by Bo Marchionte
Pittsburgh – The third pre-season game offered a preview of what the Steelers offense might look like with two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger. With offensive coordinator Matt Canada. The early prognosis was positive as the Steelers offense looked crisp with Roethlisberger as Steelers topped the Detroit Lions 26-20.
The starting offense would post 14-points in the first quarter, that included two touchdown passes from Roethlisberger to his possibly new favorite target rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth. In the NFL, the highest official passer rating a quarterback can achieve is 158.3, which coincided with the play of Roethlisberger against Detroit.
“I don’t think he has shown us anything different than he’s shown us throughout every process even dating back to mini-camp,” Mike Tomlin said after the game. “He made a very similar play in redzone work in mini-camp, so I don’t think any of us are surprised by what he was able to do tonight.”
With three preseason games under their belt, the Steelers should have a pretty good vibe on who is going to make the final 53-man roster. With cuts looming in the up-coming weeks, tonight’s performance by the first-team offense sends a message that if Roethlisberger remains unscathed, the offense should function very efficiently.
“I thought he (Roethlisberger) did a nice job,” Tomlin said. “I thought we got what we wanted to get accomplished and get him familiar with administrating the offense in stadium like circumstance. I thought he did a great job of communicating and made fluid decisions to move the ball.”
The trimmed down veteran seems refreshed and his play against the Lions displayed the hard work put in to make this season possibly his last NFL season one that leaves nothing left to chance.
“All and all it feels good to be out there,” a more youthful looking Roethlisberger said from the podium.
Player Notes Week 3
Najee Harris – Glimpses of magnificence, teased us on occasion with Harris touching the football. His vision and ability to exploit the tiniest of holes, is going to make him a very effective runner in the NFL. His 46-yard reception (41 after the catch) was the closest thing Pittsburgh has seen in the backfield since Pro Bowl running back Le’veon Bell was with the team. A slight stutter step against Lion’s linebacker Jahlani Tavai, gave way to separation as Harris busted ahead and up the right side.
Anthony McFarland – His blitz pick-up in the second quarter along with some hardnosed running, should endear him the coaching staff and ensure the position amongst a crowded group of running backs. With Harris leading the way, leaves McFarland, Benny Snell Jr., Kalen Ballage, and Jaylen Samuels fighting to remain on the active roster. McFarland appears to have placed himself behind Harris at the second back up in the rotation.
Pat Freiermuth – Two rookies making a big impact tonight against the Lions. Freiermuth caught two touchdown passes via Roethlisberger in the first quarter, and now leads the team in touchdown receptions after three preseason games played. The second-round pick out of Penn State was lavished with praise from former Nittany Lion teammate Marcus Allen when exiting the field.
“That’s my Penn State brother,” a smiling Freiermuth said as he reflected on hearing Allen cheering him on. “He is always going to support me and I’m going to always support him.”
The highest draft tight end since Heath Miller was taken in the 30th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft.
Melvin Ingram III – The veteran edge rusher exploded into the backfield for a three-yard loss in the second quarter. Blowing up the tight end enroute to tackling Dedrick Mills for the loss. The 32-year-old Ingram has 49 career sacks in his nine-year NFL career should be a strong situational weapon with the veteran savvy to play big in big moments.
Mathew Sexton – Ray-Ray McCloud is the incumbent and should retain that title when final cuts are announced on August 31st. However, Sexton has caused some headaches due to his explosive return ability. McCloud has two returns thus far for 17 yards while Sexton has three for a total of 88-yards and a whopping 29.3 per return. Something to monitor as the former Eastern Michigan had two career returns for 77-yards and one touchdown in his college career.
Alex Highsmith – Entering his second season, Highsmith had to learn on the fly after Bud Dupree was lost last season to an ACL teat. It left a huge void in the Steelers defense. This preseason it has been hard not to notice Highsmith flying around the field and forcing pressure from all angles. Surely it will be hard to duplicate the level of play by Dupree over the last several games. With Ingram on the roster, it serves as another cushion for Highsmith to grow as the pair share the stage opposite TJ Watt. The third-round pick out of Charlotte taken in the 2020 NFL Draft has shown more upside than former No. 1 Jarvis Landry which is a positive for the Steelers.