Rookies step into spotlight
game with a concussion after catching one pass and running for a 9-yard gain.
What coach Mike Tomlin and others liked about Dobbs was how he responded to his jittery start.
“I liked their demeanor,’’ Tomlin said of Dobbs and Watt. “They didn’t feel like it was too big for them.”
Dobbs, a fourth-round draft choice, said getting used to playing in his first pro game and the speed of everything might have helped get him off to a slow start.
“Adversity hit, but I was proud I was able to respond to that. It’s part of the game. You have to stay upbeat, you have to have confidence in yourself and be ready to respond because your teammates are looking at you, your coaches are looking at you to see how you respond in those situations.”
Both of Watt’s sacks came in the first 5½ minutes, and he also chased quarterback Josh Johnson into a poor pass when he hit him.
Dobbs’ interceptions led to two short New York fieldgoal drives for a 6-0 lead. Dobbs, though, threw two impressive deep passes, and Hamilton caught them both. He leaped high to pull down a 44-yard reception. Then, with 33 seconds left in the first half, Dobbs threw his best pass of the night, a dart that hit Hamilton in stride over a cornerback in the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown.
His touchdown pass to Hamilton staked the Steelers to a 10-9 lead and came on their first play after Mike Hilton closed in on Giants punt-returner Donte Deayon, who muffed the punt as Hilton recovered at New York’s 28. Hilton, a cornerback with a chance to stick, also had a sack.
Other than Watt, it has not been a simmering summer for Steelers rookies, including their first preseason game.
They already were playing without No. 3 draft pick James Conner, who still has not returned fully from a sprained left shoulder sustained on the team’s first day in pads.
Cornerback Cam Sutton, their third-round pick, also did not play after missing most of the first two weeks of training camp.
Besides Smith-Schuster, Tomlin said there were no other injuries of note, but noted they have to start getting some players back on the field.
“It’s important we get some of these guys back who missed some time tonight,’’ Tomlin said. “It’s important they get back on the field. That point was made to them.”
The Steelers defense played well throughout, holding the Giants to four field goals, even though the Steelers were without five starters. They had just three healthy outside linebackers. The veteran Moats was one of them.
Trailing, 12-10, the veteran linebacker picked off an underthrown Geno Smith pass and returned it 20 yards to the New York 14. Dobbs’ third-down, 7-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Grimble was nullified by a holding call, but Chris Boswell’s 37-yard field goal capitalized on Moats’ turnover to put the Steelers back on top, 13-12.
“Anytime you get the opportunity, you want to be productive,’’ Moats said.
They increased their lead to the final 20-12 early in the fourth quarter on Terrell Watson’s nice 15-yard run around left end, cutting inside the blocking of tight end Jake McGee.
“Adversity hit, but I was proud I was able to respond to that. It’s part of the game. You have to stay upbeat, you have to have confidence in yourself. ...”
— Josh Dobbs, Steelers quarterback, on his early struggles