It might not have been the most exciting game, but the Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to come out of their second preseason game with a 17-7 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The entire rhythm of the game was off from the beginning after a one-hour lightning delay, but after a couple of drives, both teams settled down and we saw some good football.
Here are our four takeaways from the game.
The Steelers might not have a No. 2 tight end
Rookie tight end Zach Gentry didn’t play Saturday, but in his absence, no one stepped up. Pittsburgh has made two-tight-end sets a regular part of their offense, but that may not be possible this season with the current crop of tight ends not named Vance McDonald.
The battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot is very close
The incumbent backup to Ben Roethlisberger is Joshua Dobbs. But his hold on the spot grows more and more tenuous every week. Mason Rudolph has made strides in the offseason in terms of his poise, and the zip he has on his throws is exceptional. A couple of drops and a fumble by his wide receivers got him off to a slow start, but he bounced back big in just under a half of work.
Artie Burns might be OK
No one is ready to anoint Burns worthy of his first-round draft status. But against the Chiefs, Burns made several good plays. And better still, he didn’t make the horrible gaffe that was too common last season. Joe Haden sat out this week, and Burns was solid in his spot.
Pittsburgh is planning to blitz a lot
We saw very few passing downs on Saturday night that didn’t involve the Steelers sending five pass rushers. It was a little surprising to see so much of the what we assume is the defensive game plan in the second preseason game of the year, but with all these young linebackers, defensive coordinator Keith Butler needs to see what he has.
