The Pittsburgh Steelers opened preseason with a 20-12 loss to the Houston Texans at Acisure Stadium Friday night in an effort which Mike Tomlin described as “Sloppy.”
Sloppy it was featuring:
- Two fumbled snaps between quarterback and center
- Key pass protection breakdowns on possession downs
- A missed extra point
- A muffed punt and several other missed opportunities
- A 34 yard touchdown pass
The result was very different than the fast start, convincing victories that began the 2022 and 2023 exhibition season.
And to be honest, it’s a little refreshing.
Justin Fields is sacked. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
This is What Preseason is For
Both the summers of 2022 and 2023 features pristine preseasons for Pittsburgh. In 2022 they went 3-0 in preseason. In 2023 they went 3-0 again, looking better, sharper and more dominating on each side of the ball with each passing game.
The exhibitions were pleasing, they were enjoyable and they excited Steelers Nation.
- But they also had a false feel to them.
Kenny Pickett looked like a star in the making in summer of 2022. He played so well many question whether he should have pushing giving Mitch Trubisky. Last summer he looked on the verge of realizing the greatness flashed in his “Kenny Fuc_ing Pickett” moment against the Ravens at the end of 2022. The defense looked just as dominant.
- We all remember what happened once the games started counting for real.
And that’s why the Steelers performance against the Texans was so, daresay, encouraging. Because it wasn’t perfect nor did the Steelers feign perfection. Preseason is supposed to be the time to try out offensive line alignments, test new coverage schemes and give guys a chance to prove – or disprove themselves.
Even after acknowledging some of the warts, the Steelers showed a lot to like.
Positives Out of the Preseason Loss to the Texas
How much digital ink was spilled in the week before the game on the yet to materialize trade from Brandon Aiyuk? I doubt even Chat GPT could tell us. But what we saw against the Texans might tell us that we should hope that all of that trade talk continues to amount to nothing.
George Pickens looked good. As did Van Jefferson and Scotty Miller, two imports from Atlanta. And while Calvin Austin did disappoint by not hauling in that touchdown, he also made some nice plays.
- The reason why they good might be more important.
Neither Najee Harris nor Jaylen Warren got a lot of work, but they both posted some solid runs. Both newcomers Jonathan Ward and Daijun Edwards made their case for a longer look for occupying roster spot number 53.
- And one of the things that we already knew but that the game confirmed is that Arthur Smith likes play action.
And as Charlie Batch explained during the broadcast, when you run on first down it sets up play action perfectly. And we could see both Justin Fields and Kyle Allen taking advantage of that split second bit of confusion that pretending to hand off caused.
- The Steelers defense also had its standouts.
DeMarvin Leal, perhaps one of most critical non-starters on this team, lived up to what we’ve been hearing about in training camp. The Steelers desperately need a fourth lineman behind Cam Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi and Keeanu Benton and Leal is staking his claim to that role.
Nick Herbig continued to shine as an up and comer. And with Markus Golden retiring after a brief return, Jacoby Windmon began staking his claim to the OLB number 4 slot.
Points of Concern
While all of those positives are real, the Steelers lost for a reason. Both Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu appeared to struggle at times, and Fautanu’s injury is at least a yellow flag.
Quez Watkins looked like a deer in the headlights while attempting to return punts. In contrast, the Texans averaged 16.7 yards in punt returns – that’s an average that could get Omar Khan calling his counterpart at the Giants asking about Miles Boykin’s availability.
Damontae Kazee also whiffed badly with a missed tackle at the 5 and allowed the Texans’ first touchdown. Yet Ryan Watts looked good playing on the back end.
From Bad Comes Good?
In contrast to the past two years, the Steelers come back to St. Vincents with plenty to work on. That’s a good thing.
While I don’t think the 6-0 preseason records in the previous lulled the players or the coaching staff into a sense of complacency, I do think that the inconsistent performance against the Texans will reinforce a sense of urgency.
- We may have already seen evidence of it on Friday night.
A year ago against Tampa Bay, Kenny Pickett played for one series lasting 10 snaps and then was done. Justin Fields remained in for 3 full series. While there’s no time to do compare snap counts for other starters, it did appear that the first string got more work. Good. They needed it.
Mike Tomlin described his team’s effort as a JV performance. Embracing that truth now gives the Steelers their best chance to field a varsity performance when they open for real in Atlanta against the Falcons in one month.
