Solid play on ‘D’

Steelers defence takes step forward in preseason tuneup

The matchup was a mismatch. And it ended predictably: with Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Bowl defensive end Cameron Heyward shedding Tennessee Titans rookie guard Aaron Stinnie and driving quarterback Blaine Gabbert into the ground.

Heyward popped up and turned to the Pittsburgh sideline with his palms raised after picking up his first sack of the preseason early in the second half of a 16-6 victory on Saturday. Asked if the pose was his way of asking the coaching staff if it had seen enough, Heyward just laughed.

“No, but it was something close to that,” Heyward said. “Because I should have got the sack way earlier and I was messing around.”

A not uncommon sentiment for the defending AFC North champions. A week after getting pushed around a bit by Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Packers in a lopsided loss in Green Bay, Pittsburgh’s defence responded by limiting Tennessee to 52 yards in the first half and keeping them out of the end zone until well after Heyward and the rest of the first stringers had departed.

Was it the “varsity” football coach Mike Tomlin was looking for? Heyward isn’t quite sure. But it’s as close as it gets in August.

“We game-planned a lot more this game,” Heyward said. “This is something you continue to do as preseason goes along. You start to add more and more. This was a dress rehearsal (but) it was one game. We don’t put a lot of stock into it, but just a good showing.”

Pittsburgh, which set a franchise record while leading the NFL with 56 sacks in 2017, never let Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota get comfortable.

Vince Williams, fresh off signing a new four-year contract last Thursday, took Mariota down in the first half.

So did defensive end Stephon Tuitt as the Steelers mixed and matched their defensive alignment far more frequently than they did in either of their first two preseason matchups.

“We don’t show all of our cards, but that’s part of the game,” Heyward said. “We’re putting little tidbits out there, stuff we’ve been working on. We’ll just keep evolving. That’s not something we’re set with but that’s part of the game. We have so many different fronts. Everybody has to be willing to play different spots and we’ll be ready to go next game.”