This Steelers season, in which all things remain possible, has a surreal quality to it. Mostly because Mike Vick and Landry Jones won games.

I still cannot believe, and might never believe, what transpired in the fourth quarter at San Diego.

Only a mad man would have predicted Vick would lead a rally that night. He was so bad for three quarters that Jon Gruden rightfully wondered on air whether the Steelers should change quarterbacks. Anyone who'd seen Jones take a snap of any kind, preseason or practice, cringed at the possibility.

I once saw Jones get intercepted by Cam Thomas in practice.

So of course Vick threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Markus Wheaton and engineered a brilliant game-winning drive. It made no sense at the time and even less the following Sunday when he came out firing blanks against the Arizona Cardinals.

Still, a bad, injured or even unconscious Vick seemed preferable to a wholly intact Jones. Nobody believed in Jones, notably the Steelers, who signed Vick off his couch instead of giving Jones the backup job.

It was only when Vick could no longer walk that the Steelers reached for Jones, who, of course, completed 8 of 12 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns and rallied the Steelers to a 25-13 victory.

After a rough game in Kansas City, Jones, to his immense credit, performed an encore in relief of an injured Ben Roethlisberger to win the Oakland game. Cool Hand Landry basically has saved the season.

“Throwing it around like he did in college,” guard Ramon Foster said of the former Oklahoma standout.

When events like all of the above transpire — Vick and Jones are a combined 3-2 — you begin to wonder whether a season that seemed cursed by injuries actually is blessed.

It's like the Roethlisberger riddle. Is he cursed for missing more games this season than any other (assuming he does not play against Cleveland, he will have missed five) or incredibly fortunate for surviving what at first appeared to be season-ending injuries?

Nine games in, with the epically dysfunctional Browns due next, the season still holds great potential.

I say that because the Steelers potentially possess the magic combination: an elite quarterback and a good defense.

I still believe the Steelers have a good defense, by the way, despite allowing 35 points to Oakland. They remain in the top 10 in points allowed, sacks and interceptions, and even the Raiders game wasn't a complete disaster.

First, know that Oakland's going to ring up 30 on a lot of people. Second, the defense bailed out Roethlisberger (horrible interception) and Antonio Brown (fumbled punt) by creating turnovers of its own.

Even on a bad day, some good things happened.

Even in a blighted year, some blessed things have happened.

The Steelers are in playoff position. There is reason to believe their best football is ahead of them.

Joe Starkey co-hosts a show 2 to 6 p.m. weekdays on 93.7 FM. Reach him at jraystarkey@gmail.com.

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