The Steelers took care of business beating the Titans 18-6 in Nashville. The Steelers are looking like a competitive team this preseason.
The Steelers are now 3-0 and that is a sign that this team is ready for New England. They were able to win when the starters played and that is a sign that the first team is ready for the season.
We didn’t see a lot of the bottom of the roster, but we were able to see the first team play together for the whole first quarter and the first-team defense played the first half.
I want to review my five burning questions article and answer them post-game. If you haven’t seen the questions, here is the article. I will answer the five questions below.
How will Ben Roethlisberger look in his first preseason action?
Ben Roethlisberger looked comfortable out there. He was completing passes and moving the ball. There was one thing that stood out about his performance and that was how conservative the offense was.
There are two explanations for why the Steelers played a conservative offense with Ben in the game. The first explanation is the Steelers wanted Ben to gain some confidence with short passes and the Steelers didn’t want to show anything.
The second explanation is that the Steelers plan to play it conservative with Ben’s age. This question will be an early story line for looking at how the offense will perform this year.
Is the offensive line where it was a year ago?
The answer is a loud, YES! The Steelers offensive line looked like it picked up where it left off from last year. The line even looked like it improved from last year. Matt Feiler had a great diving block early in the game which showed he has the intensity to be a good right tackle this year.
A big encouraging sign from today was the run blocking. Maurkice Pouncey had a really nice pull where he moved very quickly and made a nice run block for James Conner. There was also another nice pull from Ramon Foster. This line looks in-sync and ready to run the ball this season.
Can the defense keep pace from the first two games?
The defense had another good night and it contributed to the favorable outcome of the game. The Steelers only gave up six points even with Marcus Mariota and Ryan Tannehill playing a lot of the first half.
The first team defense only gave up three points and that was for the whole first half that it played. That means this team was making stops.
We saw some good linebacker play from TJ Watt along with some great pass rush. Stephon Tuitt had a great game earning two sacks and a safety. We saw the defensive line winning matchups.
Will Devlin Hodges play?
The short answer is no. Devlin Hodges did not play tonight. Which is unfortunate because he has had a good preseason and training camp. I think he will get a shot in his final preseason game against the Carolina Panthers.
Mason Rudolph and Josh Dobbs did play tonight and so we see the pecking order. Mason Rudolph relieved Ben Roethlisberger and looked decent tonight. He had a nice play which disguised the long pass and he then completed a post route to James Washington. Mason Rudolph deserves to be the backup for this team. He will still need to play well in the fourth game though.
I think the battle is down to Dobbs and Hodges for the third quarterback job. The good news for those guys is that the Steelers usually keep a third quarterback. The bad news is that only one of the two will be kept for the job.
Who is hurt at this point in the season?
The Steelers had a few players sit out this preseason game. The five big names that sat out the game were Ola Adeniyi, Anthony Chickillo, Joe Haden, Benny Snell, and Diontae Johnson.
The Steelers also had two players who were injured in tonight’s game. Sean Davis had an ankle injury and Bud Dupree had a thumb injury. Sean Davis looked like he hurt himself pretty good in the second quarter but was walking the sidelines after. An ankle injury doesn’t sound as serious as it could have been.
Conclusion
The Steelers are 3-0 and that is a sign they are ready for the season. The good news is that the team looks good and they have an average amount of injuries.
The bad news is that these games do not mean anything in terms of the season. They will need to continue this firepower into New England and keep the team together after losing Daryl Drake.