Offense finds early rhythm for Russell Wilson, Steelers in preseason loss to Lions

DETROIT — Like a battery in need of some juice, the Pittsburgh Steelers offense got the recharge it had sought for much of the preseason Saturday afternoon.

A trip to the Motor City cured some of the ills that had beset the first-team unit the first two weeks.

No longer looking like a clunker off the used-car lot, the Steelers hummed with the efficiency of a BMW as Russell Wilson and Justin Fields directed first-quarter touchdown drives in a 24-17 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.

Starting at quarterback for the second game in a row, Wilson led the Steelers on a five-play, 60-yard march that resulted in the first points by the first-team offense this preseason. His exit after that initial series all but cemented Wilson as the starter when the Steelers open the season Sept. 8 in Atlanta.

Fields took over and immediately guided the Steelers to a second touchdown — the scores transpiring before nine minutes had elapsed from the clock — to provide a 14-0 lead.

“They both moved the ball, they won possession downs and they were able to put the ball in the end zone,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “Things we hadn’t done to this point sufficiently enough in the preseason.

Under Wilson, the Steelers generated two first downs — and zero points — in five possessions last week against Buffalo. This time, it took only five plays — and one long completion to George Pickens — to end that drought.

When Cordarrelle Patterson burst up the middle on a 31-yard touchdown run, Tomlin pulled the plug on Wilson.

“I was ready to play however long coach wanted me to,” Wilson said. “Whenever I came to the sideline, he gave me (the sign) that you’re done.”

Wilson was 2 of 2 passing for 26 yards. He joined Najee Harris, Pat Freiermuth and Pickens on the bench for the second series.

“We just needed results that were indicative of how we worked,” Tomlin said. “They were able to put together a scoring drive, and it provided an opportunity to get Justin in sooner.”

Tomlin still hasn’t named his starting quarterback for the opener, and he doesn’t plan to do so until the end of practice next week. The Steelers will work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before players get an NFL-mandated four-day break.

Wilson doesn’t mind waiting a few more days.

“Coach Tomlin is one of the best coaches to ever coach the game,” Wilson said. “I don’t ever question him. He knows what he’s doing.”

Fields played three series before ceding to No. 3 quarterback Kyle Allen with 9:37 left in the second quarter. Fields completed 3 of 4 passes for 42 yards and, like Wilson, directed a touchdown drive the first time he touched the ball.

“You never want to play games and struggle,” Fields said. “I think that end-game production, putting points on the board, we can definitely take the good things from this game and move on.”

Although the top playmakers were on the sideline when Fields entered, he played behind most of the first-team offensive line.

“We wanted to put some people around that could protect him,” Tomlin said. “That’s appropriate. You can see I got nervous when we moved away from some of those groups, and I got him out of there.”

On the opening drive, the Steelers got the type of big plays that the first-team offense had lacked in the first two preseason games, although it looked like more of the same when a screen to Pickens lost 6 yards, bringing up a third-and-11 predicament.

But Wilson bought time in the pocket long enough to find Pickens for a 32-yard gain down the left sideline. Two plays later, Patterson ran virtually untouched up the middle for the first points produced by the first-team offense in three games.

Fields’ first possession began at the Detroit 35 after the second Nick Herbig sack on the Lions’ opening drive forced a fumble that Dean Lowry recovered. Fields gained 4 yards on a designed run around right tackle for a first down, then threaded a 22-yard pass to tight end MyCole Pruitt to the 2.

La’Mical Perine’s 1-yard run hiked the Steelers lead to 14-0.

Fields also was involved in a miscommunication with rookie center Zach Frazier on the next series. With Fields lined up in the shotgun and his head turned, he didn’t see Frazier snap the ball early. The ball landed at Fields’ feet, and he recovered for a 4-yard loss. It was the fourth fumbled snap of the preseason while Fields was in the game.

“We’re just going to look at the mistakes that we had and what plays we could be better on and get better,” Fields said.

Allen had the longest completion of the game, a 59-yard strike to Dez Fitzpatrick that set up a Matthew Wright field goal in the third quarter. Wright’s kick gave the Steelers a 17-14 lead.

John Rhys Plumlee, who returned kicks and punts in the game, saw his first action at quarterback when he played the fourth quarter. After the Lions had taken a 21-17 lead, Plumlee returned the kickoff 38 yards before remaining in the game to play quarterback.

The Lions came back from 14-0 and 17-14 deficits against the second- and third-stringers to hand the Steelers (0-3) their first winless preseason since they went 0-4 in 2013. Now, the Steelers have a two-week break before their next game — one that actually matters in the standings.

“Ready or not,” Tomlin said, “the regular season is coming.”