After several painful, football-less months, the preseason is finally here. The Steelers didn’t open on their strongest note, falling 20-12 to the Houston Texans in their first exhibition match of 2024.

It wasn’t the most exciting way to start the season, but it still gives us some actual football to talk about — including the return of my overreactions column. As a reminder, these aren’t always purely “overreactions,” just my unadulterated, written-immediately-after-the-game thoughts, long before the All-22 comes out, post-game narratives form, or real critical thinking kicks in.

Let’s dive into the takeaways:

1. It’s the preseason

Told you it wouldn’t all be overreactions. Look, I start every Week 1 preseason column with this point: preseason matchups do not accurately predict regular season NFL games. I’d explain it more, but I think the Steelers’ preseason performance last year wrote the point more eloquently than I ever could. They looked like Super Bowl contenders up until the regular season opener, a 30-7 shellacking against San Francisco that immediately caused the hype train to pull a U-turn.

So, the inverse has to be true, no? The same people who declared “Nothing matters this time of year!” while bracing for another flawless August from Pittsburgh can’t be that disappointed following Pittsburgh’s sloppy outing versus Houston, right? For some reason, I doubt that.

As always, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. The Steelers did not look good on Friday and that means they have a lot to work on. But just like Pittsburgh looking good in the preseason last year didn’t mean they were good in the regular season, the team looking rough against Houston doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed to be clawing our eyes out come September. Let’s wait until the starting quarterback plays to pass judgment on the offense.

There might be a silver lining, though. It could be argued that the Steelers’ blistering start in the preseason gave them false confidence heading into the games that matter. So far this year, that’s not the case. Perhaps that results in some extra motivation going forward.

2. Not-so-special teams

Hoo boy. Not a great start for Danny Smith’s unit this season. Outside of John Rhys Plumlee bumping into his own teammate, the new kickoff format wasn’t much of a disaster (besides being painfully uninteresting), but nearly everything else was. Punt coverage was horrible. The lone attempted placekick had a bad snap and a bad kick. Quez Watkins did his best impression of me fielding punts in high school.

Pittsburgh had a lot of turnover on their special teams unit this offseason, and it showed. Big time. Let this be your reminder that the gunner battle is a much larger part of the 53-man roster equation than it seems.

Returning to point No. 1, there’s still a lot of time to fix these issues, but standing out negatively in a game as messy as this one shows just how much improvement is needed for Pittsburgh’s special teams unit this season.

The one thing that was passable was new punter Cameron Johnston. After years of Pressley Harvin III and Jordan Berry, his consistency is refreshing. You also have to love his attitude, putting the hit stick on Texans returner Tank Dell before following it up with some trash talk.

3. Growing pains at OT

I’ll admit it: I was optimistic about the Steelers’ offensive tackles following the draft. Following training camp, a little less so. Following Friday, there might be cause for worry. Pittsburgh’s last two first-round picks, Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu, looked solid in the run game but absolutely brutal in pass protection.

Danielle Hunter is a tough assignment for anyone, sure, but both Jones and Fautanu looked very slow to react and unable to hold blocks when going up against the Texans’ starting lineup. They’ll gel and develop as the year goes on, especially once the team finally settles on a permanent O-line configuration. But for the start of the regular season, I worry that Russell Wilson will be taking a lot of hits — he was the fourth-most sacked passer in the NFL last season, and it looks like he’ll be staying near the top of the leaderboard for a bit.

To add to the pessimism, Troy Fautanu’s knee injury just makes everything worse, even though it doesn’t seem too severe. Also, don’t forget just how strangely the Steelers have handled their tackle situation under Pat Meyer. We’ve written about it a bunch here at BTSC so I won’t bother to rehash the same points, but you can’t deny it’s strange that Jones, a 2024 starter and one year removed from being the 14th overall pick, was seeing preseason snaps late in the third quarter, protecting Kyle Allen.

It doesn’t seem that the Steelers are all that confident, either.

Again, I do believe it’ll get better, but I also know it’s going to be a slow start to the season on the offensive line. Make sure you have a rib protector, Russ.

4. Justin Fields doesn’t move the needle

Justin Fields’ stat line Friday sure looks encouraging if you can forgive the lack of touchdowns: 5/6 for 67 yards and no interceptions. The one miss would’ve counted as a completion as well if Mike Tomlin had decided to bother with a challenge in a preseason game.

The above is all good, but those who watched the game could just as easily point to the many check-down passes, a lack of “wow” throws or runs, multiple sacks taken, and two fumbled snaps that look like they fell partly on Fields and partly on center Nate Herbig. Half the things I mentioned aren’t even bad, and the other half could be argued to not even be Fields’ fault — what I’m trying to say is PLEASE don’t try to spin a narrative, positive or negative, off the very few snaps we saw of Justin Fields on Friday.

There was a bit of good, some bad, and a whole lot of passable quarterback play. We didn’t even have Russell Wilson as a comparison. In short, Fields remains exactly where he was on Thursday in terms of what we know about him as a Steeler. Until we see more, there isn’t too much to talk about.

5. A peek at the Arthur Smith offense

Like Justin Fields’ performance Friday, getting to watch the new-look Arthur Smith offense was fun, but there isn’t much to overanalyze. NFL coaches don’t empty their bag of tricks in the first week of the preseason, so anyone complaining about Smith’s play-calling should probably wait until we see the real thing in September.

Still, there were a few encouraging indicators. The biggest one was the heavy focus on setting up play-action deep shots, something the offense was connecting on all night. It was truly a beautiful thing to watch after three years of Matt Canada. And if there’s one thing everyone can agree on regarding Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, it’s that the two have above-average deep balls. That could be fun to watch this season.

The offensive line had some flashes run blocking, while Najee Harris seemed a tad more explosive than usual. He and Jaylen Warren will be the engine of the offense this season, and both looked good in their limited snaps. We saw some multiple-tight end packages and fullback usage.

Unsurprisingly, Fields looked George Pickens’ way the most when it came to the passing game, and Pickens hauled in two passes for 25 yards in the first quarter. It’s an extremely limited sample size, but I’m willing to bet he’ll have the big season everyone is expecting in 2024.

By no means did Friday prove that the Steelers’ starting offense will be a good one in 2024, but the little we saw looked like it was on the right track, even if it was rusty. Next week, let’s hope they get into the end zone.

6. Center of attention

One last point about the offense: The center position was atop fans’ bucket lists to fix in the 2024 offseason, and the Steelers responded by drafting WVU’s Zach Frazier in the second round. However, throughout camp, veteran Nate Herbig has taken the lion’s share of the starting snaps and was outperforming the rookie per some reports.

Friday told a different story. Herbig got the start, but his time was plagued with interior pressure and two fumbled exchanges. Frazier then entered the game, and the problems largely disappeared. Frazier also got snaps against the Texans’ second team, which is important to note, but overall he had a much stronger outing. It was a promising sign for the rookie, who has reportedly had some struggles in training camp. If he continues to outperform Herbig in-game, there’s a good chance he’ll be in the starting lineup Week 1. It looked to be trending that way on Friday.

7. Another year, another bad secondary?

Now, let’s talk defense. The Steelers kept star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick out of the game on Friday but still had the rest of their starting secondary on the field. The Texans have one of the most high-powered passing offenses in the league, but it was still a disappointing performance from Pittsburgh’s corners and safeties. Joey Porter Jr. had a rough pass interference call. Beanie Bishop Jr. was routinely picked on. DeShon Elliott, Damontae Kazee, and Anthony Averett were embarrassed by Tank Dell on a long touchdown.

On paper, the Steelers have a better unit than last year and there will be much easier matchups down the road, but this week’s did not instill much confidence. If we learned one thing, it’s that the Steelers will be in big trouble if Minkah Fitzpatrick misses time this season.

8. Payton Wilson impresses… but he’s still a rookie

Rookie linebacker Payton Wilson has arguably been the biggest standout of training camp, and he entered Friday’s game with plenty of hype. For the most part, he delivered, showing off his athleticism by knifing through the offense to make plays early.

He still has a ways to go, though. Wilson wasn’t perfect in coverage and missed some tackles as the game went on. The good news is that’s expected for a rookie linebacker, and Wilson’s play speed and effort was exactly as-advertised. The rest will come with time. Keep the hype train rolling.

9. The latest roster battle

The Steelers secured their OLB4 last week with the signing of Markus Golden, who proceeded to dominate the Friday Night Lights practice before deciding football wasn’t for him anymore and abruptly retiring. It was a whirlwind for fans, but likely Christmas in August for Jeremiah Moon and Kyron Johnson, whose 53-man roster chances each took a massive leap.

Against the Texans, both played like they had a new lease on life, with Moon recording a sack and Johnson recording a tackle for loss among some other solid plays. Moon was the presumed new OLB4 with the absence of Golden, but Johnson has made the race more of a toss-up with his strong play. There’s a chance the Steelers look outside of the organization to replace Golden, but both of his current replacements are playing well enough that the team might not see a need.

Another name to watch is defensive lineman/outside linebacker hybrid DeMarvin Leal, who followed up his strong training camp with an excellent performance against Houston, also recording a sack. There’s a chance the Steelers only keep three true outside linebackers on the 53-man roster in 2024, trusting Leal can fill in as the fourth when needed. It would open up a spot elsewhere for an extra defensive back or tight end.

With multiple backups playing at a high level against Houston, Friday’s game showed that this roster battle will be an important one to watch in the remaining weeks of the preseason.

10. Odds and ends

Listed at quarterback on the Steelers’ roster, John Rhys Plumlee saw all of his snaps on special teams. That versatility might earn him a practice squad spot, but I was hoping we’d see at least one series with him under center.
As I mentioned earlier, I really hate this new kickoff format. It’s ugly, it’s boring, and it robs all the fun and excitement out of the play. I think there’s a good chance it’s gone after this season unless the safety benefits really stand out. That being said, there is a chance coordinators start using more creative strategies once the games start to count.
The new Texans jerseys aren’t horrible, but they look like a generic, non-copyrighted football team used in a movie. Zero personality.
Did anyone else notice James Daniels wearing a guardian cap in-game? It’ll be interesting to see if that catches on more now that it’s permitted.

Nick Herbig’s burst is something special. I’m excited to see his growth in year 2.
George Pickens’ half-hearted hurdles are going to get him hurt someday.
Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III each had some solid plays. It feels like Dez Fitzpatrick and Scotty Miller are currently in the best position for WR5-6 following their performances Friday, although a lot could still change. The Steelers still don’t look great at receiver behind Pickens.
Jonathan Ward and Daijun Edwards each showed some speed as they fight to make the practice squad. From what I saw, it looks like Edwards has a bit more juice. Both looked good.
Spencer Anderson was really channeling his inner Olympic breakdancer with a flop for the ages.
Kyle Allen had a rough start but locked in late. As far as QB3s go, I’m content.
I got to watch my first of many “short of the landing zone” penalties this season. What other kickoff surprises are in store?
Unsurprisingly, the Steelers are playing Ryan Watts at safety. He had some solid plays coming downhill. A sleeper Isaac Redman Award candidate.
It’s worth noting that the Texans have already played a preseason game this year as participants in the annual Hall of Fame Game. It’s not an excuse for them looking more comfortable than the Steelers, but it could be a factor.
Houston is impressively deep at wide receiver. You have to wonder if Omar Khan saw the game as a scouting opportunity for when cutdown day arrives.
Cam Sutton saw snaps at safety on Friday. It’ll be interesting if that’s where he stays when he joins the Steelers lineup midseason.
Montravius Adams is another defender who turned a good camp into an impressive first game. The Steelers could use a breakout season from him on the D-line this season.
One of the cooler plays on Friday was safety Jalen Elliott making a highlight-worthy hit despite being signed to the roster the day before. It appears he’s making the most out of what has been a busy few days.

The Steelers next take the field on Saturday, August 17 against the Buffalo Bills. Until then, let’s appreciate that we finally have some real football to discuss.

What are your takeaways from Steelers vs. Texans? Agree/disagree with the ones above? Join our Behind The Steel Curtain community and let us know in the comments!