Steelers Open Preseason with Wild Win over Seahawks

The “other” quarterback that much of Steelers nation would like to forget, Mason Rudolph, had an effective night as well under center. His first pass attempt had the ball knocked out of his hands, but the drive ended with a solid deep ball and a spectacular catch in the end zone corner from rookie wide receiver George Pickens to put Pittsburgh up 14-0. Overall, this was a microcosm of what was a very Rudolph-esque performance - a few quality moments along with a few bad ones. 

The final stat lines for both Pickens and Rudolph were solid as well; the wide receiver had 3 catches for 43 yards, and the quarterback went 9 of 15 for 93 yards and the touchdown to the rookie.

The Steelers defensive unit held Seattle’s offense in check for the majority of the first half, which featured their anticipated starter at QB, Geno Smith, for its entirety. The last drive of the first half was the best one for Smith & the first-teamers of the night, scoring a touchdown on a nine-play 61-yard drive. That score was immediately followed up by a touchdown on Drew Lock’s second-half-opening drive to tie the score at 17.

Five players had five tackles or more, led by James Pierre and Buddy Johnson with six apiece. 

Some thoughts on other players throughout the evening:

-Gunner Olszewski caught a pair of passes in a row from Trubisky to put the first points on the board for Pittsburgh. The former New England Patriot was the Steelers’ leading receiver on the night, catching 3 passes for 47 yards. While most of his contribution during the season will come in the return game, it’s nice to see he can be potentially utilized in the passing game as well.

-Listed as a fullback and tight end on the roster, rookie Connor Heyward made a nice catch in the first quarter from the TE position and was featured in the offense throughout the night, including catching the two-point conversion in the third quarter. Charlie Batch used the description of “soft hands” on the broadcast to describe Heyward’s catching ability that could be useful when spelling Pat Freiermuth this season. 

-Wide receiver Steven Sims had an impressive punt return in the first half and a solid gain on a jet sweep handoff in the second (coincidentally both 38-yard plays), continuing to show some potential upside as a depth wide receiver. I’d imagine he still has an uphill battle to making the roster, but any good moment in a preseason game can’t hurt.

-Running back Jaylen Warren had a solid performance as an underdog in the battle for touches behind Najee Harris this season, catching the touchdown pass to open Pickett’s account in the NFL. Master Teague, brought in in the backfield as well following the injury to Jeremy McNichols, had a few good runs on the final drive for the offense. 

Each running back had six carries, Warren running for 34 yards and Teague for 31. 

We know that behind Harris that Anthony McFarland (56 yards on 7 carries against Seattle) and most likely Benny Snell Jr. (absent on Saturday night) will be on the roster. But these two gentlemen will continue to put up a fight throughout the preseason to earn a spot as well.

Pittsburgh heads back to Latrobe next for four more days of training camp at Saint Vincent College before making their lone road trip of the preseason, heading to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars next Saturday night.