Steelers show improvement, limit Titans to earn 16-6 win
Welcome to “Quick Yinzing”, a fast reaction article where a member of the SCU staff gives their initial post-game impressions without digging into any films, stats, or other analysis. It’s as real as that car ride home or sobering down at the bar following the game!
Hosting the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field, the Pittsburgh Steelers looked much improved, and it wasn’t just the first-team offense and defense that were making plays. The Steelers kept the Titans pinned deep looking at long drives for the majority of the game with better performances on defense and a special teams coverage. Ben Roethlisberger got his first preseason snaps in three offensive series before Landry Jones and Mason Rudolph finished off the Steelers’ third exhibition game for a 16-6 win.
Sack Attack
The Steelers would not be denied on Saturday afternoon when facing Titans quarterbacks Marcus Mariota and Blaine Gabbert. Stephon Tuitt, who had a great outing in the time he spent on the field, was the first to grab Mariota for a sack. Vince Williams, who signed a contract extension with the Steelers this week, added another sack on the very next series. The Steelers logged a total of six sacks on the game as Cam Heyward, Farrington Huguenin, Lavon Hooks, and Olasunkanmi Adeniyi recorded one apiece.
Tuitt and Williams both had big games, but L.J. Fort may have been the defender that drew the most attention in the second half of the game. Fort showed a ton of hustle, getting into the Titans’ offensive backfield on a couple plays and grabbing a ball from a Tennessee receiver that he trotted into the end zone. The ruling on the field was that the receiver’s forward progress had been stopped, so it was not counted as a pick-six. Fort shook it off and made a huge pressure play on Gabbert in the same series and forced a turnover on downs that gave the ball back to Rudolph and the Steelers offense.
Walk the plank for @CaptainHooks203. pic.twitter.com/VHPn1UMIO7
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 25, 2018
.@FHARO_Turn91 racks up our fourth sack of the day. pic.twitter.com/otuPuU162P
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 25, 2018
Edmunds grabs first INT
Steelers fans have been watching Terrell Edmunds make nice plays all preseason. On Saturday, Edmunds jumped a route to grab his first NFL interception. Credit Bud Dupree for the pressure that forced Mariota to make a bad decision, but Edmunds’ play on the ball was on the money.
https://twitter.com/steelers/status/1033461212141346816
Hunter and Samuels put on a show
In Roethlisberger’s second offensive series, primarily working in the shotgun, the veteran found receiver Justin Hunter in tight coverage. Roethlisberger threaded the pass and Hunter was able to get both feet inbounds despite the early call by the officials that there was no touchdown. It was the only touchdown scored by the Steelers in the game as they earned the remainder of their points off the foot of kicker Chris Boswell.
Touchdown‼️ pic.twitter.com/K8cL5nSxQn
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 25, 2018
In the second half, Jaylen Samuels put on a clinic in how he can be a versatile option for the Steelers offense. Samuels showed good burst in the run game but handled the check-down passes as well. On one play that was overturned due to a holding penalty on Pittsburgh, Samuels got outside and ran down the left sideline before laying out to place the ball over the pylon for the touchdown. With Samuels and James Conner both putting in good games, the Steelers looked comfortable with their options in the offensive backfield.
Ben Roethlisberger ends his day going 11 of 18 passing for 144 yards and a TD. pic.twitter.com/W2a3DAvuR4
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 25, 2018
Final thoughts
Yes, the Steelers played their starters and it made a difference in how they looked on both sides of the ball. The Steelers also got some great production from their depth players as well. The special teams coverage team had to make Mike Tomlin and Danny Smith smile as they repeatedly forced the Titans to work with their backs to their own end zone throughout the game. The most obvious improvement was on the defensive side of the ball as they swarmed to stop the run and played coverage that limited Tennessee’s offense greatly. They didn’t allow the Titans to score a touchdown until late in the game and did not allow the two-point conversion.
Rudolph looked more patient and poised in this game when he took over for Jones at quarterback. He was able to progress through his check-downs and made smart decisions, utilizing his legs on a couple pressure plays. Playing most of his snaps behind an offensive line full of depth players, Rudolph was still able to complete seven-of-11 passes and not throw any interceptions.
This was a good preview of the final preseason game for the Steelers and several players made statements about why they should join the 53-man roster for the 2018 NFL regular season.
#LIVE: Coach Tomlin addresses the media following today’s preseason win over the Titans. https://t.co/h6PRafSCVJ
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 25, 2018
