It’s a good thing the Pittsburgh Steelers highly-touted offense has been missing several key members so far in the preseason, otherwise there might be cause for concern.
For the second week in a row, the Steelers, sans Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams, failed to produce much on offense, as Pittsburgh fell to the Eagles, 17-0, in the second preseason game Thursday night at Heinz Field.
Backup quarterback Landry Jones threw four first half interceptions, and Philadelphia capitalized with 10 points–including a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown by cornerback Nolan Carroll II–to take a 10-0 lead into halftime.
Landry Jones gets KOed before throwing his 4th interception in Steelers preseason loss to Eagles. Photo credit: Philip G. Pavely, Tribune-Review
For the night, Jones completed 12 of 20 passes for 111 yards and those four interceptions and did little to instill confidence in his coaches, teammates and the fans that he really is the answer at backup quarterback for the Steelers.
The Eagles took the second half kickoff and marched 87 yards on fifteen plays and capped the drive with a five-yard touchdown run by running back Kenjon Barner to make it 17-0.
There weren’t many positives from there, as it was just another ugly preseason performance by the Steelers, which, for better or for worse, has become standard for the Steelers since 2013.
Positives to Come Out of the Philadelphia Preseason Loss?
If there was perhaps one positive to take from Thursday’s performance it was the first-team defense only allowing 10 points (three if you don’t count the pick-six) despite being handicapped with those four interceptions by Jones.
As far as individual performances are concerned, nothing much stood out on either side of the ball, but second-year receiver Eli Rogers took another step or two in cementing his spot on the roster as the team’s fifth receiver by catching four passes for 39 yards.
Dustin Vaughan, who played the entire second half at quarterback, was once again under siege, as he completed seven of 13 passes for just 67 yards and was sacked four times.
Reserve running back Daryl Richardson, who impressed a week ago by rushing for 44 yards on 11 carries against the Lions, totaled just 15 yards on 10 carries, while Fitzgerald Toussaint carried the ball eight times for 26 yards.
Next up for the Steelers is an 8 p.m. kickoff in New Orleans next Friday night, as they battle the Saints in the third preseason game.
