Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers will not be going undefeated this year, at least in the preseason. After a late interception courtesy of Logan Woodside set them up with excellent field position, the Tampa Bay Bucs were able to kick a game-winning field goal as the clock struck zero. The run game struggled early, putting them in less than advantageous third-down situations, something that head coach Mike Tomlin highlighted at halftime. Nonetheless, the final score doesn’t really matter whatsoever. This part of the process is just about evaluating the young talent on the roster and praying that you exit the game injury-free.
Now, let’s talk about some winners and losers from tonight’s action before Pittsburgh’s quick turnaround for the preseason finale on Thursday night.
After his first target was intercepted due to no fault of his own, the Michigan man took the top off the defense on the offense’s second drive of the game. He flew past Bucs starting CB Jamel Dean on a post route, getting wide open, and he likely would have scored if the ball wasn’t underthrown. Shortly after that, Wilson helped create another explosive play, finding himself wide open on a crossing route over the middle after what looked like busted coverage from a defensive perspective. It’s been encouraging to see him flash in back-to-back weeks. Equally promising is that Arthur Smith seems to have a good feel on how to simplify the game for him and put him in positions to succeed.
As is the case with all of these bullet points, keep in mind the small sample size. But both he and the coaches have talked up his coverage ability all summer long, and he struggled in that regard tonight. Bucs tight end Cade Otton had a step on him over the middle for a first down, but fortunately the ball was dropped. A few plays later, he wasn’t as lucky. Wilson was in phase with tailback Bucky Irving, but he was unable to get his eyes back to the ball in time. In totality, it’s nothing to fret about and more about acknowledging the peaks and valleys of young players, even ones this athletically gifted.
When first-round picks get playing time in a preseason setting, there’s a basic understanding that they should look the part, especially if they’re going up against backups. Tonight, Derrick Harmon lived up to his draft pedigree. His highlight play was a devastating bull rush, collapsing the pocket en route to his first professional sack (kinda). There’s a good amount of untapped power potential present here given his length, if the rookie can continue to work on his pad level. It wasn’t perfect against the run, but he did register another stop in that regard as well. Overall, it was a solid performance.
One of the coolest feel-good stories of the entire preseason is Cole Holcomb, after working his tail off in...
