Takeaways from Pittsburgh Steelers preseason Week 1 loss to Texans

Mike Moraitis

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Takeaways from Pittsburgh Steelers preseason Week 1 loss to Texans image

The Pittsburgh Steelers opened up their 2024 preseason slate on the wrong foot, as they dropped the Friday night contest against the Houston Texans, 20-12.

The Steelers got off to a slow start thanks to a sloppy first half that saw botched snaps, multiple sacks, one turnover and three penalties. As a result, Pittsburgh couldn't score a single point in the first two quarters.

Meanwhile, the Texans scored early on a first-quarter touchdown pass from C.J. Stroud to Tank Dell. Houston would add another touchdown and one field goal during the second quarter to stake themselves to a 17-0 lead going into the half.

The Steelers finally answered in the third quarter with their first touchdown on a pass from Kyle Allen to Connor Heyward, and they pulled to within one score following a Daijun Edwards touchdown run.

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Allen and Co. had a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but the comeback attempt was thwarted by an interception.

Now, a look at some takeaways from the Steelers' preseason-opening loss to the Texans.

A sloppy first half

The Steelers had a sloppy showing in the first half, as center Nate Herbig and quarterback Justin Fields had a pair of bad exchanges leading to fumbles that Pittsburgh was lucky to recover.

Also, Fields was sacked twice, Pittsburgh committed three penalties and Quez Watkins muffed a punt, resulting in a turnover.

Justin Fields was solid

Fields completed 5-of-6 passes for 67 yards for a passer rating of 113.2. He had two connections with George Pickens, one of which saw Fields throw via a sick arm angle. His 20-yard completion to Van Jefferson was his longest of the night.

Unfortunately, the aforementioned mistakes thwarted a pair of drives, otherwise Fields could have had a better showing. Instead, he went scoreless in three series and I'm not sure that's enough to close the gap with Russell Wilson.

Some bad but mostly good from draft picks

Troy Fautanu got the start at right tackle and gave up a pair of sacks, but he did do some good things in the running game. After Herbig's pair of bad exchanges with Fields, Zach Frazier got the nod at center and didn't have any issues, while also getting some really good push in the run game. Frazier may have closed to gap with Herbig thanks to his impressive showing.

On the defensive side of the ball, Payton Wilson was impressive, tallying a team-high seven tackles, one of which went for a loss. Wilson has had a strong showing in training camp and looked the part of an impact player on Friday night.

Quez Watkins PR experiment is over

After a bad fair catch on his first punt return attempt, Watkins muffed his second after doing a terrible job tracking the football. The Texans recovered the fumble and turned it into points. Safe to say his stint as a punt returner is over.

Defensive line stands out

The group upfront got good push as a whole and the Texans couldn't get anything going on the ground. Montravius Adams and DeMarvin Leal especially shined. Both players tallied a sack (Leal's came from defensive end, not outside linebacker), and Adams added a pass defensed.

With their preseason Week 1 game in the books, the Steelers will now prepare for their next exhibition contest against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, Aug. 17.

Mike Moraitis

Mike Moraitis Photo

After cutting his teeth with Bleacher Report, Mike Moraitis has covered the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans for FanSided, and the Titans and New York Giants for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. On top of his duties with Sporting News, Mike is the managing editor and lead writer for Titans Wire.