Are you excited after what you saw last night in Tampa?
Or…
Are you tempering your excitement because it was after all “only preseason?”
Whichever approach you have, it’s fine. There really isn’t a right or wrong way here because the truth is somewhere in the middle. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-17 in the preseason opener Friday night and the emotional residue left by fans runs to the extremes.
The Bucs pretty much rested their entire starting defense – this cannot be denied – yet we can’t deny that Kenny Pickett looked outstanding too. Let’s assume for a moment that Pickett hadn’t played well. Can you imagine what the fan reaction would have been then? “Pickett couldn’t even do the job against second and third teamers!!”
BUT… Pickett did get it done and he looked more comfortable and more confident than even in those game-winning drives from last season. This is exactly what the entirety of Steelers Nation was expecting wasn’t it? It sure should have been. Not only did Todd Bowles deploy backups but his defense was largely pretty vanilla too. Regardless, this was a huge step for Pickett and the offense but don’t be mistaken, there is plenty to work on.
Both Anthony McFarland and Calvin Austin III looked really good. McFarland ripped off several nice runs including a 14-yarder for a score while CAIII had a couple of nice runs and capped his evening with a 72 yard TD catch from Mason Rudolph.
BUT… we saw almost the same exact thing last preseason from McFarland but when the competition got tougher he wasn’t able to sustain his success. As for Austin, we have every right to be excited. He’s a true, legitimate home run threat every time he touches it and who among us doesn’t want to see that? Like McFarland though, can Austin sustain it?
Rookies Nick Herbig and Keannu Benton (he did leave with an ankle injury) both looked extremely impressive on the defensive side of the ball. Herbig finished with 1.5 sacks on the evening while Benton was a constant thorn in the side of the Tampa Bay offensive line. He routinely used power and quickness to blow up plays including one on a fourth down that ended a Bucs’ drive.
BUT… These guys were doing it against second and third teamers right? Not so much. Herbig’s sack came against starting right tackle Luke Goedeke. He did exactly what we’ve seen in Camp as he used suddenness and bend to get around the corner in a flash. Benton didn’t necessarily defeat starters but I’m not going to dismiss his fine play either. Like Pickett, had he not had success we would be singing a much different tune today.
The most important word when discussing preseason football game performances is “context.” Fans have to understand the situations in their entirety in order to truly evaluate and appreciate what the Steelers are doing. Context isn’t a bad word either. Some take it to mean that it’s an automatic slight towards a player. It’s not at all. So whatever you felt about the team’s performance you probably have some credibility. Just understand that others with different opinions do too.
