Many of the Steelers' storylines coming out of Saint Vincent College in Latrobe made the trip over to Acrisure Stadium for the preseason opener against the Seahawks.
In the Steelers' 32-25 victory, all three quarterbacks flashed their potential, George Pickens showed everyone a couple glimpses why he's become the darling of camp and a pair of running backs turned in performances that might make the depth behind Najee Harris not look as bleak as it did a couple months ago.
Harris didn't play in this game, which is not surprising as he is taking his time with a minor foot injury. No need to trot your bell cow out for a couple series that aren't going to truly make a difference.
One of the positions that has really needed to be addressed is who can spell Harris. As much as fans, Najee himself and probably Mike Tomlin want him out there as often as possible, the Steelers need a guy or two that can step in and be productive for a series at a time. With how important Harris is to this offense, keeping him healthy is paramount. At the same time, there cannot be a horrid drop off in production when he comes off the field.
Enter Jaylen Warren.
The undrafted running back out of Oklahoma State has turned heads during practices in training camp. His explosiveness through holes at the line of scrimmage, the way he maintains his balance through contact and the way he shifts through tight areas -- it's all been very impressive. But, it's one thing to do it in practice. It's another ballgame once you put the jersey on and play in an NFL stadium.
And, if there's someone to tell you how much that means, it's Warren.
"When I put that Steelers jersey on, I was like, 'Oh my God. I've got an NFL jersey on. I'm actually here,'" Warren told me. "It was a surreal feeling."
But when he trotted out onto the field, he didn't look like a guy who was just happy to be there. No, he looked like the same guy in camp who has his eyes set on the No. 2 job behind Harris.
Warren racked up 34 yards on six carries, and added 30 more yards with his four receptions, including a 3-yard touchdown reception on the Steelers' first drive under Kenny Pickett in the second half.
Every time he touched the ball, Warren was able to take everything he's done during practice and put it to good use against another NFL team in a game setting. In addition, Warren was productive in the passing game, and even recorded a tackle on special teams.
These are all pieces to the puzzle of being a productive running back behind a guy like Harris. Make the most out of every touch earned on offense, then make an impact elsewhere. For Warren, Saturday was only a small step in the right direction.
"I can do a lot more," Warren said. "Just being on top of my game, and don't let up. Just perfecting my craft; the little things. I think it'll get me in the right spot."
Anthony McFarland is one guy currently in his way on the depth chart. The good news for the Steelers is he had arguably just as good of a showing. With Harris and Benny Snell out, McFarland ran with the first-team offense, and immediately made an impact.
The Steelers faced third-and-1 immediately on their first drive of the game -- a situation that has raised the blood pressure of Steelers fans in recent years. McFarland took the handoff to the right side, saw a cutback lane and hit it in a blaze, scampering for a huge 24-yard gain.
McFarland maintained that burst throughout the first three series, carrying the ball seven times for 56 yards before giving way to Warren and the rest of the running back group.
Like Warren, McFarland didn't get carried away with his strong performance. He understands there is still a long way to go. And, McFarland is working on several things to take the next step in his career.
"There's always things I need to do to take the next step," McFarland told me. "Everything, man. Every day I've got to take the next step. I'm never satisfied. It's only preseason. Even though they still want to get to work in preseason, the goal is really to stay up and make it out of preseason and get to that 53-man [roster]."
Yes, that is the goal. And, there are only so many spots for running backs on the roster. Even though Snell wasn't able to get out there Saturday night due to a right knee injury, he's not out of the running yet. Warren and McFarland started off their preseason in a great way. But, this competition is far from over.
McFarland knows that.
"Like I said, I'm just not satisfied," he said. "I've gotta get better each and every day."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Dale Lolley has much more on the growing legend of Pickens as part of his 10 Thoughts, and I've got plenty on all three quarterbacks.
• Gunner Olszewski and Steven Sims have had their moments in camp. They're both quick, fast and have the potential to be dangerous in the open field. They don't get talked about as much because of guys like Pickens, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, Calvin Austin III, Anthony Miller, and Miles Boykin.
However, they both had good showings Saturday. Olszewski led Steelers receivers with 47 yards on three catches, including the first touchdown of the game from Mitch Trubisky. Sims also showed how dangerous he can be in open space with a 38-yard punt return and a 38-yard scamper on a jet sweep.
These are two guys that can contribute in a similar way that Ray Ray McCloud did during his Steelers tenure, but both might be better options.
• The Steelers gave up 159 yards on the ground, but played without Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, Tyson Alualu, Larry Ogunjobi, Montravius Adams, Alex Highsmith, and Minkah Fitzpatrick. That's a lot of firepower not on the field. It's not time to freak out about the run defense, but maybe be a little concerned with the depth behind the starters.
• Myles Jack had a decent showing, but Devin Bush looked a little hesitant in rush defense and failed to record a tackle. Robert Spillane also had some rough moments, especially in coverage. Buddy Johnson wasn't perfect either, but at least racked up a team-high seven tackles.
• It was good to see some depth guys on defense make some plays down the stretch. Hamilcar Rasheed, who was claimed on waivers just a couple days ago, helped stall a Seahawks drive in the latter stages of the fourth quarter, leading to a punt that kept the game tied, 25-25. Then, after the Steelers turned the ball over on downs, Mark Robinson had a sack fumble and Tuzar Skipper recovered it to set the Steelers up on the Seattle 43-yard line with 1:10 left in the game, setting up Pickett's game-winning drive.
• James Pierre is another guy who's had some good moments in training camp, and it translated to the field. He recorded six tackles, and was able to recover on a play in the back corner of the end zone to break up a potential touchdown pass.
• The secondary looks a bit better with their tackling. Ahkello Witherspoon, Cam Sutton and Arthur Maulet all made tackles near the line of scrimmage. There is still a lot of room to grow as there were still some ugly moments, including Carlins Platel blowing a tackle that led to a 39-yard gain on the very first play of the second half. But, there is an emphasis being put on tackling better, and those efforts were clear in this one.
• It really didn't matter who was at quarterback, the offense definitely looked a bit different -- good different. Lots of misdirection, a heavy helping a pre-snap motion and plenty of plays that put the quarterback on the move. That really plays into what all three quarterbacks are capable of, but especially Trubisky and Pickett.
We've seen some of this stuff in practice, but it's good to see some of it play out in a game setting. It's still early and the Steelers aren't playing the Bengals just yet, but this isn't the same offense we saw last season.
• Here's the full list of players who did not play Saturday, with most of them nursing injuries: Chris Oladokun, Pressley Harvin III, Chris Boswell, Chase Claypool, Anthony Miller, Diontae Johnson, Calvin Austin III, Najee Harris, Benny Snell, Marcus Allen, Miles Killebrew, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Derek Watt, Genard Avery, Alex Highsmith, Montravius Adams, Larry Ogunjobi, Jamie Dixon, Kevin Dotson, Chris Owens, Zach Gentry, Pat Freiermuth, T.J. Watt, Tyson Alualu, Cam Heyward.
• In terms of new injuries, Karl Joseph suffered an ankle injury and was immediately ruled out of the game. Damontae Kazee also left with a shoulder injury, but Tomlin did not mention him in his postgame press conference. Tomlin also said Austin suffered a foot injury during their work on Friday in Latrobe, and said they hope to get him back "sooner rather than later."
