Steelers rookie tight end
Steelers rest 18 starters in preseason victory
Zach Gentry leaps for a touchdown in the third quarter of the preseason opener, a 30-28 win against Tampa Bay, Friday at Heinz Field.
The Steelers saw everything they wanted to see in their preseason opener at Heinz Field. Big plays from receiver James Washington. A pair of field goals from kicker Chris Boswell. And a dazzling debut from Devin Bush, their No. 1 draft choice.
Unfortunately, they also saw something they witnessed too many times last season – another blown lead.
Despite not using 18 of their 22 starters, the Steelers came back from an early deficit and held on to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 30-28, Friday night at Heinz Field — the most points they’ve scored in a preseason opener at home since 2005.
And they did it with big performances from Washington, who had four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown, all in the first half; and Boswell, who converted his only two field goal attempts from 33 and 47 yards.
On defense, Bush showed why the Steelers made a dramatic draft-day move to get him when he had 10 tackles (seven unassisted) in the first half alone, including a big stop for a 2-yard loss on a fourth-and-1 play at the Steelers 17. Coach Mike Tomlin was obviously satisfied because Bush did not play in the second half.
But the Steelers nearly blew a 30-16 lead in the fourth quarter when Tampa Bay scored a touchdown with 10 seconds remaining. However, a two-point conversion pass fell short to prevent overtime.
Tomlin treated the preseason opener the same way he does the final preseason game, electing not to use 10 starters on offense and eight on defense. The only starters to appear were right tackle Matt Feiler on offense and nose tackle Javon Hargrave, safety Terrell Edmunds and rookie inside linebacker Devin Bush on defense.
Tampa Bay Coach Bruce Arians, the former Steelers offensive coordinator, took the opposite approach. He started a number of his regulars, including quarterback Jameis Winston.
The Steelers came back from a 7-0
deficit to take a 13-10 halftime lead, then padded the margin to 20-10 in the third quarter on a 3-yard touchdown from quarterback Masson Rudolph to rookie tight end Zach Gentry. The touchdown was set up by a 59-yard catch-and-run from Rudolph to receiver Johnny Holton to the Tampa Bay 6.
Rudolph was 5 of 8 for 91 yards and two touchdowns with a 141.1 passer rating after replacing Josh Dobbs, who started for Ben Roethlisberger. Dobbs was 5 of 8 for 85 yards, but also rushed two times for 44 yards, including a 36-yarder to set up the first field goal.
Fourth quarterback Devlin Hodges, who has impressed the coaches at training camp with his accuracy and decision-making, got into the act with an 8-yard touchdown to receiver Tevin Jones in the fourth quarter.
The Buccaneers wasted little time scoring on the opening possession, going 81 yards on 12 plays. Winston threw a short pass in the right flat to receiver Chris Godwin, who broke a tackle attempt by rookie cornerback Justin Layne for a 9-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Washington, last year’s second-round draft choice, showed on the Steelers first possession why the coaches have such big expectations for him. He got behind the Tampa Bay secondary and caught a 43yard pass from Dobbs in the middle of the field on second-and-11. He also caught a 22yard pass from Dobbs on third-and-21 in the second quarter.
Washington appeared to make a dazzling toe-tapping catch in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown, but the officials ruled he was out of bounds and the Steelers declined to challenge because they thought his lead foot touched the boundary stripe. The Steelers had to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Boswell, which was a significant play in itself. Boswell is playing for his job and a $2 million roster bonus that was delayed until after the final preseason game.
Mason Rudolph replaced Dobbs with six minutes remaining in the second quarter and quickly led the Steelers on a sevenplay, 64-yard drive that culminated with an 8-yard touchdown to Washington, his former college teammate, to give the Steelers a 10-7 lead. Washington caught a perfect back-shoulder pass from Rudolph, who was 3-for-3 for 29 yards on the drive.
The Steelers added another score just 53 seconds later after linebacker Tyler Matakevich stripped the ball from quarterback Ryan Griffin on a sack and rookie defensive end Isaiah Buggs recovered at the Buccaneers 27. Boswell converted another field goal, this one from 47 yards, to make it 13-7 with 1:03 remaining.
Bush certainly didn’t disappoint in his first appearance in a Steelers uniform, showing why the team moved up 10 spots in the draft to take him with the 10th overall selection. He made back-to-back plays on the Buccaneers’ second possession, including breaking up a pass for tight end Tanner Hudson, then made a nice tackle to stop a run that Andre Ellington bounced outside two plays later.
But he saved his biggest tackle for a fourth-and-1 play at the Steelers 17, hitting Ellington in the backfield along with outside backer Ola Adeniyi for a 2-yard loss.