Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is giddy he is one of two head coaches who gets 33% extra game reps to evaluate his roster this preseason. Rest assured Tomlin and his assistants are poring over the game film of Thursday’s 16-3 victory against the Dallas Cowboys in what was the lone preseason game played in the NFL this weekend.

Time will tell what conclusions the coaches draw. But here are some players (or groups of players) whose causes were helped and hurt on the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium turf:

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Josh Dobbs: The forgotten man in the Steelers’ QB2 derby, Dobbs had better numbers against the Cowboys than Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins. But perhaps better than going 4 for 6 for 37 yards and a touchdown was the coach publicly stumped for Dobbs after the game.

In another season played under the specter of covid-19, the expanded practice squad size and concerns related to contact tracing could lead to the Steelers keeping four quarterbacks again.

Mathew Sexton: Sexton is a receiver by trade, but the undrafted rookie was targeted by the Steelers because he can do much more. Sexton had a 36-yard punt return against the Cowboys that Tomlin brought up, unsolicited, as a turning point of the game. It was the second time in less than a week Tomlin mentioned Sexton’s name without being asked.

That’s worth noting from a coach who typically is loathe to give too much praise to a rookie.

Barring a rash of injuries or other calamity, Sexton won’t be part of the Steelers’ 2021 receiving corps. But his special-teams value, at very least, has him on track to be a practice-squad player.

Defensive depth: Among the areas of concern heading into camp were depth at linebacker and in the secondary. While not much has changed at inside linebacker, plenty of outside linebackers and defensive backs popped in Canton.

Putting aside how good second-year Alex Highsmith was in starting the game, the Steelers also got sacks from Cassius Marsh and Quincy Roche. Marsh, a veteran, is penciled in as the fourth OLB; Roche was an intriguing late-round rookie who racked up sacks in college.

The Steelers also have to feel better about their secondary beyond their solid top four, too. Free-agent pickup Miles Killebrew showed a capable tackler who perhaps can be trusted as the top backup strong safety. Promising rookie Donovan Stiner had an interception playing as the No. 2 free safety. The starter there against the Cowboys was another rookie, Tre Norwood, who showed a knack for being around the ball.

Undrafted rookie cornerbacks Mark Gilbert and Shakur Brown made myriad plays on defense and special teams, just as they have been in practice.

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Jordan Berry/Sam Sloman: The Steelers effectively sat their incumbent punter and placekicker, opting instead to let youngsters audition. One veteran benefited while not playing. The other might have lost his job.

Chris Boswell’s job was never truly in jeopardy, but Sloman missing a field goal and an extra point should have removed any remote chance he had.

Berry, though, entered camp as an underdog to keep his own job, and those odds became much, much longer after a fantastic debut by Pressley Harvin III. The seventh-round pick averaged a 45.5-yard net on four boots, with three pinning the Cowboys inside their own 20. One was downed at the 1.

Benny Snell: Like Berry, Snell did not play. Also like Berry, Snell’s chances of making the Steelers’ roster decreased. Already absent from the team for multiple days this week for undisclosed reasons, Snell’s hold on the No. 2 spot on the running back depth chart might have disappeared.

Kalen Ballage ran strong against the Cowboys, even better than his stat line (five carries for 19 yards) might suggest. The 6-foot-2, 231-pound Ballage gained at least 3 yards each time he touched the ball. He had a 9-yard carry negated by penalty and another carry that was capped at 4 yards because it ended up with touchdown.

The Steelers have long sought a viable short-yardage back. Ballage looked more the part Thursday than Snell did over the past two seasons.

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