Defense impresses as Pittsburgh Steelers defeat New York Giants in first preseason game
The first preseason game of 2017 is in the books for the Pittsburgh Steelers. We take a look at what went on Friday night in the week one battle between the Steelers and Giants.
The first game of the 2017 preseason had both its good and bad moments. The Steelers will most definitely be able to show the players things they did well and not so well.
The first half saw the offense struggle at first going three and out twice. Joshua Dobbs also struggled most of the first half throwing two interceptions.
The offense was extremely vanilla for the rookie who went 5-10 for 83 yards and a touchdown but threw two ugly interceptions. The first interception looked to be a miscommunication as well as his throwing arm getting hit in the process.
The second interception was solely a case of Dobbs staring down his receiver and not being aware of the defensive end dropping into coverage. He threw to his intended target and the defender stepped right in front for the pick.
Dobbs will need to improve on reading the defense and not staring down receivers. Dobbs did deliver a pretty strike to Cobi Hamilton after he beat former Steeler Valentino Blake (formerly known as Antwon).
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The run game did not have much to speak of aside from a couple big runs from Fitzgerald Toussaint and Knile Davis. The duo did little to impress or stand out.
The defense was impressive getting good push up front from the starting defensive line. TJ Watt was especially impressive rushing the passer providing pressure off the edge and notching two sacks in his debut.
The first half also so JuJu Smith-Schuster suffer a concussion early and he did not return to action. That is something the Steelers did not want to see happen in an exhibition game.
The second half saw the run game get going a little more as Knile Davis broke off a couple of runs for chunks of yardage. Dobbs also looked to be more comfortable and made some good throws in the first drive.
Terrell Watson had a lot of success running the football in the second half also. He scored a touchdown on a 15 yard run off the left side and followed good lead blocking to the end-zone.
After an Arthur Moats interception of Geno Smith, Dobbs threw a touchdown to Xavier Grimble but it got called back on holding by Brian Mihalik, Dobbs looked much more poised in the second half and made better throws.
Overall it was an average showing for most of the team as they won 20-12 in New York. Dobbs showed some good things but also proved he is still a rookie. Watt also did show the capability of being the pass rusher the team envisioned.
Next: Analyzing the Steelers WR battle
The Steelers will head back to practice next week before taking on the Falcons on Sunday August 20th. We hope to see improvement and adjustments from those that did not do well next week.