For the second week in a row the Pittsburgh Steelers were involved in a nail biter. On Saturday night from Jacksonville, it took a last-minute touchdown drive, and a missed field goal to secure the victory for the Steelers. But a win is a win, and you love to see Pittsburgh make the plays in the final minutes to allow them to get to 2-0 in the preseason.
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With plenty of starting positions, and even roster spots still to be determined it's very important for many of these players to have a good game. Even the slightest mistake could put a player on the chopping block. In the same thought process a single good play could be the difference for a player to make the roster. With that being said, these are the winners and losers from the Steelers second preseason game.
WINNERS
1. Kenny Pickett - Pickett came into the game with the offense mostly struggling to that point. His first drive was nullified by a pre-snap penalty, and a holding call on a long completion to receiver George Pickens. They weren't able to overcome the penalties and they were forced to punt. On Pickett's second drive he was lights out. He would hit Diontae Johnson on a nice pitch and catch across the middle. Then Pickett stood in the pocket to find Pat Freiermuth for a long conversion.
Kenny Pickett MAXIMIZED his “Varsity” Reps pic.twitter.com/76HmYGShCT
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) August 21, 2022
From there Pickett would find Johnson in the endzone for a touchdown. But the play would come back on a holding penalty. But that didn't stifle Pickett. On the very next play he'd hit Benny Snell in the flat and Snell would dive into the endzone for the Steelers first points of the night. And we didn't even mention this was all with under two minutes left in the half. Pickett wouldn't play another snap the rest of the night.
2. Mark Robinson - Robinson was having a subpar night last week against the Seahawks prior to his strip sack that set the offense up to win. But since that play Robinson has been a man on a mission. He finished with 3 tackles on the night. While he didn't set the world on fire, he made his presence felt when he was involved. He made sound tackles, and even laid the boom on a Jaguars receiver late in the fourth quarter. With the inside linebacker position being so thin, Robinson is basically a lock at this point to make the 53-man roster. Impressive for a 7th round selection.
.@Steelers have a famous saying, “the standard is the standard” and Mark Robinson is a nuclear explosion waiting to burst on every play…but it’s a controlled violence. I can see Mike T. Jumping out of his film chair when he sees these hits #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/btycVu6IHj
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) August 21, 2022
3. Damontae Kazee / Terrell Edmunds - It was late into free agency before the Steelers finally had an answer for one of their safety positions. Edmunds was eventually re-signed to a one-year contract, and hours after the NFL Draft Kazee was signed. The duo looked fabulous tonight in their different roles. Both finished the night with 5 tackles. Edmunds was in the back field all night making tackles from the box. Kazee made several plays at different positions across the secondary. He showed his ability as a sure tackler.
OTHERS - DeMarvin Leal had a sack. Mason Rudolph led the Steelers down the field on back-to-back drives to score points to end the game. Jaylen Warren finds a way to get positive yards every time he touches the ball. Doesn't drop passes. We have to also note Snell made a huge stop on special teams. He's been a special teams ace and because of that he may force Anthony McFarland from the roster.
LOSERS
1. Dan Moore Jr. - This afternoon we released a story about the challenge that Moore would be faced with tonight. And it was a nightmare for Moore. Several times he looked silly. His performance was so bad that Mike Tomlin left him in the game until the 4th quarter. Not typically do you see your starting left tackle still playing at that point. All words from training camp have been that Moore is ready to make a jump in his second year, and it's certainly not time to panic, but he can't look like he did tonight in the regular season.
2. Gunner Olszewski - Olszewski was coming off of a strong performance against the Seahawks which included him catching a touchdown pass. But his only reception on the night came on a horrendous play call from Matt Canada on a 4th down. Let me know if you've heard this before, but Canada called a play where the quarterback had to throw the ball behind the line of scrimmage on 4th down. Olszewski did his best trying to get the first down, but after fighting his way near first down yardage he fumbled. Jacksonville recovered. The play also would've been nullified due to offensive holding had he even picked up the first down. Most of those factors aren't his fault. But putting the ball on the ground was. Can't happen.
Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth catches a pass from Kenny Pickett - Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
3. Kendrick Green / Kevin Dotson - Both Green, and Dotson rotated for the entire game. Neither necessarily played well. The offensive line at a whole was abused. Especially the first-string offensive line. As we mentioned Moore was horrible. Mitchell Trubisky was running around making Ben Roethlisberger in his prime-esq escapes from the pocket. It's becoming unclear as to whether Green or Dotson is going to be able to take the left guard spot by the horns. And at this point no matter which one wins the starting job it could be a major problem for the Steelers.
OTHERS - - Trubisky only gets noted here because Pickett just continues to play lights out. The more and more Pickett plays well the more and more Trubisky is going to have to perform when the regular season comes. If he struggles the fans are going to burn down the city of Pittsburgh until Tomlin makes the switch. It's hard to say at this point that Pickett isn't ready to be the guy week 1.
