The Pittsburgh Steelers won their first preseason game of the 2014 season Saturday night against the Buffalo Bills and after one quick pass back through the game replay, here is just a small sampling of some winners and losers for you to chew on.
Fell free to add your own in the comments below that you think I missed.
Winners:
Ryan Shazier – Shazier had a heck of an NFL preseason debut that included nine defensive tackles, two special teams tackles and nice interception of a pass intended for Bills tight end Scott Chandler. He’s still not 100 percent healthy and certainly has a few mistakes to correct, but you definitely knew he was on the field Saturday night.
Ben Roethlisberger – Sure, we expect Roethlisberger to be here every week, but there’s no denying how good he looked Saturday night against the Bills. His touchdown pass to wide receiver Markus Wheaton was a thing of beauty as was his ability to step up into the pocket to deliver it.
Markus Wheaton – Do you ever remember former wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders turning a cornerback around like Wheaton did Stephon Gilmore for the touchdown? I don’t. Gilmore is a former first-round draft pick to boot.
Shamarko Thomas – Thomas continues to make plays when the lights are on. The Syracuse product had four total tackles Saturday night and also forced a fumble. two of those tackles resulted in no gain.
Terence Garvin – The former undrafted free agent didn’t have a perfect game but within his seven total tackles was a sack and a few more that resulted in gains of less than three yards.
Josh Mauro – Mauro continues to show that he deserves serious consideration for the 53 man roster. He had two sacks Saturday night and always seemed to be around the football.
Losers:
Landry Jones – Jones was given time to work with the Steelers first-team offensive line and proceeded to throw an interception on his first attempt as he forced the ball intended for Lance Moore into double coverage. Jones would also fumble the ball when sacked midway through the third quarter.
Mike Adams – after a decent showing last week at left tackle, Adams took at step backwards against the Bill at right tackle. On the sack of Landry that resulted in a fumble, Adams was walked back into his quarterback. He gave up at least two more pressures by my count.
Antwon Blake – A pass interference call as he was beaten for a sure touchdown combined with several other easy receptions that he allowed lands Blake on the losers list.
Shaun Suisham – Sure, his missed extra point was from 33 yards away and included a new long snapper, but both the snap and hold looked good. Suisham needs to snap out of his preseason funk.
Mike Mitchell – Mitchell should know by now that the referees aren’t going to put up with his mouthiness. Not only was he flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct in the game, he also was penalized for defensive holding as well.
