PITTSBURGH – In his first game in a new offensive system, Ben Roethlisberger pulled off some old tricks in his preseason debut Saturday night.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback performed a three-series vintage performance against the Detroit Lions on Saturday night, completing 8 of 10 137-yard attempts and two touchdowns en route to a perfect passer rating.
It was a small sample, but Saturday night gave the Steelers the first assurances that a collaboration between Roethlisberger and new offensive coordinator Matt Canada can work.
Playing like a man with something to prove, Roethlisberger tried to prove the strength of his arm, heavily examined after 2019 elbow surgery, has returned to normal after a 2020 campaign characterized by short throws.
He only proved that point a bit, averaging 13.7 yards per try with some mid-range balls well thrown. Others, however, like a 43-yard pass to Diontae Johnson were knocked down. Still, the 39-year-old showed he wasn’t afraid to pass it on and stretch the field, and was mostly successful.
Roethlisberger pushed the clock back to the first unit, reminding the defenses that it may still be the fleet foot signal that can dance away from the pressure. He made mobility a point of emphasis in his low-season workouts and, in third and fourth, he got into his pocket before leaving to dodge a sack and fired a pass that sailed about 40 meters into the air towards Eric Ebron. the side line. The tight end couldn’t fall with the catch catch, dropping it under pressure, and the Steelers had to throw the ball to Roethlisberger’s first series in 2021.
After that, however, Roethlisberger was perfect on the third downhill, completing each of his next four attempts for 71 yards, including two touchdowns for extreme rookie Pat Freiermuth. Roethlisberger hit Johnson for the 43-yard finish in his second drive and followed him with an 11-yard finish to JuJu Smith-Schuster in the next third down.
Smith-Schuster looked at all parts of the reliable third-down weapon, going through contact to pick up the additional yards. Two plays later, Roethlisberger pulled out an old favorite with a fake bomb that even tricked Heinz Field TV camera operators, paving the way for Freiermuth to find an opening in the end zone.
Roethlisberger threw the pass to the rookie for each of his first preseason results. The connection remained strong as Roethlisberger found Freiermuth back in the next set, limiting a four-play scoring unit with a six-yard touchdown pass to the Penn State product.
That score was set by Roethlisberger who hit rookie runner Najee Harris on a pass route through an action-play pass that achieved a massive 46-yard gain to the side.
When Roethlisberger ceded control of the defense to Mason Rudolph, the Steelers had a 14-0 lead over the Lions, and Roethlisberger had the important dry run with Canada completed before the regular season.