Well, the 2023 Steelers preseason is a wrap. We finished strong with a 24-0 blanking on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. We scored all of our points in the first half, which generally does not bode well, but the points we scored were enough to secure victory.
On the defensive side of the ball, we were able to hold the Falcons out of the endzone. That is impressive even though the Falcons did not play their starters, but we can only play against the players who are on the field.
Let's see what we learned on the offensive side of the ball.
The Steelers offense looked 'crisp' and played efficient football
Talking about looking crisp and playing efficient football, the offense scored touchdowns on our first two possessions, added a field goal on our third possession, and added another touchdown on our fourth possession.
Thankfully, that was all the offense we needed because we did not score at all for the rest of the game. I realize we were playing against mostly backups for the Falcons, but, as I said, we can only play against the players who are on the field.
According to ESPN, the offense gained three-hundred and eleven total yards, one hundred and seventy-five of which were gained via the ground attack. We averaged about four and a half yards per rushing attempt.
We also won the time of possession battle by a little under seven minutes. When you control the line of scrimmage and win the time of possession battle, good things tend to happen, as they did against the Falcons. If we can play that way in week one when it counts, I dare say we will be an offense 'on the rise'.
Let's see what we learned on the defensive side of the ball.