Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 Standouts from Preseason Week 2 vs. Chiefs
By Samuel Teets
It’s exciting to see the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starters in uniform, but Week 2 of the preseason meant the most to players fighting for roster spots.
We got our first look at some of the Pittsburgh Steelers starters Saturday night in a 17-7 win against the Kansas City Chiefs. While fans were inevitably excited to see the stars take the field, the game meant the most for players on the roster bubble. A significant number of players are about to be out of a job, and a big night could have made all of the difference for those guys.
The Steelers are trying to rebound from a disappointing 9-6-1 season where they missed the playoffs. I don’t think the current starting lineup is given enough credit for how talented it is. On Saturday, I expected to see how deep Pittsburgh’s talent runs, but it was the starters and mainstays that had the largest impacts.
Having that in mind, it’s time to get into the Pittsburgh Steelers standouts from Week 2 of the preseason.
3. T.J. Watt, OLB
T.J. Watt looked like he was in mid-season form against Kansas City. He was consistently collapsing the pocket or forcing the opposing quarterback to make quick throws.
Maybe it was because it was a preseason game but Watt looked like the best player on the field for most of the first half. Even when he wasn’t making a hit, he was chasing a running back across the field. The ability to always be around the ball sets him apart from the other players on the field.
As always, Watt looked fast and clean off of the line of scrimmage and he drew the double team via the running back in pass protection several times. He finished the night with only one tackle, two quarterback hits and a pass defense. However, we used to see James Harrison have games like that where he still seemed to be winning battles routinely. That was the case last night.
Watt’s night can be summed up by a play that occurred in the first minute of the second quarter. Watt came barreling in and got to Kansas City quarterback Chad Henne just after the ball was released. However, the rush forced a bad pass that was almost intercepted by Bud Dupree. Watt was opening up opportunities for his teammates last night.