If something about Saturday’s Pittsburgh Steelers preseason finale feels a little bit … different … perhaps it relates to the disruption in your typical August circadian rhythm.
The game in Detroit against the Lions kicks off at 1 p.m. It’s been almost a decade since the Steelers have played an early afternoon preseason game – on Aug. 23, 2015, the Steelers hosted the Green Bay Packers in a 1 p.m. kickoff. According to archived official NFL scorebooks, Saturday will be only the third Steelers preseason game since 2015 that has a start time prior to 6 p.m.
Saturday at Ford Field will mirror a usual 1 p.m. regular season matchup in that the Steelers intend to start their starting quarterback as well as most of their other healthy starters.
Some things to watch for during the rare preseason game in which you still can have your Saturday night free:
Score some points!
Repeat after me: It’s only the preseason. After the Steelers’ two outings so far, that’s what their fans have made a mantra — at least in regards to the first-team offense.
Through eight drives in which that particular game’s starting quarterback has played, the Steelers have as many first downs as punts (seven). They have accounted for zero points, 108 net yards and zero plays of more than 20 yards.
Not exactly the type of impression the unit was hoping to make with a new coordinator and a whole new quarterbacks room this season.
If play-caller Arthur Smith, QB Russell Wilson and the other first teamers again come up empty in the final preseason outing, it could lead to an angst-filled 15 days between then and when the regular season begins. Showing some level of cohesion and execution could go a long way.
#Steelers QB Russell Wilson: “The most important thing for us to accomplish is to play efficient football, move the ball up and down the field. We want to celebrate in the end zone. That will be fun.”https://t.co/lBEVHh6h4l
— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) August 22, 2024
Playing the slots
Perhaps defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was practicing the adage, “You have to laugh so you don’t cry,” when he cracked a joke in regards to the competition to be the starting nickel/slot defensive back.
“It’s easy – whoever shows up gets it,” Austin said.
But with Grayland Arnold dropped from the roster after an injury and Beanie Bishop missing last week’s preseason game because of one — in addition to Cameron Sutton being given an eight-game suspension to open the season — winning the battle of attrition truly has become as important as winning daily one-on-one practice reps to those who are competing to line up as the first-team nickel.
Bishop’s playing status for Saturday is up in the air. Thomas Graham Jr. seemed to grade out satisfactorily over extensive playing time in last week’s game against Buffalo. Rookie Ryan Watts is probably best deployed in the box.
Aside from that, per Pro Football Focus accounting, no other player (aside from versatile veteran safety Damontae Kazee) has played more than one preseason game snap for the Steelers on defense in the slot.
If Bishop cannot play and/or is ineffective and/or Graham doesn’t show he can handle it, the Steelers might need to shop the league for external options after final cuts next week.
Broderick Jones' struggles at right tackle against Buffalo serves as microcosm to Steelers' preseason https://t.co/vuwrmT2O0m
— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) August 21, 2024
Brooding over Broderick
Broderick Jones has been viewed as — and remains — one of the cornerstones of the Steelers’ future. That’s what made his performance (beaten for multiple first-quarter sacks) during last week’s game against Buffalo so alarming.
It was only one game — one that doesn’t count, at that. Likewise, Saturday in Detroit also represents a mere one exhibition. The sample size of above-the-line play over the second half of last season (to say nothing of his first-round pedigree) by far trumps anything that happens in August.
But it sure would be comforting to the Steelers if their 6-foot-5, 311-pound bookend protector again looked like a franchise tackle versus the Lions. Because if Jones doesn’t, the questions about his injury situation will only get worse — and could his iron-clad grip on a starting job begin to slip?
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Trice is right
Cory Trice is expected to play significant snaps in Detroit, including a possible expected start at outside cornerback in place of Joey Porter Jr.
For Trice, it will be only the third time he’s suited up for an NFL game of any kind. A 2023 seventh-round pick, he missed all of last season because of a torn ACL suffered early during training camp. And while the Steelers were careful in ramping Trice back up over this summer and early in camp, once he was given a full green light, Trice has taken his chance and run with it.
Tice quickly ascended the depth chart over multiple veterans and at the moment seems locked in as the No. 3 outside cornerback when the regular season begins behind starters Porter and Donte Jackson. Trice also has often taken reps as a dime defensive back on obvious passing downs.
Of course, none of this is set in stone. Another performance in which the 6-foot-3 Trice proves reliable would certainly help cement his case. A big play wouldn’t hurt, either.
Desperate times
To the players at the bottom of the 90-man preseason roster, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin likes to publicly dangle a proverbial carrot. Tomlin often will reference how over his 18 years as coach he’s regularly seen a player “play his way onto the (regular-season) roster” by way of a standout performance in a preseason game.
There’s a level of desperation for a couple dozen guys who have tens- or hundreds of thousands of dollars in active-roster (or practice-squad) weekly game checks on the line.
There are too many to name, but among those on the roster bubble who could use a standout performance are receivers Dez Fitzpatrick and Quez Watkins, center Ryan McCollum, rookie inside linebacker Jacoby Windmon and outside linebacker Kyron Johnson.
Additionally, after 2023 swing tackle Dylan Cook was spotted with a walking boot this week, can one of the lesser-known tackles make a final push to show he deserves to stick?
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.