Behind the Steel Curtain
The Pittsburgh Steelers came up short in their second preseason game of the summer, losing 17-14 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, several young hopeful stars had big nights, which is very promising for what is to come. With that said, let’s get into this week’s winners and losers.
The second-year receiver ran with the first-team to begin camp, which made many people scoff. However, Wilson has shown in consecutive games that he is capable of being the No. 2 boundary pass-catcher. He caught a 43-yard go route from Mason Rudolph, which led to a touchdown on that drive, and went for 30 yards on a crosser the following drive. He has shown that he’s capable of being the guy on the boundary opposite DK Metcalf.
After a disappointing first outing against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Johnson had several runs that showed what the Steelers and fans wanted to see. He had runs of 14, nine, and eight yards and finished with 50 yards on 11 carries. Seeing the big run ability was a big plus and almost a sigh of relief to see him do everything I saw him do in Latrobe during training camp.
The big defensive tackle made his presence felt early, picking up his first (unofficial) sack on a third down in the first quarter to force a punt. He had three tackles overall, and that bull rush sack was one of the plays of the night. Pittsburgh’s young trio showed up when all eyes were on them, and that was certainly a big plus.
In his limited snaps for the night, Jones had another good outing. Watch the touchdown pass from Mason Rudolph to Brandon Johnson – Jones dominates the rep and gives Rudolph a clean pocket to make the throw.
For the second straight game, Lew Nichols showed something. He broke off a 38-yard run at the start of the fourth quarter, almost single-handedly taking the Steelers downfield and putting them in field goal range.
Miller has locked up a roster spot, and right now, he might be WR3 depending on Calvin Austin’s health. He had two catches for 38 yards.
Taylor had three receptions for 39 yards, including a 20-yard catch and a 12-yard reception in which he shook off a tackler and gained extra yards. It’s going to be hard to keep him off the roster.
Leota had two tackles for loss and had a stuff on fourth down to force a turnover on downs.
Despite having a roughing the kicker penalty that led to a touchdown for the Bucs, Jamison had a tackle for loss and made the hit that forced a fumble midway through the fourth quarter that was recovered by Quindell Johnson.
It’s safe to say...
