PITTSBURGH — The Steelers showed off the top end of their draft class, not to mention what the offense looks like with Ben Roethlisberger in control, in a 26-20 victory against the Detroit Lions on Saturday night at Heinz Field.
The Steelers improved their preseason record to 3-0 in front of a crowd of 45,374, the largest to return to Heinz Field since a 17-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 15, 2019.
The Lions scored twice in the final four minutes after recovering an onside kick to make the final score look more competitive.
In his first and only appearance of the preseason, Roethlisberger played three series and threw a pair of touchdown passes to rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth, their No. 2 draft choice, to stake the Steelers to a 14-0 lead.
The second touchdown was set up by a 46-yard catch-and-run by running back Najee Harris, their No. 1 pick, who beat two defenders to the sideline after Roethlisberger faked a handoff to him.
That was all the Steelers needed and wanted to see from their two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback, who completed 8 of 10 passes for 137 yards and had a perfect passer rating of 158.3. He was replaced at the end of the first quarter by Mason Rudolph, who produced three field goals but had two drives stall inside the Lions’ 6.
Speaking of perfect, Chris Boswell converted all four field goal attempts from 35, 23, 24 and 42 yards.
Roethlisberger’s first possession ended the way a number of drives ended last season — with a dropped pass from tight end Eric Ebron after Roethlisberger rolled left, then right to avoid pressure.
But that was the only time he failed to produce a touchdown. He jump-started his second possession with a 43-yard pass to Diontae Johnson down the middle of the field on third-and-3 to the Lions’ 32. After a 7-yard pass to Harris and an 11-yard completion to JuJu Smith-Schuster moved the ball to the 14, Roethlisberger found Freiermuth for an 11-yard touchdown on third-and-7, giving the Steelers a 7-0 lead.
Then, on the first play of his third possession, Roethlisberger faked a handoff to Harris and then hit him on a short-crossing route that the team’s No. 1 draft pick turned into a 46-yard gain to the Lions’ 12. Harris showed why he was the 24th overall pick when he beat two Lions defenders to the sideline after the catch and raced untouched to the 12.
Two plays later, Roethlisberger found Freiermuth for a leaping, twisting 8-yard touchdown in almost the same spot as the first one, this one over linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin for a 14-0 lead with 2:54 remaining in the first quarter.
After that, Roethlisberger gave way to Rudolph, who kept the momentum going on the very next possession by completing his first five passes for 46 yards to set up a 35-yard field goal by Boswell and a 17-0 lead.
The Steelers made it 20-0 right before halftime when Rudolph led them on a 14-play, 93-yard drive after a 70-yard punt by the Lions’ Jack Fox pinned them at their own 3. Rudolph hit two big passes on the drive — a 27-yarder to Ebron to the 46 and a 17-yarder to Smith-Schuster on fourth-and-1 from the Lions’ 45.
But, after a 13-yard completion to James Washington gave the Steelers a first down at the Lions’ 4, Rudolph threw three consecutive incompletions before settling for Boswell’s 23-yard field goal with nine seconds remaining in the half.
Rudolph, who has yet to lead a touchdown drive in the preseason, had to settle for another field goal — this time from 24 yards by Boswell — after Mathew Sexton’s 47-yard punt return gave the Steelers possession at the Lions’ 47. Nonetheless, it was the second solid performance in a row for Rudolph, who completed 13 of 18 passes for 138 yards and a 94.2 rating.
The Lions finally scored on a 7-yard run by running back Godwin Igwebuike on the first play of the fourth quarter, capping a 14-play, 82-yard drive. It was only the second touchdown allowed by the Steelers in the preseason.
