Steelers football blog

Steelers dominate Vick in 24-14 win over Eagles

- Big Ben running around, extending plays, throwing touchdowns. Hines Ward dancing in the end zone, not on the ballroom floor.Troy Polamalu picking off a pass. James Harrison wreaking havoc in the backfield.

Does the calendar say August or December? For a couple of dazzling quarters on Thursday night, the Steelers made it hard to tell the difference.

Roethlisberger threw for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Pittsburgh's defense put an exclamation point to Philadelphia star Michael Vick's miserable day, intercepting three of his passes in the first half of a remarkably easy 24-14 victory.

Yes, it's only the preseason. But after sleepwalking through a loss to Washington a week ago, the defending AFC champions delivered a reminder to their cross-state rivals about which team from Pennsylvania has played in three of the last six Super Bowls."That's the desired response we were looking for," said Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin. (continue)

 

Steelers muster 7 points vs Redskins

Ben Roethlisberger fired a 19-yard pass to Antonio Brown, transferring what the two have been doing at training camp to an actual game, albeit one that does not count in any standings.

That proved to be the lone highlight for the Steelers' first-team offense in a 16-7 loss to the Washington Redskins in the preseason opener.

Panic didn't grip the visiting sideline at FedEx Field since offensive stalwarts such as Roethlisberger, wide receiver Hines Ward, tight end Heath Miller and running back Rashard Mendenhall played just five snaps, calling it a day before the sun did Friday.

But Steelers coach Mike Tomlin made it clear he was not happy with much what transpired in the Steelers' first game since Super Bowl XLV.

"Quite frankly, we got outplayed in just about all areas. Blocking, tackling, running, throwing, kicking," Tomlin said. "That team was better prepared than us. I look forward to this group responding. I'll expect these guys to respond to this. It needs to be better quickly." (continue)

Parker or Mendenhall?

You might need to refer to your fraction multiplication table for this one, but what do you get when you have a quarterback controversy times two?

A halfback controversy.

Mike Tomlin would seem to have one on his hands this week as he decides whether to start Willie Parker or Rashard Mendenhall, not that it is a bad thing. Quarterback controversies can split a locker room in two; halfback controversies like this one usually do not.

Parker, the veteran starter, missed the 38-28 victory against San Diego at Heinz Field Sunday night because of turf toe, and Rashard Mendenhall climbed from behind Tomlin's curtain and performed his Franco Harris impersonation. Mendenhall ran a workhorse 29 times for 165 yards, scored on both chances at the goal line, caught two passes for 26 yards and blocked like Dan Kreider. Continue

Big Ben looks awesome in win vs Bills

Last night, the Steelers looked Super again.

Playing extensively for the first time since they beat Arizona in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers' starting lineup thoroughly dominated the Buffalo Bills in their first half of play.

Their first-half lead stood up as the final score, 17-0, and their second victory in three preseason games came minus Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes and starting halfback Willie Parker, both out with minor injuries.

"It was a productive outing for us. It is great when you can pitch a shutout, even in August," said coach Mike Tomlin. "I see some good things, but still see some things where the Steelers are still beating the Steelers." Continue

Steelers beat Cardinals again

As a Super Bowl rematch, the exhibition game between the Steelers and Arizona Cardinals last night fell flat. Anyone looking for excitement could have found more at the newly opened Rivers Casino next door.

But then, exhibition games often go that way, probably why only 58,330 turned out at Heinz Field last night. It was another example of why the NFL wants to reduce the preseason by two games.

The Steelers, however, won for the second consecutive time over the past six months against the Cardinals, 20-10.

The game was salvaged somewhat in the second half by players who were not playing in a Super Bowl rematch, they were playing in their first professional game. Steelers rookies such as Ziggy Hood, Joe Burnett, Mike Wallace and Isaac Redman had to walk out of Heinz Field feeling pretty good about their pro debuts. Continue

Steelers nip Panthers, stay healthy

Strong safety Troy Polamalu played and didn't get hurt. The same goes for the rest of the Steelers' starters. Reserve linebacker Arnold Harrison was lost for the season Thursday to a torn ACL, but the Steelers emerged from their final preseason game relatively unscathed. That alone made the night a success.

Yesterday's game didn't represent a final tune-up for the regular season as much as it did a last chance for players fighting for spots on the 53-man roster to state their cases.Ben Roethlisberger didn't play long enough to make it into the final box score. Both passes he threw were negated by penalties in the Steelers' 19-16 win over the Carolina Panthers. Continue

Steelers raise intensity against Vikings

Apparently no one wanted to answer to outside linebacker James Harrison. Seeing its most (and probably last) extensive action of the preseason Saturday, the Steelers defense played with the kind of urgency and intensity that Harrison said –- well, huffed is more like it -- had been noticeably absent during the team’s first two exhibition games.

The Vikings managed just one touchdown in the almost three quarters they played against the Steelers’ first-team defense. And the Steelers dominated the line of scrimmage, shutting down Minnesota’s running back tandem of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor while sacking quarterback Gus Frerotte three times in a 12-10 win over the Vikings in front of a sellout crowd of 62,625. Continue

Starting defense yields 2 early TDs

The Steelers and Buffalo Bills played an exhibition game in Canada last night and it looked early on as if they were playing under the wide-open CFL rules. The Bills scored touchdowns on their first two drives and the Steelers responded with a big-play scoring pass of their own, before things bogged down under the backups, although Steelers rookie quarterback Dennis Dixon ran 47 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Continue

Steelers win preseason opener

The Steelers were actively trying to sign a veteran quarterback Friday night after losing Charlie Batch for at least a month to a broken right collarbone in their 16-10 win over the Eagles at Heinz Field. Batch left the game early in the second quarter after rushing for 6 yards on a broken play. Coach Mike Tomlin said he is expected to miss four to six weeks. "Unfortunate incident," Tomlin said, "but our approach is it's part of football. We'll regroup and make necessary adjustments." Continue

Steelers show little in last preseason game

An electrical storm deemed dangerous enough for officials to clear the field about an hour before kickoff Thursday night never materialized. The same also might be said of the game that was scheduled at Bank of America Stadium.

With each team trying to get through their final preseason game without any significant injuries, the starters played sparingly before giving way to the reserves who will mostly watch when the regular season starts -- if they make their respective teams at all. The Steelers, on the strength of four Jeff Reed field goals and a late interception return for a touchdown by Tyrone Carter, beat the turnover-prone Carolina Panthers, 19-3, to finish the preseason with a 4-1 record. Continue