The post-pandemic return of concerts to Heinz Field won’t happen until a Rolling Stones show in October. But that didn’t mean there isn’t something of a dress rehearsal happening there this week.

The Pittsburgh Steelers under Mike Tomlin long have treated their third preseason game as a simulation for a regular-season game. That means the starters, for the most part, start. And it also means a week of preparation that mimics what they do to get ready for the games that count from September through December.

With this week’s game falling on a Saturday, that means the “normal” schedule was bumped back a day, and Tuesday’s practice was not unlike what the Steelers typically do on a Wednesday during the regular season.

Tuesday’s session at Heinz Field featured all healthy, participating starters — including Ben Roethlisberger — getting plenty of work. It also meant a “show” (scout) team running plays or formations off of “cards” coaches hold up that are meant to serve as a mock of the opponent (in this case, the Detroit Lions).

“We will continue to push forward and introduce them to what a week’s prep is like,” coach Mike Tomlin said after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s important to find their rhythm within that, the things they do to take care of the body and in anticipation of the material they’re going to receive.

“There’s a lot of irons in the fire this week.”

Roethlisberger not only had what might have been his busiest work day of camp, he also might have had his best practice of camp. Roethlisberger’s short throws appeared to have zip. His long throws were largely on target, and his movement in and out of the pocket seemed limber. In another peek at what the new Matt Canada offense could look like, Roethlisberger ran plenty of bootlegs after taking snaps under center. His throws on the run, for the most part, were accurate. The highlight of practice came during a live 11-on-11 drill when a pass that traveled about 60 yards in the air was caught by WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had beaten DBs Tre Norwood and Justin Layne. Smith-Schuster lunged to complete the diving catch. During 7-on-7 play a little later, Roethlisberger hit WR Diontae Johnson with crisp throws a few snaps apart: one an over-the-shoulder grab on a well-placed throw down the right sideline, the other a zipped pass that hit Johnson in stride as he ran his route through a soft spot in the secondary. TE Eric Ebron likewise had one of his best showings of camp. A highlight was a catch on the run across the field to the left side on a nice throw from Roethlisberger that was over the top of S Miles Killebrew. Ebron ran with apparent speed and purpose during other routes throughout practice, including one that ended with a reception of a Mason Rudolph pass across the middle in 11-on-11 play. At one point, in another tidbit of a Canada-style play, Roethlisberger was under center and Ebron in motion from left to right. He approached an oncoming edge rusher as if he was about to block him, but, at the last moment, duped to the inside and caught a pass from Roethlisberger off a bootleg. Judging by plays run against a scout team Tuesday, it again appeared as if new ILB Joe Schobert will be an every-down player on the defense. The Steelers did plenty of live punting, looking at Jordan Berry and Presley Harvin III attempt long boots and execute drops inside the 20. Practicing most returns were Ray-Ray McCloud and Mathew Sexton, although WR Isaiah McKoy (cut hours later) and RB Anthony McFarland also fielded a punt or two. For the first time during a training-camp practice in memory, the Steelers did not run a 2-point conversion simulation that traditionally starts the team-drill portion of the session. The team instead did a different sort of “seven shots,” one that originated near midfield.

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