The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to 0-2 on the preseason with Saturday’s 23-21 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The score and the result doesn’t matter as much as the fact that the Steelers came out of the game relatively healthy.
Here are five important takeaways from Week 2 of the preseason.
1. The first team offense is scary
It was only one series, but Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers first-team offense made a statement by making things look easy.
The moved the ball 80 yards on six plays and capped it off with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Martavis Bryant. Roethlisberger then hit Markus Wheaton for the two-point conversion and most of the starters were done for the night.
The running game looked good as well as Le’Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams combined for 46 yards on just eight carries.
This offense is going to be able to put up a ton of points once the regular season begins.
2. Youngsters on the first team defense leave questions
The goal for the past couple of years has been to get younger on defense, but to be competitive, the Steelers youngsters need to be productive as well.
Other than Ryan Shazier the other Steelers youngsters on the first team defense are struggling.
Ideally the team doesn’t want to have to play James Harrison, Will Allen and William Gay on every snap, but they may not have a choice.
3. Anthony Chickillo is making a statement
One youngster that is making a statement is the sixth-round pick out of Miami. Chickillo looks better than both Jarvis Jones and Bud Dupree.
He has a motor and can apply pressure to the quarterback as we have seen throughout two games.
Granted it hasn’t come against first teamers, but if Chickillo can keep it up he may be moving up the depth chart by default.
4. Alejandro Villanueva opening up eyes
I have been pretty impressed with Villanueva throughout two games.
He has made a few mistakes, but if the 6-foot-9 Army Ranger keeps it up he is going to force his way onto the 53-man roster.
Right now Villanueva is looking like he could be a solid backup tackle.
5. Shazier must stay healthy
He is coming off a very disappointing rookie campaign which was mostly because of injury.
Shazier is flying all over the field throughout two preseason games and recorded eight tackles on Friday.
While the Steelers do have some depth at inside linebacker, the early signs suggest that they simply can’t afford to be without this guy.
It is going to be very interesting to see what Shazier is capable of if he is healthy for 16 games.
Photo Credit: Associated Press
