After what has been one of the wildest offseasons ever for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it is almost time to finally kick off the preseason schedule. This Saturday, the Steelers will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road, and here are the storylines to keep an eye on.
Is the defense really this good?
At the midway point of training camp, the defense has dominated the offense at practice. We expected that unit to have an edge but it’s been really one-sided. This week, we will get to see the defense in live action against a Jaguars offense full of talent so we will get a better idea of just how good this group can be.
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Is the offense really this bad?
On the flipside of the first storyline, how rough is the offense going to look? This group has been outclassed throughout training camp and it looks like all these new players in new places are struggling to gel.
How much Aaron Rodgers?
Head coach Mike Tomlin rarely has his starting quarterback play much in the first preseason game but it feels like Aaron Rodgers in an exception this year given how late he joined the team.
Lots of rookies to watch
The Steelers rookies should be on full display on Saturday night. Defensive tackle Derrick Harmon and running back Kaleb Johnson won’t see heavy work since their spots are locked in but we want to see edge defense Jack Sawyer, defensive tackle Yahya Black and quarterback Will Howard ball out. This is in addition to undrafted rookies Roc Taylor and Sebastian Castro.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers vs Jaguars: 4 storylines in this week’s preseason game