The Pittsburgh Steelers are stocked with talent and appear to be ready to go to war. Preseason Weeks 2 & 3 showcased some serious young talent for the team heading into the 2019 season.

The third and most crucial week of the NFL Preseason has now come and gone. We have seen many big performances and answered quite a few questions within these first few weeks. Pittsburgh has many players still vying for starting positions and significant playing time as we enter crunch time for NFL hopefuls. Veterans will be looking to fine-tune their skills, while rookies and new future Steelers are still looking to impress and land a job with the team in 2019.

Week 2 vs. Kansas City Chiefs

This game was a story of another week and another startling performance for second-year receiver James Washington. The preseason legend continues to grow and the stats keep piling up. The sophomore receiver was the star of the offense in the first week against Tampa Bay, and he did not disappoint against the Chiefs. Washington continued to show great rapport with both Steelers’ backup quarterbacks Mason Rudolph and Joshua Dobbs. He hauled in a beautiful 22-yard slant in the second from Rudolph and then snagged a 40-yard deep ball from Dobbs later in the quarter.

The best thing about this catch by James Washington, is the way he uses hands instead of his body. This is a big improvement from a year ago. As noted, he is going to be a tremendous asset to the #Steelers offense. #Steelersfilm pic.twitter.com/rbR51h8P6m — Black and Gold Nation (@B_GNation1) August 20, 2019

Washington continues to be a big-play machine for the Steelers, and it will be nice to see if that translates into the regular season. Regardless of the result, Washington continues to make plays and looks like a different receiver this year. Another receiver who entered the conversation against the Chiefs was rookie Diontae Johnson. Johnson also produced some sizable gains in this contest. Those gains included this beautiful diving grab for a touchdown in the fourth quarter from fellow rookie Devlin Hodges. While he may not be a significant threat to start, Johnson could carve out some serious playing time if he can make plays like that in the regular season.

There were some mild disappointments in the second exhibition game for the Steelers. After a monster debut, Devin Bush sat out of this game with a nagging shoulder injury. The sensational rookie linebacker missed some practice during the week, and the team decided to hold him out as a precaution. Linebacker Anthony Chickillo suffered a chest injury while backup running back Benny Snell Jr. fell further behind Jaylen Samuels after leaving with an injury of his own. He was only able to muster 17 yards on six carries before departing the game. Newly acquired receiver Donte Moncrief saw his first action as a Steeler. However, Moncrief only managed one catch for a yard and lost the ball on a fumble. The biggest takeaway here is that Moncrief started the game and appears to have the inside track on the early starting role opposite JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Week 3 vs. Tennessee Titans

The Steelers entered their regular-season dress rehearsal against the Titans as winners of their first two preseason games. One of the biggest reasons for that is the performance of Washington. I have spoken about Washington numerous times on this site, and that praise is starting to appear justified. After making some big plays in Week 2 of the preseason, Washington was back at it against the Titans. Washington only received two targets in this one but turned one of them into a 41-yard catch for a score.

The deep pass from Rudolph to Washington in the first quarter was a thing of beauty. The Oklahoma State connection is real, and Washington continues to make the most out of his opportunities. The only discouraging news regarding the sophomore receiver was his lack of targets and snaps with starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Ben Roethlisberger was on the field for 20 plays in #Steelers third preseason game. Snap counts were: Moncrief – 19

McDonald – 19

Smith-Schuster – 18

Conner – 15

Switzer – 13

Rogers – 6

Samuels – 4

Washington – 2 — Graham Barfield (@GrahamBarfield) August 26, 2019

The veteran Moncrief continued to see most of the snaps with Roethlisberger and the first-team offense, which should halt the hype train on Washington for the time being. That additional playing time did not translate for Moncrief, however, as the receiver only managed two catches for 11 yards. Smith-Schuster continued to dominate the targets from Roethlisberger. JuJu won easily on an over-the-shoulder post route in the back of the end zone. That duo looks to be extraordinarily in-sync and ready for another tremendous season. Smith-Schuster appears to be improving with each passing season and is one of the most exciting and vibrant young stars in this league.

Some other highlights from this game included James Conner rounding into form, and an aggressive and improved Pittsburgh defense teeing off on Tennessee. Conner enters his third year in the league in 2019 and a fourth-year removed as a cancer survivor. He looks stronger than ever and could even improve on his monster 2018 season. He contributed a tremendous all-around effort in this one. Conner managed 41 yards on five carries and added two catches for 15 and is one of the better dual threats in this league, despite his great size.

The Steelers defense looked great in this contest, as they racked up seven sacks and two forced fumbles. Starting defensive end, Stephon Tuitt took down the Tennessee quarterbacks twice and is one of the prominent veteran leaders on this emerging young defense. Rookie Bush returned to action in this game, but only notched one tackle.

Moral of the preseason story in Pittsburgh

As we head into the final week of the preseason, fans in Pittsburgh have many reasons to be optimistic. Their leader Roethlisberger looks refreshed and just as sharp as ever, while the defense is young, talented and flying to the football. This Steelers team is one of the better all-around rosters in the league and will be competing in every game during the 2019 season. There will be more battles won this coming week of the preseason, but the real test lies on Sunday, September 9th on Monday Night Football. This Steelers team looks ready to roll against the Patriots and for a good reason. There are Super Bowl aspirations in the Steel City once again.