10 Observations From Steelers vs. Lions: Vintage Big Ben and the New Heath Miller
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers remain unbeaten in the preaseason in impressive fashion - through the first half - defeating the Detroit Lions 26-20 to move to 3-0.
It was a dominant performance for the first two and a half quarters for the Steelers. After that, things fell apart, but hey, a win is a win.
Pittsburgh found stars in rookies, let Ben Roethlisberger be Big Ben and walked away with high hopes in their third preseason showdown.
Heinz Field was jumping, and so are these 10 observations.
Vintage Ben Roethlisberger
If you weren't watching, Ben Roethlisberger from 2005 stepped on the field and welcomed Steelers Nation back to Heinz Field in vintage form.
The 38-year-old, who everyone loves to remind is old, was spinning around and pump-faking like he was replacing Tommy Maddox for the first time September 19, 2004, against the Baltimore Ravens.
On Roethlisberger's - or should we say Big Ben's - first drive, third down, he spun away from a tackle, wrapped back to the right side of the field, and tried to find Eric Ebron.
Ebron, unfortunately, dropped it, but the play woke everyone up.
Roethlisberger led the offense to six points on their second drive. From the 11 yard-line, he pumped faked the entire defense, and cameraman, and found Pat Freiermuth for a touchdown.
Which leads us to observation number two.
Pat Freiermuth aka Baby Heath
The new Heath Miller? Roethlisberger thinks so.
"He's doing good. He works hard. He's a Steelers," Roethlisberger said on his new tight end. "He reminds me of another tight end we've had here before."
Roethlisberger and Freiermuth connected twice in the endzone, opening up the game with a 14-0 lead. Both were incredible plays by Big Ben, but that's not to take away anything from the rookie. He looked good.
Freiermuth said he and Roethlisberger has spent time watching film of Miller and sees himself playing like the Hall of Fame nominee.
"I'm trying to make my own legacy here," Freiermuth said. "Heath was an unbelievable tight end here. It's going to be hard to follow in his footsteps, but I'm also trying to emulate his game. I think we're very similar in our game style."
Yeah, Jesse James was Baby Heath, but maybe it's time to start talking about handing that nickname off.
Najee Harris - Good at Football.
The wonders that can happen with a healthy offensive line is remarkable. Najee Harris took full advantage of open running holes, collecting an eight-yard run on his third and final drive.
His play in between the tackles wasn't what brought fans to their feet, though. Harris took off on a short pass from Roethlisberger across the middle. The rookie stiff-armed a defender and took off towards the sideline.
Harris outran four players before juking out a fifth and sixth before being taken down on the 12 yard-line. The 46-yard play erupted Heinz Field, welcoming the rookie to Pittsburgh and the fans to their new running back.
This Najee dude is pretty good at football.
Special Teams Coverage Was Impressive
The Steelers special teams were on fire in their third preseason game. From my notepad, the Lions weren't able to bring a kick return out past the 25 once on seven kickoffs.
In the return game, rookie Tre Norwood came blasting back towards the team's own endzone to take out not one, but two defenders, freeing up the left sideline for a 47-yard return from Matthew Sexton.
Then, they finished off their night by stopping a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
The only knock is the onside kick they didn't recover in the fourth quarter.
Marcus Allen, Norwood and Jamir Jones are names to watching this season. They're all young, electric special teamers who bring a spark to this group.
Defensive Vets Show Instincts
Joe Haden zipped from the left sideline to the yard marker to nearly intercept a pass from Tim Boyle. For a 32-year-old, this shouldn't have happened, but it's likely that same reason it did.
Haden's football I.Q. is through the roof and has been for years. He hasn't slowed down during training camp and that's now showing during the preseason. He's still one of the most reliable corners in the NFL.
Tyson Alualu shined in the same light. The nose tackle made a play against Boyle that only he saw coming.
Alualu sat back on a pass play, waited to read the quarterback and jumped to bat the ball down on the release. Absolutely perfect play by the veteran.
Age shows in both good and bad ways in the NFL. In Pittsburgh, it's been a positive.
Just Imagine When T.J. Watt Returns
Melvin Ingram has played like a Pro Bowl, starting edge rusher in Pittsburgh. Since he's arrived, he's been a dominant member of the front seven. Against Detroit, he was a monster.
Ingram's "holy smokes" moment came on a run from within the 10 yard-line that ended on the Lions' own four yard-line. Ingram blew through the tight end off the edge and found the runner as soon as he touched the ball for a three-yard loss.
That was only one of many impressive plays on the night.
Alex Highsmith has looked every bit of Bud Dupree and maybe more. Who knows what the Steelers' expectations were for the second-year linebacker, but they've been met and surpassed.
The two of them were nearly unstoppable against the Lions. Now, imagine when T.J. Watt returns. Defensive Player of the Year finalist, about to be paid as the best edge rusher in football, T.J. Watt.
Yikes.
Chukwuma Okorafor Remains a Liability
The Steelers offensive line was, well, impressive during their win over the Lions. That is outside of Chukwuma Okorafor, who opened the game with a false start on the team's first offensive play. It didn't get any better from there.
The left tackle hasn't played well in the last two preseason games—all his preseason action.
Pittsburgh is banking on Okorafor to be a reliable option to replace Alejandro Villanueva. So far, he hasn't been, which remains this offense's biggest concern and question mark moving forward.
Who Won Backup QB Competition Part 3?
Mason Rudolph walked away a clear winner in the Steelers backup quarterback battle in Preseason Week 2. That's due to the lack of Dwayne Haskins in the game, and Pittsburgh's clear choice to have Rudolph as their No. 2
Rudolph went 13-18 for 138 yards against the Lions, but still did not score. That's three games with quality reps and zero points for the fourth-year quarterback.
It doesn't matter. The Steelers made it clear this is Rudolph's position to lose, and even if Haskins brings more excitement, he's not replacing Rudolph unless he makes it blatantly clear he deserves to.
James Pierre, Justin Layne Struggled
Justin Layne's night could be summed up on one play when he got bulldozed by a Lion and was never the same. Not that he was having himself a show-out night prior to the hit, but he was not trying to stop anyone afterward.
Nothing has changed for Layne in coverage, being a step behind on almost all balls thrown his way. For a third-year corner, he still lacks instinct for where receivers are going.
Pierre also struggled. He played first-team reps, which makes an argument for cutting him some slack, but it's no excuse for getting beat as much as Layne.
Neither had a good night.
Football is So Back
The Steelers had 45,374 fans in attendance at Heinz Field during their preseason home opener. That's about 40,000 more than they permitted in the building last year.
From the introductions, Steelers Nation was jumping. From the press box, the screams were loud - REAL LOUD. You could only imagine what it was like on the field.
I say this a lot, but football is so back. Stay safe, but enjoy.
Noah Strackbein is a Publisher with AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
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