There are only so few reps left for those battling for starting positions and jockeying for the final few roster spots. When the Steelers host the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, many players will make or break their opportunity to secure a critical role or even just stick with the squad into the regular season.
For these three players, time is running out to win their position battles. Two will likely see extra snaps due to injuries, while another is looking to back up the praise he received despite a questionable performance in Week 1.
CB Beanie Bishop Jr.
Beanie Bishop has drawn a lot of attention throughout training camp, but his performance against the Texans left some meat on the bone.
Bishop certainly didn't have an awful game. He did give up a third down drag route that extended a Houston scoring drive, but he made up for it in other areas - primarily by grabbing four tackles in the game.
Bishop instead looked a bit average, which under normal circumstances would be incredible news for an undrafted rookie. However, he's still battling for the starting nickel cornerback role, and he isn't winning the job at the moment.
Grayland Arnold, the man in the lead for the job, suffered a knee injury on the final day of training camp. His status is unknown as of this writing, but it would seem to indicate that Bishop will get more snaps against Buffalo.
He needs to make them count, make a splash play if the opportunity presents itself, and tighten the race for the starting nickel position.
OT Broderick Jones
Despite relinquishing two sacks against Houston, Troy Fautanu appears to have secured the right tackle job. With Dan Moore holding onto his left tackle position for dear life, Broderick Jones is left in limbo.
A prevailing opinion among Steelers fans is that Jones is in a bad spot here, taking snaps at both positions. It would stand to reason that Fautanu securing the right tackle spot would mean more left tackle snaps for Jones, but then Fautanu found himself on the injury report, and Jones is the most qualified to take over the position.
Jones played a ton of left and right tackle against Houston, but he didn't exactly shine the way he did down the stretch of his rookie season.
The Steelers appear comfortable with sticking with Moore until Jones is ready. The former Bulldog has to do his part to force a switch. Jones taking the left tackle spot from Moore is an important step of his career and he has to show he's ready to do it.
QB Justin Fields
Justin Fields had a strange game in his preseason debut with the Steelers. Despite the fumbled snaps, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith praised Fields earlier this week for his effort.
Fields did show some of the negative traits that pushed him out of Chicago. Obviously the mishandling of the football, but also holding onto the ball a tad too long.
Conversely, Russell Wilson returned to the practice field with strong indications that he has no intention of letting Fields swipe the job away. Wilson himself needs a solid performance against Buffalo, but he entered the race as the leader.
While Fields winning the job may be out of the question in reality behind the scenes, he does owe it to the team and himself to bring confidence that if he's the man under center, the offense doesn't take a step back.
Whether he starts against Buffalo or not, it's important the Fields takes care of the football while pushing the ball down the field and keeping drives alive.