ quarterback for at least two more weeks while Roethlisberger continues to recover from a sprained knee ligament and bone bruise.

Roethlisberger threw on the field Monday night before the game and told KDKA-FM Tuesday that he’d like to get some 7-on-7 work in practice this week if it doesn’t impede Vick’s preparation for Pittsburgh’s game Sunday at Heinz Field against Arizona (4-1).

In the meantime, the Steelers will continue to do whatever they can to get wins with Vick at quarterback. Against the Chargers, that included running plays out of a wildcat formation with Bell taking direct snaps from center.

Bell scored the game-winning touchdown out of that formation.

“It was time to go to the mattresses, if you will,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “We had to do what was required to win. That’s an element of our attack. Le’Veon is good at it. It was an opportunity to infuse (DeAngelo Williams) in the game as well.”

Vick doesn’t care how it gets done. He just wants to help the Steelers win games until Roethlisberger returns.

“We worked extremely hard throughout the weekend,” Vick said. “Everyone believed in one another and the team believed in me. It was very gratifying to be able to reward them with a win, especially in this type of fashion. And we just have to keep going until the captain of this ship comes back.”

The Steelers activated wide receiver Martavis Bryant off the suspended list Tuesday. Safety Ross Ventrone, who suffered a hamstring injury Monday, was released. … Tomlin said safety Will Allen (ankle) will undergo an MRI to check the severity of the injury. … Tomlin said he expects lineback Ryan Shazier, who missed the past two games with a shoulder injury, to play against Arizona.