So, the 2024 Steelers preseason is officially done. We gave it our best effort yet, this time traveling to face the Detroit Lions. While I acknowledge that it is preseason, no team likes to lose, especially in the last “tune-up” for the regular season.
As we approach the first week of the regular season, I think it will be interesting to observe how the “fifty-three” appears. In my view, no player who was ‘on the outside looking in’ was able to lock down a spot on the squad, but I can tell you that a number of guys shown that they belong on the practice squad and are not ‘fifty-three’ type players.
With that in mind, let’s see what we learned on the offensive side of the ball.
The Steelers offense looked good early but fizzled down the stretch
I predicted that the two touchdowns the Steelers offense scored to go up fourteen points would set off an offensive comeback never before seen in the 2024 preseason.
We managed to break a really long run on the first touchdown, which was encouraging. One of our free agent additions this off-season, Cordarrelle Patterson, scored a touchdown on a 31-yard rush to put the Steelers ahead seven to ‘zip’. On the next play, the Lions fumbled, which allowed for another touchdown drive.
We were up by fourteen points following another rushing score, but the offense soon collapsed into incompetence. The offense mustered a pitiful two hundred and fifteen yards, according to ESPN. We attempted 43 plays, converted three of ten third downs, gained four sacks, gave up one fumble, and lost the battle for possession time by eleven minutes. Consider that. Compared to the Steelers, the Lions offense had the ball for over a quarter longer. That isn’t a successful formula.
Let’s see what we learned on the defensive side of the ball.
The Steelers defense could stop neither the run nor the pass against the Lions
The Steelers defense ought to have been able to hold onto the lead after losing their opening two preseason games and giving up a two touchdown lead to the opposition in the season’s last game. Sadly, that was not intended to be.
The defense enabled the Lions offense to run seventy-four plays, surrendered six of twelve third-down conversions, gave up three hundred and sixty-one yards, and gave up over two hundred yards rushing—more precisely, one hundred and eighty-seven yards.
Simply put, inadequate. Two areas of brightness were present. Julius Welschof and Nick Herbig both recorded two sacks. There were five sacks and one interception produced by the defense. Welschof has made a case for Mike Tomlin and the coaching staff to find him a roster place, based on what I have seen, at least in the preseason.
The defensive play was often not up to par. That it’s the preseason doesn’t bother me. If nothing else, you should defend a two-touchdown lead to demonstrate your ability to perform under pressure. Put another way, it is unacceptable to give up two touchdown leads once the regular season begins. See what more we can discover.
It looks like the Steelers could be on their way to having their first losing season under Mike Tomlin. As I’ve said before, I recognize that Mike Tomlin and the coaching staff use the preseason to assess players’ abilities in specific situations, such as who can play what position.
A player’s chance to demonstrate their skills is during the preseason. Whether it’s preseason or not, you have to win a game at some time. We allowed an average of almost eighteen points per game and scored less than eleven points per game on offense. These averages indicate that the 2024 Steelers won’t win a single game.
Although I do not believe we will be winless, we did not get much confidence from the preseason in the present roster. The offensive line needs a lot of improvement, the quarterback play was mediocre at best, the offense lacks playmakers, and the defensive depth isn’t great, in my opinion.
As I’ve already said, I back Tomlin. I consider it a tremendous accomplishment to having never had a losing season in the modern NFL. I worry that this year won’t be like that. It was disappointing, to put it mildly, this preseason.
In every game, we were outmatched. Our backups appeared less professional than the majority of our rivals’ backups. I acknowledge that both on and off the ball, we may have played things a touch too “vanilla,” but once more, even “vanilla” plays eventually give players the opportunity to score. To defeat the Lions, there just weren’t enough “plays” on either side of the ball.
Does that mean bad things are going to happen soon? I sincerely hope not. Come regular season, will we be able to “flip the switch” and resume our winning ways? I sincerely hope so. Time will tell which direction the 2024 Steelers decide to go, like with many other subjects we talk about.
