Stock Up, Stock Down After Pittsburgh Steelers' 2nd Preseason Game

The Pittsburgh Steelers notched their second win of the preseason on Sunday, defeating the visiting Atlanta Falcons, 17-13.

However, in the preseason, wins and losses matter less than the overall performance of the team; the same is true for the individual efforts put in those who may not yet have their roster spots secured. To that end, there were players whose stocks are on the rise and others whose are falling.

Here's who impressed and who didn't for the Steelers on Sunday.

Stock Up: RB James Conner

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Only two true running backs saw carries for the Steelers against Atlanta, with only rookie James Conner making any sort of significant impression. Conner had 20 rushes for 98 yards and a three-yard reception. He broke off a long run of 19 yards, giving him a per-rush average of 4.9.

While it wasn't a dominant performance, and certainly not one that should have incumbent starter Le'Veon Bell worried about his place atop the depth chart once he returns from his summer-long holdout, it was a good debut for a rookie who has spent much of the offseason with injuries.

First a hamstring and then a shoulder kept Conner off the practice field, so seeing him handle such a heavy workload without any post-game injury concerns is a good sign about his regular-season availability.

Just getting Conner on the field is a win for both him and the Steelers. That he could have over 100 yards combined as a receiver and a rusher is even better. Conner should again have a feature role in the Steelers' third preseason game, with Bell not expected to return until after Saturday's contest against the Indianapolis Colts, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.

Stock Down: QB Landry Jones

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For the second preseason game in a row, backup quarterback Landry Jones was a non-participant. He has missed significant time during training camp with an abdominal strain—one that had him throw only 36 passes in practice this summer, according to Steelers Depot's Alex Kozora (as compared to 192 for rookie Joshua Dobbs). And now that absence could prove costly to Jones' roster spot.

When asked about Dobbs, head coach Mike Tomlin (via ESPN.com's Fowler) said "the door's never been closed" on anyone having an opportunity to move up the depth chart. Combine that with the greatest ability in the NFL often being availability, and it's easy to see how Dobbs could sneak past Jones on the depth chart despite his rookie status.

Dobbs has made some progress as a preseason starter through two games. In Week 1, against the New York Giants, he completed eight of his 15 pass attempts for 100 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions and was sacked three times. Versus the Falcons, he completed 10 of 19 passes for 70 yards. He threw zero touchdowns and one interception and was sacked once.

Those modest returns may be the only thing Jones has to hang his hat on when hoping to retain the No. 2 job behind Ben Roethlisberger this year. Because if Jones cannot get healthy in time for Saturday's game, Tomlin may have no choice but promote Dobbs for the regular season.

Stock Up: LG Matt Feiler

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This is an important offseason for offensive lineman Matt Feiler. An undrafted free-agent signing of the Houston Texans in 2014, he joined the Steelers a season later and spent the majority of his two years in Pittsburgh on the practice squad. As such, his practice-squad eligibility has been used up, meaning that the only way he can remain with the Steelers this year is on the 53-man roster.

But Feiler made a strong case for himself in the team's second preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons. Feiler got the nod as the team's starting left guard, in place of Ramon Foster, and played well. Pro Football Focus noted that Feiler performed well as a run-blocker and also allowed just a single pressure in his 31 pass-protection snaps. With his help, Pittsburgh's defense gave up just one sack on Sunday and three quarterback hits.

There is upside to the Steelers keeping Feiler as a reserve offensive lineman this year. For one, he's versatile, with the ability to play guard or tackle. Steelers Depot's Matthew Marczi feels Feiler has had a strong training camp—stronger than tackle Jerald Hawkins, who was expected to be one of the Steelers' extra offensive linemen on the 53-man roster this year.

At the very least, Feiler has done enough this summer to have warranted him being given a start Sunday. And even if that doesn't translate to another year spent in Pittsburgh, it could be enough to convince another team to snag him. No matter what, Sunday was a good day for Feiler's NFL career.

Stock Down: The Pass Coverage

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The Steelers' pass defense Sunday looked much as it did in 2016, and that's not a good thing. With starting safety Mike Mitchell sidelined as well as rookie cornerback Cameron Sutton and inside linebacker Ryan Shazier (an asset in coverage), Pittsburgh struggled mightily to stop Atlanta in the air.

The Falcons had 318 yards in the game, with 225 of it coming via the air. Of their 20 first downs in the game, 15 were via the pass. Thirteen players caught passes for Atlanta, eight of whom had at least one go for 10 or more yards. 

The main problem was at safety, with a lost-looking Robert Golden filling in for Mitchell. Things settled down eventually at the position, when Jordan Dangerfield came in for Golden and notched two interceptions to go with his three tackles. But it was a team effort that led to Atlanta doing such a good job in the passing game, something that linebacker Arthur Moats confirmed to Steelers.com's Teresa Varley. 

Moats said:

"I feel like we have done some good things, at the same time there is room for improvement. We had some issues that we thought we put to bed last year. They rose back up. It's one of those things if you don't put emphasis on it, it can become an issue. During OTAs, training camp, you don't have those issues occur. Until you have a team like the Falcons with the tempo in there on offense, you realize why we have it in place. We hadn't emphasized it."

The Steelers need to get that level of regular-season communication in place over the next few weeks in order to be ready to play games that matter. Hopefully a renewed focus on that communication, paired with the returns of players like Mitchell and Shazier, will finally result in the improvements the Steelers have been seeking.

Stock Up: LB Anthony Chickillo

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In the first preseason game, the star of the front seven was rookie linebacker T.J. Watt. In the second, it was another outside linebacker. Anthony Chickillo, who made his 2017 preseason debut on Sunday, was a force as a pass-rusher, further highlighting just how deep the position group has become for the Steelers.

Chickillo had two sacks, two quarterback hits, five total tackles (all solo), two tackles for a loss and a pass defensed. Steelers Depot's Dave Bryan credited Chickillo with being in on 48 of the Steelers' defensive snaps (62 percent), the most of any Steelers defender. 

Chickillo, along with Arthur Moats (a standout in the Steelers' first preseason game), is trying to convince the coaches he deserves a spot on the 53-man roster as a backup for presumed starters Watt and Bud Dupree. And with Dupree and James Harrison both yet to see any preseason action, Chickillo had ample opportunity to do just that against Atlanta. Handling his workload so well and making an appreciable impact in the game should go a long way to help Chickillo get job security. 

Stock Down: WR Demarcus Ayers

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With the Steelers heading into training camp with a plethora of wide receiver talent at their disposal and not a lot of spare roster spots, those receivers on the fringes needed to use their opportunities to prove that one of the final spots should belong to them. But one who hasn't done so is Demarcus Ayers, to the point where the 2016 seventh-round pick may have no chance to be on the 53-man roster this year.

Ayers began camp as one of the players battling for the Steelers' slot receiver and punt returner jobs. He started out well, with 13 catches and two scores on 19 targets and as one of the two clear standouts when it came to returning punts, according to PennLive's Jacob Klinger.

But an undisclosed injury has kept Ayers off the practice field for some time and he has yet to appear in a preseason game. Thus, Eli Rogers continues to have the advantage over Ayers at slot receiver and as a punt returner. Another candidate to return punts, running back Trey Williams, made a strong case for himself against Atlanta, with three punts returned for 77 yards, which included a 64-yard touchdown.

Ayers is now the only Steelers receiver not named Antonio Brown to see zero preseason action. Everyone else seems to be passing Ayers, making him one of the odd men out in Pittsburgh's receiving corps.

Stock Up: P Jordan Berry

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The Steelers offense was mostly anemic against the Falcons. They converted only two of their 12 third downs, had only two trips to the red zone (with one successful) and their 13 drives netted just 189 yards. But there was a bright spot in the Steelers' offensive struggles on Sunday: the punting game, led by Jordan Berry.

Berry punted eight times for 318 yards. But the real magic was in the fact that none of those punts resulted in touchbacks. Seven landed within the Falcons' 20-yard line, including a 55-yarder to the Falcons' 17-yard line that was moved back to the nine after a Falcons penalty. Falcons wide receiver Nick Williams only attempted two punt returns, earning five yards.

Football is a game of inches and of field positioning, and thanks to Berry, the Steelers won both of those battles on Sunday, setting them up to beat Atlanta despite being heavily outgained on offense. While it's impossible to expect Berry's punts to regularly fall within opponents' 20-yard line nearly 90 percent of the time (his percentage last season was 47.5), it's good to know that the Steelers have a field-flipper like Berry as part of their special teams arsenal.