Tonight, the Pittsburgh Steelers will step into Acrisure Stadium to take on the Buffalo Bills for their second preseason game. As we did in our preview of the Houston Texans matchup, here’s an overall, position-by-position breakdown of what to watch for.
Team
Before even focusing on any position group, the Steelers must play cleaner football as a team. That’s reasonable to assume for their second time out, but it must happen. Pittsburgh was a clunky mess against Houston. Penalties, botched exchanges, missed assignments, muffed punts, high snaps, terrible punt net yardage. It all has to improve, especially knowing the Steelers plan to play all able bodies for the bulk of the first half. That applies to everyone on the roster, and Pittsburgh must come out of this one feeling much better about their foundational play.
Quarterback
– Following up on what’s written above, the exchanges must be clean. All of them. No excuses, no leeway. Presumably, we’ll see Russell Wilson and Zach Frazier work together, a 35-year-old quarterback with a rookie center. They haven’t gotten a ton of work in camp, but both have to be clean operationally.
For Wilson’s debut, you’re looking for all the baseline things you want in a quarterback. Move the offense, put points on the board, help the cause, and don’t turn the ball over. Hopefully he gets to show off his arm and air one out to George Pickens, Van Jefferson, or Calvin Austin III. Wilson can put on a show. In the pocket, don’t spin out and bail, as Wilson was prone to do last year in Denver.
I hope it doesn’t stem from extreme duress, but I do want to see Wilson leave the pocket at least once. I want to see a scramble drill where he has to run around and show off his mobility. This will give himself and the team confidence that he’s fully and completely past his calf injury and that while 35, he’s not creaky and will fall apart at the first sign of trouble.
– For Justin Fields, play clean and have a larger body of work to evaluate. The team should, and I think will, give him more reps than the opener. This needs to be a game about Wilson and Fields. Kyle Allen got plenty of burn in the opener and doesn’t need many, if any, reps in this contest. It’d be nice for Fields to lead a scoring drive after his offense produced three punts in the opener, largely due to the negative plays.
– It’s doubtful John Rhys Plumlee gets in the game at quarterback but we’ll keep an eye on the other hats he could wear. Returner, coverage guy, and though it feels like a long shot, perhaps some wide receiver?
Running Back
– Still not much I need to see from Najee Harris or Jaylen Warren. A little more success on the ground would be nice. The offense being able to stay on schedule will obviously help. Run hard, get YAC, and an explosive run from Harris, who has slimmed down in an effort to produce more explosive plays.
– Cordarrelle Patterson will return kicks…right? Curiously, Patterson wasn’t used as a kick returner during those periods at the end of camp when Patterson was healthy and practicing in full. With the new rules, I thought Patterson would get some work, but maybe they were ramping up his return. I expect Patterson will be used in this game, but it’s a box worth checking. Offensively, how often will he be split out? Pittsburgh wasn’t afraid to move him around in the slot and get creative.
– Jonathan Ward’s status is uncertain after injuring his hamstring on the final day of camp. If he can’t play, and that seems more likely than not, it’s a big opportunity for the group behind. Aaron Shampklin seems to be the highest on the unofficial depth chart, showing explosiveness and displaying special teams value with reps as the personal protector on the punt team. La’Mical Perine has NFL experience but needs to show more, and he faded towards the end of camp. Daijun Edwards has made the most of his chances and hopefully gets a few more in this one. FB Jack Colletto should get more chances to lead block but I want to see him make a play on special teams, still his top path to making the roster.
Wide Receiver
I would love to see a Russell Wilson to George Pickens connection, considering those two didn’t get a ton of work in camp due to Wilson’s injury. Pickens had a good game last week showing YAC ability, but the deep ball is his bread and butter, and he hopefully gets a chance to show his chops.
– I’ve been critical of Calvin Austin III throughout the summer but to his credit, he ended camp on a higher note than how he spent the first 75 percent of it. And he made a couple of plays in the preseason opener. Want to see that continue and make a combative catch over the middle of the field. That’d be huge.
– Quez Watkins was a mess in the opener, lowlighted by a muffed punt. He followed that up with three strong final training camp practices. That must continue if he wants to make a late surge to the 53-man roster. He’s definitely on the outside-looking-in right now, but one play utilizing his speed down the sideline will change the narrative.
– Dez Fitzpatrick had a tough time on special teams against the Texans, and that’s his calling card. A starting gunner, he committed a penalty running out of bounds and did no favors in helping the team’s net yardage, which was abysmal despite some decent Cameron Johnston punts. Needs to be better to state his case with those gunner spots still for the taking. He just can’t let someone take it from him.
Tight End
– Pittsburgh might do a little more game-planning in this one and I want to keep my attention on where Pat Freiermuth aligns. Per the charting provided by our Tom Mead, Freiermuth stood up on 25 percent of his snaps. The sample size is small, making this a situation worth watching, but it’s consistent with how he was used throughout training camp.
– Mike Tomlin talked up Darnell Washington’s receiving chops. So let’s see it. Washington has had spurts of action in the passing game but spent most of his camp blocking, even staying in for pass protection off Pittsburgh’s play-action fakes. Russell Wilson’s spoken highly of Washington during camp. Maybe he gives him a chance, assuming the Steelers play-calling even makes it a viable option.
– MyCole Pruitt and Rodney Williams aren’t done battling for a final roster spot. Pruitt holds the edge, but the race isn’t over. Williams needs to show well as a blocker and make an impact play as a receiver or on special teams, the more athletic and versatile option than Pruitt, though Pittsburgh has trotted Pruitt out on the punt coverage and kick return units in camp.
Offensive Line
– Lot to take in here. Starting with Zach Frazier, who will start if Nate Herbig is shelved with a late-camp injury. Big opportunity for Frazier to cement the starting job if he can pick up where he left off in his debut. Early in camp, Dave and I discussed the second preseason game, being the line in the sand to judge the center battle. Here we are.
– With Troy Fautanu out due to an MCL sprain, Broderick Jones will see more work at right tackle in this one. But will he play any left tackle? We’ll have to see if Jones stays in and flips after the 1’s play about the first four series of the game. When Jones leaves his right tackle spot, who fills in? It could be Dylan Cook or Spencer Anderson, two players fighting for the ninth spot on the offensive line. Anderson has had a good camp and received plenty of reps with OG Isaac Seumalo getting five off days during the team’s time in Latrobe. Anderson’s made the most of the chance.
– OG Joey Fisher had a solid showing in limited snaps last week, even playing some left guard after working exclusively on the right side during camp. He and C Ryan McCollum are trying to secure their practice squad spots. And I want to get eyes on hulking LT TyKeem Doss, though I have no idea if he’ll hold up in pass protection. He probably wouldn’t come in until Justin Fields’ day is done.
Defensive Line
– NT Keeanu Benton’s debut was impressive but, unfortunately, brief, poked in the eye and leaving after a handful of snaps. Longer exposure will be beneficial. Will DeMarvin Leal play? He got dinged at the end of camp. Whatever injury it is seems minor, and it would be deflating if he sat out this game after the impressive camp and preseason debut he’s had.
– This will be our first in-game look at Dean Lowry, activated off PUP during the last week of camp. On a two-year contract, you’d think his roster spot is safe, but I don’t want to write his name in pen until he gains positive traction in game action. A veteran like him should show well even with the time missed.
– Rookie Logan Lee was miscast last week, seeing most of his time at nose tackle with Benton injured and Breiden Fehoko injured days before the game. With Benton back and Marquiss Spencer signed, Lee should play more defensive end, his natural and better spot. This will afford a cleaner evaluation.
Linebacker
– The top battle in this group is the fight for the No. 4 spot between Jeremiah Moon and Kyron Johnson. This might be the tightest battle on the entire roster and will come down to cutdown day ten days from now. They’re two different body types and styles, but both offer special teams value and have flashed throughout the summer. The in-stadium performances will prove to be the tiebreaker.
– As far as first impressions go, Payton Wilson’s career is off to a good start. He’ll face a talented Bills offense led by QB Josh Allen. Wilson quickly diagnosed plays last week and showed his sideline-to-sideline speed but missed two tackles and gambled too much in coverage. Work to do there.
– Patrick Queen will make his Steelers’ debut. He had one of the top camps in Latrobe and erased every throw and screen to the flat. His energy is infectious, and he’ll also be in charge of calling in the plays. While Pittsburgh is at home, that’s when the defense gets stressed as the crowd gets loud with the opposing offense on the field, though a preseason crowd won’t be as boisterous as they will be come September.
– Jacoby Windmon is making strides to secure a practice squad spot, a good athlete with a third down breakup last week. And new LB Luquay Washington moves well and will try to make a splash play to make up for being signed late in camp.
Secondary
– Joey Porter Jr. should see more snaps after seeing just 11 snaps against the Texans. Maybe he’ll have to defend a downfield throw against Bills’ rookie Keon Coleman, whose top-tier receiver size matches Porter at corner. We’ll see if Donte Jackson suits after dealing with a minor injury to end camp. Feels like he could go either way.
– As we wrote about, massive opportunity for slot corner Beanie Bishop, back to first-string with Grayland Arnold on IR. Bishop was an aggressive blitzer and against the run but I want to see more out of him in coverage. He still could end up being the “run down” slot corner while the team figures something else out on passing downs, perhaps using DeShon Elliott in those situations.
– Pittsburgh needs to scour the waiver wire and free agent pool for outside corner depth behind Porter/Jackson. Right now, it’s hard to trust Cory Trice Jr. – who the team has admittedly been cautious with – and Darius Rush as the top backup options. Trice is getting more reps, but someone with experience is valuable. Maybe one of these guys change that with a big-time showing against Buffalo. It would bring more confidence to the group as a whole.
– Per DC Teryl Austin, Ryan Watts has the right spirit, even if he’s trying to figure out what to do. Austin painted a predictable picture of his debut, showing physicality and energy but missing some assignments and out of place on a handful of snaps. Let’s see if he looks a little more even in his second game or else he could wind up on the practice squad. A strong special teams session would help.
