Aug 26, 2017 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – The Steelers hadn’t played their starters much in their first two preseason games, yet came away with victories in both.

Saturday night, they finally got more of their regulars on the field together for an extended period of time.

The results of the game, a 19-15 loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Heinz Field, might not have been what they wanted. But, more importantly, the Steelers made it through without any major injuries, a key part of the preseason after some other teams lost high-profile players Friday night.

“It was OK,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who completed 6 of 9 passes for 73 yards in two offensive series.

“We got some work. We’d like to put seven points on the board both times, but it was good. We got done what we wanted to accomplish.”

That might be true, but it doesn’t mean it was pretty.

Roethlisberger was sacked to end the offense’s first series when linebacker John Simon hit him from behind after coming free virtually unblocked.

Roethlisberger fumbled, the Colts recovered and on Indianapolis’ first offensive play, backup quarterback Scott Tolzien – starting while Andrew Luck recovers from offseason shoulder surgery – threw a pass over the middle to receiver Donte Moncrief. Artie Burns had Moncrief briefly, but safety Robert Golden came up and hit Burns, knocking him off. Moncrief was finally tracked down and tackled at the 8, setting up a 1-yard Frank Gore touchdown run.

The Steelers went to their no-huddle offense on their second possession and Roethlisberger quickly directed them to the Indianapolis 18.

But Knile Davis was stopped for no gain on a run and Roethlisberger had two passes to tight end Jesse James broken up, forcing the Steelers to settle for a field goal.

“I liked some of the things we were able to do,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “I thought we were able to move the ball fluidly when we were not preventing us from doing it.”

Landry Jones took over for Roethlisberger at quarterback after that, seeing his first action of the preseason.

Jones started slowly as the Steelers went three-and-out on his first two series, and Indianapolis capitalized, getting a pair of Adam Vinatieri field goals to grab a 13-3 lead.

Jones did rebound, however, and led a field goal drive late in the first half and then threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Xavier Grimble early in the third quarter to cut the Indianapolis lead to 13-12 after placekicker Chris Boswell pushed the PAT wide left.

Jones, who finished 21 of 31 for 163 yards, one touchdown and one interception, directed a 52-yard field goal drive at the end of the third quarter as the Steelers grabbed a 15-13 lead.

“I thought he did a solid job in a lot of areas, particularly for a guy getting his first action, not only his first preseason action,” Tomlin said of Jones, who returned to practice last week after sitting out three weeks with an abdominal injury.

But Colts’ third-string quarterback Stephen Morris directed a 14-play, 86-yard drive to give Indianapolis a 19-15 lead – Vinatieri also missed a PAT – that was capped off by a 1-yard run by Jason Ferguson.

Tolzien completed 7 of 10 passes for 123 yards, while Morris went 12 of 16 for 143 yards.

The Steelers rotated defensive backs throughout the game, with Ross Cockrell starting on the outside, William Gay playing the slot and Golden at free safety. Every other series, they were replaced by Coty Sensabaugh, Mike Hilton and Jordan Dangerfield.

Pittsburgh had a chance to grab the lead again late, as Jones drove them to the Indianapolis 1 with 4:28 remaining in the fourth quarter. But Jones was intercepted by Chris Milton when rookie receiver JuJu Smith-Shuster appeared to stop on a route rather than continuing on the slant pattern Jones threw.

Odds and end zones

Running back Fitzgerald Toussaint suffered a leg contusion and did not return. … Eli Rogers and Martavis Bryant both caught five passes to lead the Steelers. … Inside linebacker Ryan Shazier, seeing his first action of the preseason, had an interception of Tolzien early in the second quarter. … Running back Terrell Watson led the Steelers with 40 yards on eight rushing attempts and also caught four passes for 42 yards. … Vince Williams had a team-high eight tackles and shared a sack with James Harrison, who also saw his first playing time of this preseason.