Biggest Takeaways from Pittsburgh Steelers' Preseason Week 1 Win

The Pittsburgh Steelers got their 2017 preseason off to a good start, defeating the New York Giants, 20-12, on Friday night. Though it's just the first of four exhibition contests and a number of first-teamers got limited or no playing time, there were still numerous learning opportunities from the game.

Here are the six biggest takeaways from the Steelers' Week 1 preseason victory.

Rookie T.J. Watt Is As Advertised

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

First-round draft pick T.J. Watt has spent most of his rookie offseason drawing extensive praise from his coaches and teammates as he works his way into a starting linebacker job. Based on how that translated to the playing field in the team's preseason win over the New York Giants, all that praise was certainly warranted.

According to Dave Bryan at Steelers Depot, Watt logged the most playing time of any Steelers defender, with 63 snaps played on defense and another 10 as a special teamer and ended his day with five combined tackles, three solo tackles, two tackles for a loss and two sacks. Pro Football Focus gave him its highest grade on the team in the game.

Interestingly enough, Watt worked just as much on the left side of the defense rather than just the right, where outside linebackers coach Joey Porter confirmed to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette that Watt will serve as a starter this year. While also a response to the Steelers being short-handed at outside linebacker in the game, it also shows just how versatile that Watt can be.

Expect another heavy dose of Watt throughout the rest of the preseason as he prepares to be a first-team defender alongside Bud Dupree and ahead of James Harrison. 

Week 1 Was for Running Back Evalution

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Terrell Watson

The Steelers used the ongoing holdout of starting running back Le'Veon Bell and rookie James Conner's shoulder sprain as a way to take a longer look at the backup running backs during the team's first preseason game. Pittsburgh passed the ball only 22 times in the contest, completing just 10, but ran 27 times for 124 yards and a touchdown.

The leader in carries was Terrell Watson, with 10 rushes for 44 yards and a score. But not far behind was Knile Davis, with eight carries for 34 yards, along with one reception on two passing targets. Fitzgerald Toussaint had six rushes for 19 yards.

The Steelers are trying to determine which of these three backs will serve as the No. 3 behind Bell and Conner or if one could at least open the season ahead of Conner on the depth chart. They also are trying to figure out if three running backs will suffice on the 53-man roster or if keeping four would be more prudent.

With Bell's holdout and Conner's absence, the first preseason game presented the Steelers with a great opportunity to do some heavy in-game scouting of their depth at running back.

Landry Jones Won't Be Losing His Roster Spot Soon

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Joshua Dobbs

With Landry Jones sitting out the Steelers' first preseason game with an abdominal injury and starter Ben Roethlisberger not needing the playing time, Pittsburgh was able to get long looks at rookies Joshua Dobbs and Bart Houston. Based on the duo's performance against the New York Giants, Jones should be in no danger of losing the No. 2 job this year.

Dobbs completed eight of 15 attempts for 100 yards and threw one touchdown and two interceptions while being sacked three times. Houston completed two of seven attempts for 24 yards.

It is clear that the two are still learning the ropes of the quarterback position at the NFL level and need far more practice and in-game experience before either present a threat to Jones' standing on the roster, let alone become the post-Roethlisberger starter. The only way anything happens to Jones' job security is if his injury lingers or worsens as the regular season approaches.

Interesting Developments on Defense

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Arthur Moats

Steelers Depot's Alex Kozora came across an interesting development when he was charting the Steelers' defensive performance from their Week 1 preseason win over the Giants—they are using their base 3-4 defense when up against the pass far more often than they have in the past two years.

Kozora noted that the Steelers were in their 3-4 base against three-receiver sets on 32 of the Giants' 53 such plays, or 60.4 percent. That's up from just 2.6 percent in the 2015 regular season and 6.4 percent a year ago. He also noted that this change could be seen throughout Friday night's game and was not solely dependent on the starters being on the field.

Granted, the Steelers aren't going to suddenly be in a 3-4 base over half the time once the regular season begins. But it is a clear sign that it is a formation they will be employing more often than they have over the last two years. As Kozora points out, it allows them a bit more personnel flexibility when stopping the run and who serves as a nickel defensive back.

It will be interesting to see how and if this trend continues throughout the Steelers' final three preseason games. If the Steelers really are recommitting themselves to a 3-4 base this year, they should be sticking with this philosophy in the weeks to come, which will provide some hints on the kinds of tweaks defensive coordinator Keith Butler has prioritized this year.

Arthur Moats Proves His Worth

Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

The Steelers were very short-handed at outside linebacker against the Giants, with Dupree, Harrison, Keion Adams and Anthony Chickillo all sitting out. That meant a heavy dose of Watt but also a lot of playing time for Arthur Moats. The veteran took advantage of his opportunity, making a strong case for why he should not be in danger of losing his roster spot this year.

Though the 29-year-old would likely serve as a depth linebacker during the regular season, he showed against the Giants that his depth would be of the highest quality. Moats totaled six tackles, including four solo and two for a loss, sacked opposing quarterbacks three times and had the Steelers' lone interception of the game. He was the second-highest graded Steelers defender in the game, according to Pro Football Focus and the first Steelers defender in over 15 years to have three sacks in a preseason contest.

Players like Moats always need to take advantage of the preseason snaps afforded them, and Moats more than proved not only his worth in the game but his worth to the team for the upcoming season. His value as a veteran has not diminished—in fact, it may still be on the rise.

Receiver Evaluation Will Have to Wait

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Cobi Hamilton

One of the positions the Steelers are most closely evaluating is wide receiver, where they are trying not just to determine how many wideouts they will keep but just exactly what the depth chart pecking order will look like. But Friday's preseason win over the Giants didn't provide many opportunities to advance those efforts.

Pittsburgh's two quarterbacks completed only 10 passes combined. Only two receivers, Canaan Severin (who has since been released) and Cobi Hamilton managed two catches. JuJu Smith-Schuster left the game early with a concussion. In addition, receivers Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, Justin Hunter, Sammie Coates and Demarcus Ayers did not dress for the game. 

Further, in-game evaluation of the entirety of Pittsburgh's receiving corps may not be much of a possibility this summer. Roethlisberger isn't expected to play in the team's Week 2 meeting with the Atlanta Falcons, and if Jones remains sidelined with injury, the Dobbs-and-Houston show will again take the spotlight.

If the two cannot connect with receivers more reliably than they did against the Giants, the Steelers may have to rely on training camp practices with Roethlisberger to dictate how they handle their group of receivers once it's time to make roster cuts in early September.