Apparently, Tom Brady is not the only quarterback who is extending his prime period.
On Sunday, 37-year-old Ben Roethlisberger looked good in his first game since December 2018, as he threw for 13 passes and connected for 8 with a touchdown and no interceptions in limited play as the Pittsburg Steelers beat the Tennessee Titans 18-6. The real story was how balanced the heavily-favored Steelers looked as they extend their preseason record to 3-0.
Although the preseason does not count as far as standings, the Steelers showed early that they were close to ready for the regular season in two weeks. The Titans finally started to gain momentum early in the second quarter, when they ran for and threw for first downs (mostly in the second quarter) to get close to the 10–yard line, but had to settle for a red-zone field goal. Their momentum came to a halt in the eight minute of the second quarter with a sack by Steelers Linebacker Vince Williams that closed halftime with a score of 15-3.
Pittsburgh looked sharp on both ends of the ball, with back-up quarterback Mason Rudolph going 6-9 with 75 yards, but his play-calling and spread to all fields was the most impressive aspect of his performance. Rudolph hit James Conner on a few drop passes to gain first downs on both the left and right corners of the field, which opened up for a 41-yard throw for a touchdown to James Washington, who made a great behind-the-back catch. Washington faked outside and went inside, losing and then beating his defender to end up catching the ball in the end zone. The second half saw a field goal by each team in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
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Tennessee’s back-up Logan Woodside was the lone upside with 117 yards throwing, but the Titans could not capitalize on his conversions. The Steelers sacked all three quarterbacks a total of seven times.
Franchise quarterback Marcus Mariota went 0-3 in limited play.
The Titans are set to open the season September 8 against the Cleveland Browns and the Steelers have one more preseason game this Thursday against the Carolina Panthers. Pittsburgh also opens the regular season on September 8 against the New England Patriots.
