Category: 2023 Steelers Preseason Week 2

Steelers LB Nick Herbig continues huge preseason

Nick Herbig has been impressive through two preseason games.

A strong case can be made that the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie playing the best football is outside linebacker Nick Herbig. Coming in as a fourth-round pick, Herbig has come on strong and really shown some skills as a playmaker.

On Saturday against the Buffalo Bills, Herbig continued the strong preseason that started with 1.5 sacks against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week.

Herbig has taken full advantage of his opportunities this preseason and his game from Wisconsin is translating well to the NFL. He fits perfectly in the Steelers scheme and his speed and technical skills have more than made up for any lack of size or strength.

In 2022, Herbig had 11.0 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss in 11 games at Wisconsin. He, along with veteran Markus Golden might give the Steelers the best backup pass rushers in the league.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin plans to play starters vs Falcons

Mike Tomlin says sitting Kenny Pickett and the rest of the starters will let them play more vs the Falcons.

At halftime, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin talked about his starters and what he saw in those first two drives against the Buffalo Bills.

Tomlin noted that ideally, he would have liked to have left them on the field a little longer. However, Tomlin opted to pull the starting offense after scoring two explosive touchdowns on two drives.

After that, Tomlin also noted that after this game, the team has to travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons on a short. Week. He said that by pulling his starters quickly this week, it would allow them to play a bit more in Week Three.

Traditionally, the final preseason game is a game of rest for starters with the backups getting all those reps. But with the preseason shortened and a roster full of new faces, it will be all hands on deck for the Steelers in their final preseason game.

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Watch Steelers rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. get his first NFL interception

Joey Porter Jr. got his first interception as a member of the Steelers on Saturday night.

For much of the offseason, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. worked on improving his hands and ability to add interceptions to his toolkit. It didn’t take long for that hard work to pay off.

In Porter’s first NFL action, Porter got that first NFL interception. Porter missed the team’s first preseason game with an injury so he wanted to make a point against the Bills. He did that by hauling in an interception of Bills quarterback Matt Barkley late in the second quarter.

The Steelers selected Porter with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. The big knock on Porter coming out of Penn State was his lack of interceptions. While valid, you can see he’s put in the work to put that behind him.

Porter’s timely pick gave the Steelers a short field and allowed the offense to put up another touchdown just before halftime and go into the locker room leading 21-0.

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Steelers defense shuts out Bills starting offense

Josh Allen and the Bills starting offense had no luck against the Steelers starting defense.

Midway through the second quarter of the Week Two preseason showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott pulled his starting offense.

When the Bills starters went to the sidelines, Pittsburgh was in the lead 14-0. Shutting out the Bills starting offense is a huge accomplishment, especially for a defense with several new players at key positions. Meanwhile, the Steelers starting offense played two drives and put up two quick touchdowns before calling it a night.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen was 7-for-10 for 64 yards but failed to find the end zone on his three drives. The Steelers defense did a good job harassing Allen, keeping him off balance. When the Bills tried to run the ball, Pittsburgh players were flying to the football and doing a great job tackling.

You can only take so much from a preseason but when it is starters against starters, the outcome matters and the Steelers dominated the Bills on both sides of the football.

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Watch: Steelers QB Kenny Pickett connects with TE Pat Freiermuth for TD

Kenny Pickett only needed one play to get another touchdown on the Steelers second drive.

The Pittsburgh Steelers offense took quick advantage of a huge punt return to get on the board in just one play on the second draft against the Buffalo Bills.

First off, wide receiver Calvin Austin III had a big 54-yard punt return to set the Steelers offense up with a short field. Quarterback Kenny Pickett wasted no time in taking a shot at the end zone.

On the first play of the drive, Pickett connect with tight end Pat Freiermuth on a beautiful pass that went 25 yards and a touchdown.

Pickett came out after two drives with Mitch Trubisky replacing him. Pickett finished with 43 passing yard son 3-of-4 passing, the one touchdown pass and a 149.0 passer rating.

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Steelers vs Bills: Pittsburgh strikes first with Jaylen Warren TD

Jaylen Warren broke off a beautiful 62-yard touchdown run on the Steelers opening drive.

It didn’t take long for the Pittsburgh Steelers to get on the scoreboard against the Buffalo Bills. Pittsburgh marched the football down the field on its opening drive and capped with an impressive 62-yard touchdown run by running back Jaylen Warren.

Warren is currently listed as the No. 2 running back on the depth chart but more plays like that and it will be tough for the Steelers to keep him off the field. Warren brings a type of explosion that Najee Harris can’t and Warren has proven he’s capable of being more than just a gadget back.

On the opening drive, the Steelers went 86 yards in just six plays and only took 2:37 off the play clock.

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Steelers vs Bills preseason: 5 things we want to see Saturday night

Let’s see if the Steelers can establish the run with the starters on the field.

If you don’t get excited about Pittsburgh Steelers preseason football because you don’t get to see your favorite players enough, this is the game that could change your mind. Week two of the preseason is the game where the starters play the most and this season we expect a heavy dose of them against the Buffalo Bills.

Buffalo has already said they play to play their starters for the first quarter and half of the second quarter. We won’t be shocked if Pittsburgh plays its starters for at least this long.

Here are five things we really want to see happen against the Bills on Saturday night.

Steelers vs Bills preseason: 1 bold prediction for each positional unit this week

Will Kenny Pickett find the end zone? Will T.J. Watt and the defense sacks Bills quarterback Josh Allen? Here are some predictions.

It is time for the all-important second preseason game for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the past it was always the third game where head coach Mike Tomlin would play his starters for the biggest chunk of the game and typically the only preseason game where you saw quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The change by the league to drop one preseason game has flipped the philosophy so this week we are looking forward to a heavy dose of all the Steelers starters including quarterback Kenny Pickett and running back Najee Harris.

Here is one bold (or maybe not so bold) prediction about each of the Steelers positional units this week.

Steelers vs Bills preseason: HC Mike Tomlin finalizing special teams roles

Mike Tomlin plans to evaluate Anthony McFarland and Calvin Austin III in their return roles this week.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin talked special teams this Thursday, leading up to the team’s second preseason game. Pittsburgh takes on the Buffalo Bills this week at Acrisure Stadium and Tomlin wants to see his projected starters in the kicking and return games.

This means after resting them in Week One, kicker Chris Boswell and punter Pressley Harvin III will take back their spots at the top of the depth chart.

It also means, according to Tomlin, he wants to see his starting return men in their roles. According to Tomlin, he plans to have running back Anthony McFarland Jr. as the primary kick returner and wide receiver Calvin Austin III as the punt returner.

The biggest takeaway from this is there is no mention of wide receiver Gunner Olszewski. Not having him as part of the conversation doesn’t bode well for his future with the team. Olszewski doesn’t offer much in terms of a receiver and the offense already has plenty of weapons in the passing game, especially with the return of Calvin Austin III.

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