Eagles 24 Steelers 23
Okay, it was only a pre-season game, but there were some interesting revelations. As Coach Tomlin said recently about the opener: "No question that this is going to reveal some things to us, particularly from a football conditioning standpoint. That's something that always jumps out in the first preseason game...I want to see these guys play with a sense of urgency that's required in the National Football League."
The Steelers appear to have taken Tomlin's essential requirements seriously. In the only series led by Roethisberger, the Steelers used 16 plays to go 52 yards culminating in a field goal. After a 3 and out by Vick, the Steelers offense drove 70 yards on 10 plays. That drive resulted in a touchdown making it a 10-0 game.
Throughout both drives, in the Half that counted, Steelers showed some diversity in their attack using runs, screen passes and several short-pass routes. It reinforced Todd Haley's approach to offense: keeping the ball moving. It also showed the Steelers wanted to keep things simple in their first game. In fact, Roethlisberger's longest pass was for 17 yards to Sanders.
Several observations were conspicuous. The Eagles had a hard time handling Roethlisberger. In addition, DeCastro, looked good for his first outing. "We came out, got our looks, executed our new offense, "said Antonio Brown.
Perhaps the game can be summed up best by what Tomlin said. "It was a good start for us, but it was just that---a start....We didn't finish."
Of Note:
The game showed some early clues to Haley's strategy with screens, quick throws and ball possession.
Steelers dominated the stats with more first downs, more total yards and longer time of possession.
Ben was sacked 2 times. Leftwich 1 in the first half.
Mike Adams allowed two sacks and was out of the game with an injury to his right knee.
Tomlin called David Johnson's injury "severe."
Dwyer has an AC sprain. He ran for 40 yards before he was injured.
Roethlisberger completed 7 or 8 passes for 49 yards.
Wallace still out.
Sources: Pro Sports Daily, Post Gazette, Steelers.com
Next Game:
Steelers at Colts on Sunday, August 19th, 8 pm ET
