Justin Fields continued to show his potential during Friday night's preseason opener between the Steelers and Falcons. But three mistakes -- two fumbled center-quarterback exchanges and one arrant call by an official -- largely contributed to Fields being unable to lead the Steelers to any points in his three series of work.
Conversely, his counterpart, C.J. Stroud, was able to hit pay dirt during his limited time on the field while setting the tone for Houston's 20-12 win over the Steelers.
Stroud's touchdown pass was a 34-yard beauty thrown to Tank Dell on Houston's second drive. Houston stretched its lead to 14-0 after taking advantage of a short field that was the byproduct of a muffed punt by Pittsburgh's Quez Watkins.
Trailing 17-0 at intermission, Steelers backup quarterback Kyle Allen led the Steelers on consecutive touchdown drives to start the second half. Those scores were sandwiched between a 43-yard field goal by Ka'imi Fairbairn. The Texans sealed the win when second-year defensive back Brandon Hill picked off Allen with 16 seconds left.
Stroud went 2 of 4 for 41 yards in two series of work. Fields was 5 of 6 for 67 yards but the victim of two sacks that were the direct result of two bad snaps by Nate Herbig.
Here are the five biggest takeaways from Friday's game.
Fields continues to impress
Fields' performance on Friday was a reflection of the work he's put in in Latrobe. While he didn't display his elite running prowess or his impressive deep ball, other aspects of Fields' game were on display.
On the game's first play, Fields executed a perfectly-timed screen pass to Najee Harris that went 16 yards. His second pass attempt was an excellent ball to George Pickens on the near sideline for 15 yards. The drive stalled, however, when Fields wasn't able to handle a bad snap by Herbig. Pittsburgh's inability to run the ball didn't help, either.
Another fumbled snap and a Danielle Hunter sack of Fields quickly ended Pittsburgh's second drive. Fields and Co. were then able to string together a 43-yard drive that included with a 10-yard completion to Pickens and a 20-yard dime to Van Jefferson. An incorrect call, however, after an the official ruled that Jefferson did not catch Fields' pass on second down in bounds (he did, but Mike Tomlin chose not to challenge) slowed Pittsburgh's momentum. Fields was then sacked on third down by Jerry Hughes and Mario Edwards Jr., thus forcing another punt.
The score doesn't always tell the story, and that was the case for Fields on Friday night. Rest assured that a more cohesive offensive line (more on that in a second) would have resulted in some points during Fields' time on the field.
No Aiyuk? No problem
Unless you live under a rock, you know that the Steelers are reportedly trying to work out a trade with the 49ers that would bring talented wideout Brandon Aiyuk to Pittsburgh. But if Friday is any indication of how good the Steelers' receivers might be, Aiyuk may not be needed in Pittsburgh.
Pickens continues to look like the Steelers' next great receiver. Jefferson's arrow continues to point north. Calvin Austin III made several big plays during the second half of Friday's game. Scotty Miller and Dez Fiitzpatrick showed their big-play ability by respectively pulling down grabs of 38 and 34 yards. Tight end Connor Heyward scored the second of Pittsburgh's two touchdowns on a short reception from Allen.
One game (let alone a preseason one) does not make a season. But the Steelers' receivers showed themselves well on Friday night.
O-line issues
If the Steelers wanted to, they could have trotted out their starting five and been just fine. But in the spirit of the preseason, Pittsburgh decided to tinker with the unit while trying out several lineups that included both rookies and veterans.
Rookie Troy Fautanu made several solid plays while getting the start at right tackle. He then received a "welcome to the NFL moment" on Friday night, courtesy of the veteran Hunter. Making matters worse was the news postgame that Fautanu suffered a knee injury on Friday and the extent of his injury is currently unknown.
Center and fellow rookie Zach Frazier held his own after spelling Herbig. Mason McCormick, yet another rookie, also got some valuable reps.
Clearly, Pittsburgh's shuffling of the offensive line created some leaks that Houston's talented front took advantage of. But, sans Herbig's control issues, Friday night was a largely positive night for Pittsburgh's bigs, especially in the second half.
Texans defense looks the part
Sure, the Steelers starting offense's inability to score was largely due to self-inflicted wounds. But Houston's defense was also a big reason why Fields and Co. were held to a goose egg.
Houston's run defense came up big on Pittsburgh's first drive. The pass got home during each of the next two drives and was a big reason why the Steelers went 0-for-3 on third down with Fields on the field. The Texans' defense also didn't allow Fields to make any big plays with his legs.
Late in the game, Houston's defense came up with two big stops to preserve the win. McTevin Agim's sack of Allen contributed to the unit's first stop. Hill, who went to college at Pitt, sealed the win when he plucked Allen's desperation heave out of the air deep in Houston territory.
Stroud ready to roll
It was only two drives, but Stroud and the Texans' offense looked sharp. Texans fans were surely happy to see the return of Dell, whose promising rookie season last year was cut short by an injury.
Friday night was a successful debut for rookie tight end Cade Stover, who caught three passes that included a 16-yarder that set up Houston's second touchdown.
And no, you're not the only one that picked up on Stover's number, which was worn by future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski.
