If Saturday’s preseason matchup was a preview of the upcoming Pittsburgh Steelers season, we’ll take it.
The Steelers won 19-16 over the Buffalo Bills. They won as time expired on a Shaun Suisham field goal courtesy of another forced turnover by back-ups Vic So’oto and fumble recovery by Howard Jones.
The real upside their second preseason matchup was the play of the Steelers first team offense and defense.
They won the first half, 13-6, with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger placing the ball to near-perfection out of the no huddle. Roethlisberger had a touchdown pass in two of his three series throwing eight completions for 128 yards.
His audible to Antonio Brown gave the Steelers their first touchdown. Brown caught a 10-yard pass over the middle then ran up field for a 76-yard TD reception.
The 16-yard toss to Marcus Wheaton in the back corner of the end zone’s for the second was a beauty.
Maybe even more important to see than the receivers and QB on the same page was the change in the offensive line. The Steelers offensive line provided Roethlisberger plenty of time to find receivers and they helped Le’Veon Bell find some running lanes against one of the tougher NFL defensive fronts.
With the offense humming, the defense flashed their athleticism.
Rookie Ryan Shazier snagged his first interception covering Buffalo Bills TE Scott Chambers. He helped send top draft pick Sammie Watkins to the bench early while helping cornerback Cortez Allen in coverage. Shazier’s speed was also on display against the run– disguising behind the blocks then racing to make the tackle. He had 11 tackles in just 1-1/2 quarters. He seems to be a perfect MAC linebacker in Coach LeBeau’s defense.
Shazier wasn’t the only pleasant presence on defense.
Troy Polamalu’s return to full-time safety was impressive. Even though everyone is acting like his Hall of Fame career is in decline, Troy continues to just be Troy. He had two flying tackles of Spiller ending his first action of the preseason with eight total tackles (5 total, 3 solo).
The defensive improvements did not end there. The revamped defensive line appears to have more starters than positions.
Free agent pick-up Cam Thomas, looks comfortable in the Steelers defensive scheme.
Last week, he showed he could play nose tackle and Saturday he rotated at defensive end with rookie, Stephon Tuitt. Tuitt continues to force his way past rookie status and into the line-up. He gets free with a strong punch and has the ability to run down the play quickly. All 300+ pounds of him streaked downfield to block for his roommate Shazier on the interception. He also cleaned-up for Shazier after the linebacker slipped in coverage. Tuitt ran 30-yards downfield beating safety Mike Mitchell to the receiver.
Nose tackle Steve McClendon returned to the lineup this week and continues to show up better in the passing game than the running game. Thomas may have the edge in run defense but McClendon can get to the quarterback. It is going to be an interesting dilemma for coach LeBeau.
All three players mix well with playmaker, Cameron Heyward. And the athleticism of this defense provides LeBeau will a number of options. Players were coming from all different positions and in many combinations.
The Heyward, Jason Worilds, Lawrence Timmons and Tuitt line may be one of the fastest pass-rush combos in the NFL. They hurried EJ Manual and Heyward deflected a fourth down pass. This defensive line combination was also able to catch Spiller at or behind the line of scrimmage a few times with Tuitt even popping off his helmet.
It was only two quarters of football against the perpetually struggling Buffalo Bills, but the Steelers speed and talent seems light-years ahead of the 2013 preseason debacle.
Again, another low bar comparison. I’ll still take early bets on this team winning the AFC North.
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