Steelers Now
For the Pittsburgh Steelers, the first preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the tape was almost too good. Sure, there were some things that could be nit-picked, like some slow individual starts for top rookies Derrick Hamon and Kaleb Johnson, but overall, it was a very well-played preseason game.
That was not the case for the team’s second preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night.
The Steelers lost, 17-14, to the visiting Bucs. That doesn’t matter nearly as much as how they lost. The Steelers turned the ball over twice, with both Mason Rudolph (who should be better) and Logan Woodside (who maybe can be excused) both throwing egregious interceptions.
A special teams penalty by cornerback D’Shawn Jamison handed the Buccaneers four more points, when it turned a field goal into a later touchdown. That was one of seven penalties for 53 yards accepted against the Steelers.
That’s the wrong kind of negativity to put on tape.
“It was self-inflicted wounds for us tonight that determined the outcome of the game,” head coach Mike Tomlin said. “You turn the ball over, you’re going to reduce your chances of winning. … Got a penalty, roughing the kicker. They were settling for 3 and put them back on the field and eventually got a touchdown. You lose games when things like that happen.”
Harmon and Johnson both did what you’re supposed to do in the preseason. Take a look at the first game tape, make an adjustments, and get better — quickly.
Both were significantly more impactful in their second preseason game than their first. Harmon had a monstrous bull rush of a sack. Johnson looked a lot more like the player he was at Iowa, finding holes with more decisiveness and quickness than in the opener.
There’s nothing the Steelers can do about Jamison’s foolish penalty or Rudolph’s far under-thrown pass attempt other than show the tape, say, “don’t do that,” and move on. Of course, the players involved already knew not to do that.
“That happens in the course of a year, course of games, even early in games,” Rudolph said. “You got to mentally recover from that and go back out.”
He did just that — even re-connecting with Roman Wilson, who he missed on that first interception. But the Steelers shouldn’t be concerned about Rudolph — if he plays much this year, things have already gone off the rails.
So beyond the general sloppiness, what did the Steelers see on Saturday that they can hope to fix next time out?
The first-team offense has struggled to run the ball all summer, and that continued on Saturday. Kenneth Gainwell started. He gained two yards on two carries before the starters exited. Johnson’s first carry was a two-yard loss. It wasn’t until the fifth offensive drive of the game that the Steelers did anything at all on the ground.
That’s probably the biggest issue for the Steelers to take a look at for next...
