DE Tuitt delivers flashes of past form

It might have had something to do with the presence of Cam Heyward, who was making his first appearance of the preseason.

Or perhaps it was because he prefers to use each exhibition game to build toward the regular season.

But defensive end Stephon Tuitt, who has had a mostly quiet preseason, stood up and made some noise in a big way Saturday at Heinz Field, looking like the player he was before his 2017 season was disrupted by a torn biceps injury.

In fact, his first two plays against the Tennessee Titans looked impressively similar to his first two plays of last season before he suffering an injury that bothered him the rest of the year.

“I build up to it, it gives me something to chase,” Tuitt said. “I need something to focus on, to pay attention to, that’s just how I am. I’ve always been that way – just one step at a time and get better at that.”

Tuitt was certainly better in the Steelers’ 16-6 victory against the Titans. And he wasted little time imposing his will.

On Tennessee’s first play from scrimmage, Tuitt pressured quarterback Marcus Mariota into a quick throw from his own 8-yard line. Then he sacked Mariota for an 8-yard loss on second down.

Flash back to last year’s season opener in Cleveland, and the parallels are uncanny

Tuitt pressured Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer out of the pocket on the first play from scrimmage, then forced running back Isaiah Crowell out of bounds for a 9-yard loss on second down.

However, Tuitt tore the biceps tendon in his left arm when he reached for Crowell and was never the same, even though he played in 13 games, including the postseason.

This had the same feel … with one big exception.

“I got an intact arm after this,” Tuitt said.

But that wasn’t all. One series later, Tuitt pressured Mariota into an incompletion on third down when he lined on the right side and used an inside spin move on Pro Bowl tackle Taylor Lewan, the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history.

“That’s something I’ve been working on since I started camp – implementing some good inside moves,” Tuitt said.

Tuitt and Heyward, the All-Pro defensive end, were playing together for the first time in the preseason. With the exception of the first two plays of last year in Cleveland, it was the first time since the middle of the 2016 season that both Tuitt and Heyward were together when they were 100 percent healthy.

And their impact was evident for most of the two-plus quarters they played against the Titans, who managed just 52 yards of offense and no points in the first half.

“We need him to continue to do that,” Heyward said of Tuitt. “It doesn’t matter how they block us. One of us gets one-on-one, we have to win.”

At the start of training camp, defensive coordinator Keith Butler identified Tuitt as one of five players on defense who needed to step up in 2018. If his performance against the Titans is any indication, Tuitt should have no problem being the disruptive player he showed before his injury.

“It’s nice seeing him work on someone else like that,” said guard David DeCastro, who goes against Tuitt in practice. “He’s extremely talented. I know how good he is. It’s good to see him do what I know he’s capable of.”