Steelers start 2018 preseason with victory over the Eagles

On one hand, I’m getting geeked up over the return of football and on the other… it’s an exhibition game.

Regardless, the Pittsburgh Steelers first game of the 2018 season, a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, had plenty of reasons for Steelers Nation to be excited. Here are some of my quick thoughts.

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QB Competition

Holy smokes, this may come down to the wire folks.

Landry Jones started the game, poised as a veteran should be. He was unfortunately sacked after All-Pro guard David DeCastro whiffed on his block of Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, but Jones remained composed.

Keep that word “composure” in mind, because it will come up a lot with the quarterbacks, especially in this game. Jones returns to the line of scrimmage a couple of possessions later and uses the Eagles aggressiveness against them. This time it was Eagles DT Elijah Qualls who jumped offside, allowing the Steelers backup QB to perform his best Ben Roethlisberger impression by going deep.

The result: a 71-yard touchdown pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster.

After that, both players were done for the evening, making way next for Joshua Dobbs. Dobbs would start out a little shaky but following a few plays, he too would find his rhythm. Dobbs would lead two big scoring drives in the first half, the first an 11-play 75-yard drive capped by a Fitzgerald Toussaint touchdown run.

Dobbs would make an ill-advised cross-field throw into double coverage, which led to an interception. However, he’d bounce right back. Dobbs would get an opportunity to run the two-minute drill when the Steelers got the ball back with just under that much time left in the second quarter.

The second-year passer led another 75-yard drive, this time a 9-play series which ended with an acrobatic Damoun Patterson touchdown catch off of a bullet pass from Dobbs.

Following the half, the Steelers third-round draft pick, Mason Rudolph, would go under center. He too would eventually find his composure and look better than any fourth quarterback might in the same situation, playing with many 4th and 5th string players.

Jones would finish the night with a perfect 158.3 QB rating completing all four of his passes for the Smith-Schuster touchdown. Rudolph would end 7 of 12 for 101 yards (85.8 rating) and Dobbs 9/13 for 91 yards (82.5, on count of both a touchdown and an interception).

Needless to say, my argument that the Steelers could, in fact, find a way to keep all four quarterbacks may come to fruition if this becomes the norm over the next three preseason games.

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No Bell? No problem.

With All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell sitting out of training camp and the preseason, a number of other Steelers runners are receiving a chance to shine in his place.

Second-year pro James Conner carried the ball four times for 25 yards before finding the sideline with nearly one quarter of playing time. He gave way to Fitzgerald Toussaint, who carried the ball 7 times for 29 yards and a touchdown. Toussaint broke free for a 17-yard gain at one point, the longest carry of the Steelers running backs on the evening.

Working behind a patchwork offensive line, veteran Stevan Ridley didn’t have as much success, carrying the ball 10 times for 14 yards, though some of those carries were to simply run out the clock near the end of the game. Where Ridley excelled instead was the passing game: the former Patriot caught 3 passes for 45 yards.

Rookie Jaylen Samuels also saw spot duty, especially on a 4th and 1 situation where the coaching staff called his number to gain the short ground: which the NC State product achieved.

With a lot of the focus on Bell’s future, the Steelers also appear to have a good problem with running back depth. As with the quarterbacks, the team may have to make a tough decision when they cut down to 53 players before the regular season.

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Receiver Factory

Damoun Patterson was already turning heads in training camp but made his name known to Steelers Nation on Thursday night. The FCS Youngstown State product went undrafted and only came to camp by virtue of impressing Steelers brass during a rookie minicamp invite.

He impressed more than that with 6 receptions for 77 yards and the aforementioned touchdown grab. Patterson was targeted early and often, working with both Dobbs and Rudolph; the latter whom nearly hit him for a second touchdown in the third quarter.

Second-round pick James Washington also connected with his college teammate, Rudolph, on a 35-yard chain-moving reception that displayed the same athleticism witnessed during camp.

With Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Justin Hunter, and Eli Rogers (currently injured) all in the receiver room along with these two, the Steelers are more than set at the position.

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Don’t worry about the defense

Yes, there were some missed tackles and blown assignments, but that’s no reason to panic.

The Steelers sat several starters Thursday, including captain and 2017 sack leader Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt, Joe Haden, and Bud Dupree. The secondary barely featured Artie Burns, and even Vince Williams made a short appearance.

When Farrington Huguenin and Coty Sensabaugh get starts you know this isn’t even the Steelers backup squad out there. Granted, they were playing against the Eagles second and third teams too, but it’s hardly indicative of what we’ll see in the regular season.

Despite that, LB Jon Bostic looked quick, making four total tackles. The secondary created some splash plays with Sensabaugh and Cam Sutton picking off Nate Sudfeld passes, but they also gave up splash when Dashaun Phillips was lost in the dust on a 63-yard Shelton Gibson Eagles touchdown.

Regardless, I saw more promise out of the Steelers defense when considering the environment of the first preseason game. Young outside linebackers Keion Adams and Olasunkanmi Adeniyi showed pass rush prowess, with Adeniyi and Anthony Chickillo both sacking opposing quarterbacks.

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Conclusion

I had meant for this to be a much “quicker” yinzing but it turns out there are several camp battles to keep an eye and further developments which will make for an interesting preseason.

The Steelers next exhibition games is Thursday, August 16th at the Green Bay Packers. We’ll be able to see who maintains their momentum in this second preseason content.


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