The Pittsburgh Steelers saw a drive or two from the Jacksonville Jaguars starters in the preseason opener Saturday night, and it appears they will get more looks against top competition in the next game. According to JoeBucsFan.com, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play their starters in Pittsburgh.
“Next Saturday is when all or most Buccaneers starters will play as a unit against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. That was strongly implied during tonight’s WFLA-TV broadcast of the Titans-Bucs game, and JoeBucsFan.com was able to confirm after the game that Todd Bowles’ plan is to play the starters in Week 2 of the preseason.”
The Steelers will also host the Buccaneers for a joint practice this week, which is when Aaron Rodgers is expected to get his tune-up reps against actual competition. Mike Tomlin told Steelers.com that Rodgers may not play in the preseason at all. And Rodgers himself said that joint practices are much more useful than meaningless preseason games where teams don’t even scheme against each other.
Nearly the entire Steelers starting lineup sat out Saturday evening against the Jaguars, but we can likely expect a larger presence for Pittsburgh’s starters in this second preseason game.
Rodgers, Cam Heyward, and T.J. Watt may not play, but almost everybody else should at least see a handful of snaps if the Steelers follow their typical preseason pattern.
The Steelers held up well against the Jaguars’ starters on both sides. They held Trevor Lawrence and the offense to just a field goal on the opening drive, and then Mason Rudolph led a flawless drive, capping it with a touchdown pass to Darnell Washington up the seam.
If Pittsburgh gives its starters a full quarter or half of play, there will be less reps to go around for some of the depth players who stood out in Jacksonville. But there will be one more preseason opportunity with the Steelers traveling to play the Carolina Panthers just a few days later on Thursday.
Mike Tomlin should confirm Pittsburgh’s plan at a press conference later this week.
