A lot happened early. Three first-quarter touchdowns, in fact. <\/p>\n
After that, not much. Not \u2026 much \u2026 at \u2026 all.<\/p>\n
Such is the result in a lot of preseason games. That was especially true between the Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium.<\/p>\n
The biggest takeaway from the Steelers\u2019 17-14 loss is that it\u2019s over, and there is only one more of these tedious preseason exercises to go before the 2025 regular season begins.<\/p>\n
Thankfully. <\/p>\n
Plus, we only have to wait five more days before that happens in Charlotte.<\/p>\n
So, while there wasn\u2019t an overriding theme from a team perspective in either direction, there are some individual points to highlight \u2014 or try to bury \u2014 in the week\u2019s \u201cFeats Of Strength\u201d and \u201cAiring of Grievances.\u201d<\/p>\n
FEATS OF STRENGTH<\/p>\n
Roman and Rudolph: After a costly misfire early (we\u2019ll get to that), Mason Rudolph and Roman Wilson hooked up on a 42-yard bomb.<\/p>\n
BIG GAINS ???? <\/p>\n
???? #TBvsPIT<\/a> on @KDKA<\/a> @paramountplus<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/t8w64JVGRh<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Rudolph then threw a nice fade to Brandon Johnson that drew a pass-interference penalty. That placed the ball at the goal line. His next pass was a bullet to Max Hurleman, who dropped the potential touchdown. <\/p>\n However, Rudolph eluded a rush and went to Johnson again on second down. This time, the scoring attempt connected, and the Steelers cut a 14-0 deficit in half.<\/p>\n 2\ufe0f\u20e3 \u27a1\ufe0f 1\ufe0f\u20e31\ufe0f\u20e3 for 6\ufe0f\u20e3!<\/p>\n ???? #TBvsPIT<\/a> on @KDKA<\/a> @paramountplus<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/6cuM2ZtAQ6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Wilson later caught a 30-yard pass from Skylar Thompson to give hope to Steelers fans that he may be able to make a positive impact this season after missing all but one game a year ago.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s had a good camp,\u201d coach Mike Tomlin said of Wilson. \u201cHe\u2019s backed that up with some good in-stadium play. I feel good about the overall trajectory for him.\u201d<\/p>\n (Re)Draw the line: The Steelers defense pushed back the line of scrimmage a bit more than they did in their first preseason game in Jacksonville. Rookie Derrick Harmon stuffed a run play for no gain and collected a sack.<\/p>\n .@Steelers<\/a>‘ first-round pick Derrick Harmon gets to the QB ????<\/p>\n Stream on @NFLPlus<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/3SpTEnfyJg<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NFL (@NFL) August 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Also, Chuck Clark, Juan Thornhill and Malik Harrison all were credited with tackles for a loss in the first half. Eku Leota had two in the second half.<\/p>\n Tampa only averaged 3.8 yards per play. The Bucs had a mere 41 yards on 24 rushing attempts. <\/p>\n If at first you don\u2019t succeed: In the first half, it was another struggle for Kaleb Johnson \u2014 and for the Steelers\u2019 run game in general.<\/p>\n The rookie running back did pop a 14-yard run for a nice highlight. However, his next four carries netted just 2 yards.<\/p>\n In the second half, though, Johnson found a rhythm. He ended up with 50 yards on 11 carries for a 4.5 yards-per-carry average after getting just 20 yards on eight carries versus the Jaguars. <\/p>\n \u201cI was timid (in Jacksonville) reading the flow of my linemen and connecting with them,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI was talking all week about how I should be executing and doing better \u2014 progressing and developing over time. I feel like I did that.\u201d<\/p>\n The Iowa product also accounted for a 34-yard kick return.<\/p>\n Early in the game, the Steelers didn\u2019t run often, and they didn\u2019t run well. Their first 10 carries only resulted in 31 yards. Thirteen of them were from Rudolph and Thompson. But the offense ended up with 130 yards rushing on 26 carries.<\/p>\n AIRING OF GRIEVANCES<\/p>\n Rocky start: Rudolph threw a pick on the second pass of the game. Wilson was the intended receiver on a throw up the numbers. <\/p>\n But Wilson didn\u2019t have much separation to speak of, and Rudolph was intercepted by Zyon McCollum.<\/p>\n An opening drive INT for Zyon McCollum <\/p>\n Stream on @NFLPlus<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/6UBZcsYLMV<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NFL (@NFL) August 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe DB made a good play. I was late to the scene,\u201d Rudolph said. \u201cHe overlapped in Cover 3 and made a good play. I\u2019ve got to be quicker or check the ball down.\u201d<\/p>\n Rudolph ended up 3 of 5 for 46 yards, a touchdown and an interception.<\/p>\n Costly snafu: On Tampa Bay\u2019s second possession, Teddy Bridgewater hit Jalen McMillan for an 18-yard completion on a third down. From there, though, the Steelers\u2019 defense stalled the drive. <\/p>\n It appeared that the Bucs were going to have to settle for a 43-yard field goal. But on Chase McLaughlin\u2019s successful attempt, D\u2019Shawn Jamison obviously ran into him, drawing a penalty flag and an automatic first down. <\/p>\n Tampa Bay elected to take the points off the board and put the offense back on the field. Bridgewater cashed in the mistake with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Bucky Irving.<\/p>\n Bucky Irving looking like a WR on this TD ????<\/p>\n Stream on @NFLPlus<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/xV1L135kA8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NFL (@NFL) August 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n On the play, Irving beat Payton Wilson. The second-year linebacker referred to himself as \u201cone of the best coverage linebackers in the world<\/a>\u201d last month.<\/p>\n The special teams also allowed a 37-yard punt return by Tez Johnson in the first half. <\/p>\n However, both punters were good again. Corliss Waitman averaged 58 yards per punt on three tries, including one that resulted in a muffed return that was recovered by Max Hurleman. The turnover led to a touchdown by Tre Sermon.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Cameron Johnston dropped two punts inside the 20-yard line. His longest was 49 yards.<\/p>\n And, to be fair to Jamison, he did atone for that penalty by forcing a fumble in the fourth quarter. <\/p>\n Not as lucky: Last week, Tomlin praised his team for avoiding pre-snap penalties, turnovers and injuries.<\/p>\n In this game, there were at least three pre-snap penalties. Rudolph, Thompson and Logan Woodside were all guilty of interceptions. And the Steelers did suffer a few injuries of note.<\/p>\n Outside linebacker Nick Herbig pulled a hamstring, and long snapper Christian Kuntz was sidelined with a chest injury. After the game, Tomlin said they got \u201cgood news\u201d on Kuntz, and he didn\u2019t seem concerned about Herbig. <\/p>\n Logan Lee had to absorb the long snapping duties for Kuntz. The second-year defensive lineman hadn\u2019t taken on that task since high school. <\/p>\n His first try on an extra point appeared to be a little low, but Johnston handled it for a clean hold and a successful kick. From there, Lee was solid.<\/p>\n \u201cIt went fairly well. There were a few that were a little slow or a little wobbly, but we\u2019ll take it in a pinch,\u201d Lee said. <\/p>\n By the way, hold-in or not, Chris Boswell handled the kickoff duties. Ben Sauls attempted all the place kicks, including a costly late-game, missed field goal.<\/p>\n Virtually useless: The first attempt at a virtual measurement at Acrisure Stadium was a bust.<\/p>\n In the first quarter, Rudolph scrambled on a third down. He needed 8 yards and clearly came up about a yard short.<\/p>\n Yet it was determined that a measurement was needed anyway. Eventually, the scoreboard showed a graphic that the ball was short. But it took long enough that the chain gang probably could\u2019ve come on and off the field four times in the span that it took to announce a measurement that even people in the 500-section could tell was short.<\/p>\n Maybe it was just an experiment. If it was, it was clunky and poorly executed.<\/p>\n Ironically, later in the game, the Steelers seemed to get a very generous spot on a first down by Connor Heyward, but no measurement was triggered.<\/p>\n LISTEN: Tim Benz and Jeff Erickson host their weekly Mike\u2019s Beer Bar fantasy sports podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com<\/a> or via X<\/a>. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.<\/p>\n