Steelers Steamroll Falcons To Finish Perfect Preseason
This preseason has felt like a fever dream for Pittsburgh Steelers fans. Everything that we wanted to see, they showed us. While it’s only preseason, the Steelers have looked great and can hopefully carry the momentum into Week One at Acrisure Stadium when the 49ers come to town. Pittsburgh cruised to an easy 24-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons, making it look easy.
The Steelers Offense
Kenny Pickett continued to look like he was in midseason form, although he only played two drives before Mitch Trubisky took over. Pickett finished the night like Wendy’s, going four for four with 86 yards. Pickett didn’t throw any touchdowns but dropped a couple of perfect passes to Diontae Johnson for 33 yards and George Pickens for 25 yards on the opening drive to set up the Najee Harris touchdown.
All three running backs expected to dress on gamedays found the endzone in Atlanta. Jaylen Warren found it right after Harris did, and then Anthony McFarland punched one in. The Steelers got Connor Heyward involved in the receiving and running games in his hometown. Boswell also nailed a 38-yard field goal and the Steelers never looked back.
The Defense
The Steelers defense did what the Steelers defense does. Elandon Roberts and TJ Watt both found a way to get to Taylor Heinicke on the opening drive. Nick Herbig added a sack later on as well. Mark Robinson and Quincy Roche both forced a fumble. Everybody did their part, as usual. The defense is ready to go for the regular season.
Kwon Alexander looked good again in the black and gold, registering four tackles. Toby Ndukwe even popped out for a pair of sacks in the preseason finale. Steelers getting contributions all over the place. It might make cut day tough, but that’s a good problem to have.
Odds & Ends
Calvin Austin returned four punts for a total of 53 yards, averaging 13.3 yards per return. Newcomer Aron Cruickshank got to field a punt as well but didn’t get a chance to return it. RB3 Anthony McFarland returned one kickoff for 23 yards as he tried to find his role on the team.
Like you’ll hear many analysts say in the next coming weeks, it’s only preseason so it’s tough to get a real gauge on how smoothly everything was running. But the offense has looked great in all three games in the limited capacity we’ve seen them. In all five drives Pickett played in, the Steelers scored a touchdown. The playbooks looked good, the running backs looked good, and everything was clicking. The real barometer will be how the offensive line can carry this into the regular season. The Steelers will rely on them heavily this year. If they can keep Pickett upright, look out AFC.
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