Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 players who stood out in win over Buccaneers

The Steelers opened their preseason schedule with a win over Tampa Bay at Heinz Field on Friday night. A few players stood out against the Buccaneers.

There were a lot of positive takeaways from the 30-28 win over Tampa Bay. Despite most of the starters sitting out for the preseason opener, the Steelers had several key contributors that made a difference in the win over the Buccaneers.

Of course, winning isn’t everything in preseason. After all, the game results don’t truly matter. But in a season where the depth of the team is being looked at much closer than years past, there were more than enough reasons to be optimistic after one exhibition game.

Nine of the eleven projected starters on defense did not dress for the game, so many eyes were going to be on first round pick Devin Bush, and he would get plenty of opportunity to showcase his ability in an actual game setting.

James Washington, Josh Dobbs, Mason Rudolph, Ola Adeniyi, Jaylen Samuels, and Benny Snell Jr. highlighted several other players many Steelers’ coaches, fans, and media members had their eyes on in this game.

Dobbs and Rudolph both have a great opportunity to compete for the backup quarterback spot behind Ben Roethlisberger. James Washington has a lot to show in his second year as he competes with Donte Moncrief for the number two spot on the receiving depth chart. Samuels and Snell both need to show they are worthy of more regular season touches with solid performances in preseason.

Here are three players that set themselves apart from everyone else in the opening game of preseason.