PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s something you hear coaches say especially about preseason games, it’s getting out of them healthy. First round pick Troy Fautanu had a big ice wrap around his knee after the 20-12 loss to the Texans as Mike Tomlin said they will have more information on Sunday when they resume practice in Latrobe.
It’s not known how severe the injury is for the rookie tackle.
Tomlin also said he expects starting quarterback Russell Wilson to be available for the second preseason game, also at home on August 17. Wilson has said he's now 'full-go' after a training camp calf injury.
Sloppy 1st team
First team offense had three possessions, Mike Tomlin called it sloppy. Here are the key plays from the trio of drives
· 1st possession (7 plays and 33 yards) from Pgh 23
-Justin Fields with a 16-yard screen to Najee Harris
-Fields finds George Pickens open on the sidelines for 15 yards
-Fields fumbled snap for 4-yard loss
-Fields underneath pass to Pat Freiermuth well short of first down
· 2nd possession (3 and out) from Pgh 15
-1st play was fumbled snap recovered by fullback Jack Colletto for a 4-yard gain
-Fields scrambled for 2 yards and then sacked for minus six yards as Troy Fautanu was beat at right tackle
· 3rd possession (8 plays, 43 yards) from Pgh 14
-Fields altered his arm angle to fit in a screen to Pickens for 10 yards
-Fields with his best throw of the night, a 20-yard out to Van Jefferson
-Jaylen Warren 9-yard run
-Fields with another nice sidelines throw to Van Jefferson, but he couldn’t get second foot in bounds
-Fields was sacked with good coverage by Houston secondary
Fields went 5 of 6 for 67 yards.
Fumbled snaps
Twice in the first two series there were bad exchanges between Justin Fields and Nate Herbig. Herbig has been the first-team center all camp. He has practice reps as a center, but spent most of his career as a guard. Each took blame.
“Both of them, I take full responsibility,” Herbig said. “It’s unacceptable, bad football by me. It’s 100% my fault.”
“We got to be on the same page,” Fields said. “I put that on me. We will get some extra work and make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Rookie leading tackler
Third-round pick, linebacker Payton Wilson flashed his football IQ early playing most of the game with six tackles. Projected starters Patrick Queen didn’t play and Elandon Roberts did not play much. Along with the good, Wilson was also beat for a first down by rookie TE Cade Stover and couldn’t finish a third down tackle on Cam Akers that Mark Robinson cleaned up.
“There is always room for improvement, definitely made some plays, but missed some plays too,” Wilson said. “You are going against the best in the world. Every single day you have to bring your best or you will be exposed.”
Wilson credited Mark Robinson and Elandon Roberts for being great teammates and helping him out.
“It’s a start, excited to stack days,” Wilson said. “Can’t thank Jesus Christ enough for this opportunity. Next game is going to be awesome, can’t wait to get back out there.”
“I thought he did some really good things,” Tomlin said. “I thought he made a tackle on a punt early. I thought he was active on defense, but I think it’s kind of reflective of the production that we’ve seen from him in Latrobe. I don’t know if any of us are surprised by it. I thought it was a good start individually for him.”
Shoot the Moon
With the retirement of Markus Golden, it opens an opportunity for second-year free agent Jeremiah Moon. At 6’5”, 245 pounds, Moon had a fourth-quarter sack and was he second leading tackler with five and had a quarterback hurry. He played in eight games with Baltimore last year finishing with 10 tackles (two on special teams) and a forced fumble.
Beanie Bishop
The eight-game suspension to Cam Sutton has opened the door for more first-team reps to undrafted defensive back Beanie Bishop. The West Virginia All-American finished with four solo tackles.
“I thought he did some good things, but we’ve got a lot of work in front of us and an opportunity for a young guy like him to really round out his game from a detail perspective.”
Kyle Allen
I use this as a qualifier to anything said in the second half of a preseason game, but Kyle Allen did lead a couple of touchdown drives. Key plays from the third-team quarterback
· Rolled out to find Calvin Austin open for 24 yards
· Found an open Austin again for 25 yards
· Scramble for 11 yards on third down
· TD pass to Connor Heyward of 6 yards, thrown at the goal line
· 38-yard pass to Scotty Miller and the drive ended in the second touchdown
Allen finished 12 of 15 for 159 yards and a touchdown.
“He looked like a guy that’s play some ball,” Tomlin said. “That’s what you expect from veteran backups.”
“It’s cool, when I go out there it’s usually with a lot of guys that are getting their first snaps and they are trying to prove themselves,” Allen said. “They are giddy and ready to go. It’s fun to go out there and play with them.”
3 backups on a D-line
Cam Heyward did not play and Keeanu Benton left the game with an eye injury allowing plenty of reps for the next three and each made plays. Montravius Adams had a sack that ended a possession along with a pass defended and a quarterback hurry. The slimmed down DeMarvin Leal had a sack for an 11-yard loss and a quarterback hurry. Isaiahh Loudermilk had a pass defended and a solo tackle and clogged up a couple of run plays.
“Leal and Mon (Montravius Adams), I thought, had some splash plays,” Tomlin said. “I think it’s reflective of their play in Latrobe.”
Special teams
The Steelers head coach called the penalties and other miscues on special teams JV or not good enough.
· New punter Cameron Johnston averaged 42 yards per kick with one kick inside the 20-yard-line
· QB John Rhys Plumlee returned the first two kickoffs averaging 21 yards per return
· RB Jonathan Ward had a 25-yard kickoff return and Daijun Edwards a 27-yard return
· Quez Watkins fumbled a punt and was yards off in judging punts on a relatively calm night in terms of wind at Acrisure
· Matthew Wright missed a PAT wide left after Johnston pulled down a high snap