Kevin Gorman's Take 5: Nothing normal about the second game of the Steelers



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The Pittsburgh Steelers started the week with the death of Darryl Drake, and Mike Tomlin warned that football would not necessarily bring a return to normalcy.

The Steelers have rescheduled their routine this week to mourn the death of their receiver coach. Their initial return to the training ground was interrupted by torrential rain, as was their last training camp session in St. Vincent.

Another storm delayed their pre – season game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night at Heinz Field. The Steelers knelt in prayer in the middle of the field before the match, followed by a minute of silence for Drake.

This week was anything but normal.

The game either.

1. Three the hard way: Cornerback Artie Burns and linebacker Tyler Matakevich also opened with the first unit, where Mark Barron started in the opening match.

The three stalled in the first series, when the Chiefs launched Patrick Mahomes, the most valuable player in 2018 for the NFL.

Matakevich played alongside Barron, replacing prominent players Devin Bush and Vince Williams, and attacked his teammate Travis Kelce after a 5-yard grab in the first try.

Burns, who started in Joe Haden's place, followed with an open-air stop at Tyreek Hill after a 6-yard catch. And Barron demonstrated his cover skills by eliminating running back Damien Williams in a third and four assists in the middle of the field.

2. Rotation time: The Steelers emphasize the need to complete the totals of their bags with turnovers, including becoming ballhawks and being intercepted.

They forced an old fashion on the second set, while Terrell Edmunds hit the ball with Carlos Hyde's hand to force a fumble.

When Sean Davis picked up the ball at the Steelers 47, it was a positive sign: the two Steelers starting defensemen were involved in the turnover.

The problem was that the Steelers lost the ball to the next game when Donte Moncrief picked up a 3-yard pass from Mason Rudolph but was stripped by cornerback Herb Miller.

Another acrobatic shot of James Washington. Make the case for WR2. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/lpJ1czDV7d

– Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) August 18, 2019

3. resume it: While Rudolph was ineffective in his first three attempts at the third attempt (unfinished throw, 5-meter bag and near-interception), he found success by turning to a former teammate.

On a 3 and 11 of 10, Rudolph snapped a pass over James Washington's center. Former comrades from Oklahoma renewed contact for an 11-yard gain that allowed Washington to jump to a touch.

Rudolph scored another goal and 11, this time with forward Xavier Grimble for a 13-yard gain, leading the Steelers on a 14 and 89-yard mark completed by 14 points for Jaylen Samuels 7-0 ahead of 6 : 39 in the second quarter.

Rudolph completed 10 of 15 passes for 77 yards but did not have a chance to finish the first half.

4 Pressure situations: If the delay at the beginning of the match seemed endless, it was nothing compared to the last two minutes of the first half.

The Chiefs, led by backup Chad Henne, collected 81 yards in 13 games to score on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman and tied for 7-7 with a 1:11 spread.

When Josh Dobbs relieved Rudolph, he pitched a 40-yard pass to Washington – in the same way that they started the opening game of the pre-season last week.

When the match stalled, Tomlin made an interesting decision: he chose to hit KC 38's fourth and fifth place instead of attempting a 55-yard field goal.

Tomlin has promised to place placekickers Chris Boswell and Matthew Wright in pressure situations throughout the training camp and pre-season, and nothing compares to a shot in a match in the spotlight of the stadium.

Not to mention the Dobbs pass for Diontae Johnson was incomplete. When the Steelers recovered the ball, Dobbs was intercepted on the goal line by Charvarius Ward, whose return put the Chiefs in Steelers' territory.

Andy Reid asked Harrison Butker to try a 58-yard pass, which completely shifted the goal.

Wright got his shot in the fourth quarter, dividing the amounts for a 46-yard placement for a 10-7 lead.

Samuels !!! pic.twitter.com/3m18rns8yE

– Steelers en Español (@acereros) August 18, 2019

5 Quick shots: Samuels seems to be a good complement to James Conner. Samuels averaged 6.5 yards in four runs, including the 14 yard rush where he was untouched.

The most interesting (and most confusing) match of the match involved the Steelers 'right tackle, Chuks Okorafor, against the Chiefs' left Alex Okafor. The latter got used to it, especially on a five-meter Rudolph bag in the first quarter.

The spotlight is on tight back-ends, especially with Zach Gentry, fifth-party. Grimble had a pass for 13 yards but also suffered a crash. Kevin Rader of Pine-Richland was awarded a pair of possession penalties but managed a 13-yard catch.

Fourth player Benny Snell Jr. made two impressive games that have nothing to do with balloon wearing. Snell made a good tackle against Hardman on a punt return and recovered a pass to make a nice block from Rudolph's third pass to Grimble to extend the mark.

CFL player Diontae Spencer made a 38-yard punt return that caused him to break two tackles – OK, one was the bettor – and added a 19-yard run at the end of the season. fourth quarter.

The other Diontae (Johnson) had a 24-yard touchdown swept by offensive pass interference – which the Steelers challenged and lost – but he got the redemption when his 19-yard touchdown been retained.

Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.

Kevin Gorman is a writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Kevin by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .

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