Hard to believe the preseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers has come and gone, but just like that three preseason games are complete, and the Steelers are set to move on to the regular season.
In the preseason, the Steelers did a very nice job in all three phases, playing complementary football throughout it, leading to a 3-0 record and some great performances overall.
That included Thursday night’s preseason finale on the road against the Atlanta Falcons.
With Atlanta sitting its starters, Pittsburgh took advantage of the extra work and thumped the Falcons pretty good in a 24-0 win.
In the missed-tackles department Pittsburgh was strong overall, missing just five tackles against Atlanta, finishing with just 19 misses in three preseason games. That’s a pretty strong number overall with a 90-man roster and a bunch of guys getting who aren’t exactly NFL guys getting playing time.
Let’s take a look at the Week Three preseason missed tackle report.
TOTAL MISSED TACKLES VS. FALCONS — 5
Mark Robinson – 1 (special teams)
Elijah Riley – 1 (special teams)
Toby Ndukwe – 1 (sack attempt)
Armon Watts – 1 (sack attempt)
Nick Kwiatkoski – 1
TOTAL MISSED TACKLES IN PRESEASON ACTION (3 GAMES) — 19 (6.33 MISSES PER GAME)
Trenton Thompson – 4 (nine tackles on 13 total attempts, 30.8 percent miss rate)
Mark Robinson – 2 (one on special teams) (14 tackles on 16 total attempts, 12.5 percent miss rate)
Kwon Alexander – 2 (seven tackles on nine total attempts, 22.2 percent miss rate)
David Perales – 2 (four tackles on six total attempts, 33.3 percent miss rate)
Luq Barcoo – 1 (no tackles on one total attempt, 100 percent miss rate)
Tanner Muse – 1 (13 tackles on 14 total attempts, 7.1 percent miss rate)
Madre Harper – 1 (six tackles on seven total attempts, 14.3 percent miss rate)
Forrest Rhyne – 1 (one tackle on two total attempts, 50 percent miss rate)
Jalen Elliott – 1 (10 tackles on 11 total attempts, 9.1 percent miss rate)
Elijah Riley – 1 (special teams) (nine tackles on 10 total attempts, 10 percent miss rate)
Toby Ndukwe – 1 (sack attempt) (five tackles on six total attempts, 16.6 percent miss rate)
Armon Watts – 1 (sack attempt) (one tackle on two total attempts, 50 percent miss rate)
Nick Kwiatkoski – 1 (three tackles on four total attempts, 25 percent miss rate)
In the preseason finale against the Falcons, the Steelers tackled rather well, especially in a blowout game in which the Falcons were throwing the ball a lot. With a number of backups in the game, the Steelers didn’t falter when it came to tackling in their final tune-up. That’s a great sign for a number of young guys who adapted well to the intensity of training camp practices for the Steelers and carried it over into the game.
Looking at the missed tackles report in this one, three of the misses came on special teams, which is never good to see. However, two of the misses occurred on the kickoff following the Steelers’ first touchdown with linebacker Mark Robinson and defensive back Elijah Riley missing on former Steelers wide receiver Mathew Sexton.
Robinson and Riley do a very good job of getting downfield quickly on kick coverage and covering on Sexton, but Robinson comes in a bit out of control and dives for Sexton’s lower body. In the process, Robinson makes contact with Riley, bumping him off the tackle, too.
The miss helps the Falcons get out across the 20-yard line, but veteran safety Kenny Robinson does an excellent job cleaning up the misses from Robinson and Riley.
Defensively, Toby Ndukwe and Armon Watts left some plays on the field while vying for spots in Pittsburgh. They were unable to get Atlanta quarterback Logan Woodside down for sacks in the shutout win.
Ndukwe is able to avoid a cut-block in space from the Atlanta fullback and finds himself racing in all alone on Woodside on the boot action, but he overruns it, allowing Woodside to slide back inside and make a strong throw down the field to move the chains.
This is the type of play Ndukwe really needed to make a case for himself, but it was a big miss on his part.
Watts has a similar opportunity later in the second quarter, getting his hands on Woodside. He just can’t finish the play.
It’s a really nice rush from the veteran defensive tackle, pushing the pocket and then swimming over the guard to get in on Woodside. Though the Falcons quarterback tries to buy some time, Watts is in position for the sack. He just doesn’t get him down quickly enough.
That slight hesitation and overall miss allows Woodside to flip the football to his tight end, avoiding the sack.
That’s a painful one for Watts to not capitalize on.
Offensively, Pittsburgh was very good in the forced missed tackles department — again. Against the Falcons, the Steelers had 11 forced missed tackles, meaning that they won the missed tackles battle with a mark of plus-six, finishing the preseason 3-0 in that department.
FORCED MISSED TACKLES VS. FALCONS — 11
Anthony McFarland Jr. – 2
Najee Harris – 2
Jaylen Warren – 1
Calvin Austin III – 1 (special teams)
Gunner Olszewski – 1
Darius Hagans – 1
Rodney Williams – 1
Mason Rudolph – 1
Greg Bell – 1
FORCED MISSED TACKLES IN PRESEASON ACTION (3 GAMES) —30 (10.0 MISSES PER GAME)
Anthony McFarland Jr. – 7
Jaylen Warren – 4
Darius Hagans – 3
Greg Bell – 3
Diontae Johnson – 2
Najee Harris – 2
Calvin Austin III – 2 (both on special teams)
Gunner Olszewski – 2
George Pickens – 1
Jordan Byrd – 1 (special teams)
Xazavian Valladay – 1
Mason Rudolph – 1
Rodney Williams – 1
Once again, fourth-year running back Anthony McFarland Jr. had quite an impressive showing. He’s undoubtedly cemented himself as the No. 3 running back for the Steelers entering the 2023 season.
Against Atlanta, McFarland showed his great speed, game-breaking ability and even his dependability between the tackles in the ground game.
On his 33-yard touchdown to really kick-start his night, McFarland forced a missed tackle in space, allowing him to race down the sideline.
He doesn’t exactly break a tackle here, but his speed and vision to bounce this run outside causes the Falcons defensive back to lose containment, which is a forced missed tackle in my book. McFarland created this run on his own and took advantage of the space to rip off the explosive play.
Gunner Olszewski had a big forced missed tackle in the win, too, helping make his case for a roster spot.
On a third and short in the second quarter, Olszewski caught an out route from quarterback Mitch Trubisky and was hit immediately.
Instead of going down short of the sticks, Olszewski showed great strength on the play, fighting through the tackle to stay on his feet and move the chains.
It ultimately helped set up a score for the Steelers.
