7 thoughts on the Steelers after their preseason Week 2 loss to Tampa Bay

The Steelers fell to 1-1 in the preseason with a 17-14 loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday night. There was a lot to like, and a few things to lament. Here are some thoughts:

1. THE TOP PICK IS LEGIT

That’s not hyperbole, or jumping the gun. Derrick Harmon is a dude.

It wasn’t just the sack, which was awesome. A sheer display of power. Harmon walked a 300-pound linemen into his quarterback’s lap with barely a struggle. It was Dexter Lawrence material.

.@Steelers' first-round pick Derrick Harmon gets to the QB 😤

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— NFL (@NFL) August 16, 2025

The other stuff was impressive, too. The ordinary stuff. I continue to marvel at Harmon’s hand usage, and the way he controls and sheds blocks. His long-arm technique, which you see in the image below, stops blockers cold. Once he anchors and extends, it’s like someone put a Boot on the block. It not going anywhere. His physical skills are obvious. But his technical skills are so much better than I expected.

Going through the Steelers film from last night vs TB. First play of the game, the #1 pick pops.

Derrick Harmon’s sack was a thing of beauty, as he walked a 300-pound OL back into the QB with ease. But it’s the hidden stuff he does so well that really catches my attention.… pic.twitter.com/jhHbv1eWiO

— Kevin Smith (@KTSmithFFSN) August 17, 2025

The Steelers have missed on a lot of number one picks lately. I’d be stunned if Harmon joined them.

2. KALEB JOHNSON — ZONE BACK

Johnson looked much more comfortable Saturday night then he’d been a week ago. He was more decisive, and he looked more relaxed. He ran for 50 yards on 11 carries, and he got better as his workload increased.

Johnson hasn’t had many holes to run through, but he doesn’t need a gaping one to make money. This run in the second quarter was a beauty. It’s outside zone, Arthur Smith’s signature, and it appears Johnson was reading the scrape of the play-side linebacker. As soon as he realized the backer was going over top of his reach block, Johnson put his foot in the ground and got vertical. That’s the mark of a true zone runner — knowing how to find the cut. Johnson does it so well.

Gotta believe Johnson is reading the play-side LB here, and is working his cut off the backer's scrape. The moment the backer works over the top of his reach block, Johnson puts his foot in the ground and gets vertical.

He knows exactly what he's doing in this scheme. https://t.co/GkuuMhZwXu

— Kevin Smith (@KTSmithFFSN) August 17, 2025

Just one thing. Can we stop with the kick returns? I know Mike Tomlin loves putting a running back deep, but if Johnson gets injured in this part of the game, it’s dumb. Especially in pre-season.

3. RUN GAME IMPROVES

The Pittsburgh offense struggled to get going, with an interception and a three-and-out on its first two drives. But a deep post to Roman Wilson on their third possession loosened up Tampa’s defense, and the run game took off. The Steelers finished with 130 yards on the ground, averaging five yards per attempt.

Their backs looked good doing it, too. Johnson was smooth, and reserves Evan Hull and Lew Nichols had some solid runs. I especially liked this one by Nichols, which showed off his full game:

This is a great run on so many levels. First, the jump cut. Then the power to run through contact. Then the patience and vision to set up his blocks and work off of them. Nichols probably won't make this roster, but he's been impressive in the pre-season. https://t.co/s91sbQQxSi

— Kevin Smith (@KTSmithFFSN) August 17, 2025

The deep ball to Wilson was a big deal. It was exactly what Pittsburgh needs to do when safeties get nosey in the run game. Last year’s strategy of throwing jump balls along the sideline to George Pickens did nothing to affect the safeties, as they targeted corners. If you want to run the ball better, manipulate the safeties by throwing over their heads. If the Steelers can do that, they have a puncher’s chance in the run game.

4. WILSON’S BIG NIGHT

Wilson’s rookie season was derailed by injuries, so Steelers fans have seen little from him. There was a lot of hype that he looked good in training camp, but it hadn’t come in live action.

Until Saturday.

Wilson had a couple of splash plays against the Bucs. One was the aforementioned post, which went for 42 yards. Wilson ran the high route on a post-dig concept, and blazed by the safety like he was a statue. According to NextGen stats, Wilson topped 20 mph on the route. If you’re not certain, that’s fast. Had Mason Rudolph led him more, and not hung his throw a bit, Wilson may have scored:

ROMAN WILSON WELCOME TO THE NFL

🔥🔥🔥

pic.twitter.com/oaxv7Lrw3o

— MetcalfBurgh🫡 (@PickensBurgh) August 16, 2025

On the second one, Wilson ran the dig option on the same concept. His route was crisp. He stuck the in-cut, then found a fairway’s worth of space over top of the linebackers and in front of the safety. It’s an area Steelers fans have been screaming for the team to attack since the heyday of Big Ben.

In Wilson, they may have a rising number two receiver to play opposite DK Metcalf, and a threat to attack the middle of the field. What a luxury that would be.

5. BLITZBURGH 2.0

The Steelers blitzed the lights out of Aaron Rodgers and the offense on the day I attended training camp earlier this month. That trend has continued through two pre-season games, as defensive coordinator Teryl Austin seemed poised to approach 2025 with a more aggressive mindset than in previous seasons.

Pittsburgh’s blitz percentage under Austin’s predecessor, Keith Butler, was typically in the forties, which ranked among the highest in the NFL at the time. Under Austin, it’s fallen into the twenties, which puts the Steelers in the middle of the pack. With Minkah Fitzpatrick gone, however, and a solid group of man-coverage corners, Austin seems ready to dial the blitz back up again.

It’s not just in pass situations we’re seeing it. The Steelers ran a nice double B-gap stunt on a 4th-and-1 play late in the Tampa game to force a turnover on downs:

I like this 4th-and-1 run blitz from the Steelers. Nose pinches to A-gap, DE works out to C, and they send two into B. Poor run block execution by TB, but the blitz design was solid.

Feels like Blitzburgh may be making a return… pic.twitter.com/pSvWVt89q4

— Kevin Smith (@KTSmithFFSN) August 17, 2025

If you live by the blitz, you may die by it at times. But after being treated like the nails to Baltimore’s hammers in last year’s playoff loss, a more aggressive approach feels refreshing.

6. SHAKY BEHIND CENTER

The Steelers played three quarterbacks on Saturday, each of whom threw a terrible interception that either killed a good drive or set Tampa up to score points.

Rudolph tossed one on Pittsburgh’s second offensive play of the night, where he either misread a cover-3 look or tried to fit a ball into a window he could not. The Bucs converted the pick into a touchdown. Skylar Thompson threw one in the red zone just before halftime after Pittsburgh had driven 61 yards and was poised to score. And Logan Woodside stared down a receiver and threw one near the two-minute warning of a tie game, setting Tampa up for its winning field goal. That’s ten points for the Bucs, and points off the board for the Steelers, because of the picks.

Aaron Rodgers is yet to play a down this pre-season, and may not play at all. Can anyone be sure of the quality of play he’ll provide? Or whether his 41-year-old body will be able to hold up for a full season? With a talented roster elsewhere, the Steelers still find themselves potentially short at the game’s most important position.

7. MATCHUP PROBLEMS

This Steelers defense could be its best in years, as there are no real weaknesses to be found. Just one worry, though. We heard Julian Edelman and some other analysts talk last season about the predictability of their scheme, that the Steelers are still running the same checks and adjustments they used a decade ago. Maybe that’s true, maybe not. But it does seem that opposing offenses get the matchups they want an awful lot — like this opening drive touchdown from the Bucs with running back Bucky Irving isolated on linebacker LB Payton Wilson:

Bucky Irving looking like a WR on this TD 🙌

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— NFL (@NFL) August 16, 2025

That needs to be resolved.

The pre-season wraps up Thursday night in Carolina, and then it will be two-plus weeks until the season opener. There’s a lot to like about this team right now, as well as some big question marks. That sounds appropriate for a football team in August.

For more of my work, follow me on X @KTSmithFFSN, and tune into my “Call Sheet Daily” podcast every Monday-Friday on most major platforms.