Tim Benz: Steelers who flashed in 1st preseason game look to build on positive momentum Thursday night

Just because the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys played each other in Canton last week, that doesn’t mean the game tape needed to stay there.

No, the Hall of Fame Game was hardly Hall of Fame-worthy viewing as the Steelers outlasted the Cowboys 16-3 in a less than enthralling battle of backups to open the 2021 NFL campaign.

But there were plenty of players who did enough positive things to suggest they have some momentum going into Game 2 of the preseason on Thursday night.

Tre Norwood

The seventh-round pick out of Oklahoma got credit for a field goal block and a pass breakup in the red zone last Thursday.

In training camp, he has shown the versatility, instincts and smarts that were spoken about him when the Steelers drafted him as a “Swiss Army knife” utility defensive back, a role Mike Hilton played before settling in as a “blitz nickel” slot guy in Pittsburgh.

In speaking with him via Zoom or in training camp interviews, it’s clear the rookie is attentive, intelligent and mature. In those types of settings, he seems to have a similar personality that is just as engaging and personable as Hilton.

Now let’s see if he can be as tenacious and nasty as Hilton was when the games start. Although Norwood, for now, may be destined for more time at free safety.

“He’ll have opportunities to display that (nastiness), and we’ll have opportunities to discover that with more work,” head coach Mike Tomlin said of Norwood this week. “So much of the position is intangible qualities: above-the-neck play, communication skills, instincts and feel for the game. And some of those things don’t show up at combines and so forth.”

Whether he sticks at free safety or not, Norwood appears happy with how his camp is tracking so far.

“I think it’s been going well. Just being able to hone in at one position and make that my focus right now. But I’m always ready to play any position on the back end,” Norwood reiterated this week.

Maybe he’ll move around some more tonight against the Eagles.

Najee Harris

The first-round draft choice running back didn’t pop any big runs against the Cowboys last Thursday. He only had 22 yards on seven carries.

But he did get positive yardage on most attempts and fell forward often enough to make something out of nothing. You could see a combination of shake and vision that will come in handy working behind this patchwork offensive line.

Tomlin said Tuesday that just because Harris was able to get eight touches last week, that doesn’t mean they are going to scale back his preseason exposure to the NFL speed of competition.

With at least one or two more starters likely infused into the lineup for Game 2, maybe he can exploit a small crack for a big run. I expect at least one memorable play from Harris Thursday that’ll have Steelers fans excited about the No. 1 pick.

Josh Dobbs

The Steelers’ fourth-string quarterback was 4-for-6 with a touchdown during mop-up duty in that game. And he drew praise from Tomlin afterward.

“This guy’s not going to back down from the competition. You guys keep asking me about (Mason) Rudolph and (Dwayne) Haskins. He’s not going anywhere,” Tomlin said of Dobbs after the game in Canton. “We were in a training camp a number of years ago and it was (Landry) Jones and Rudolph and Dobbs. Nobody was asking me about Dobbs, and he came out of it.”

The way Tomlin recalled that anecdote, it was almost a reminder to say, “Hey, we could potentially trade or cut Rudolph or Haskins and keep Dobbs as a third-string guy.”

They could. But I don’t think they will. This could be a good chance for Dobbs to remind the NFL what he has, though, in case someone else may want to trade for him or pick him up if the Steelers do eventually cut him.

Jamir Jones

As we mentioned after the Hall of Fame game, any number of front seven players deserved a pat on the back for flashing in the pass rush department.

We highlighted outside linebackers Alex Highsmith, Cassius Marsh and Quincey Roche. They all had sacks, while Jamir Jones tallied three quarterback hits. Up front, Tomlin noted Carlos Davis’ contributions, and we pointed to rookie Isaiahh Loudermilk and Abdullah Anderson.

“I liked what I saw, but I temper my enthusiasm because it’s about who’s across from them and what stage of development are they in,” Tomlin said of the unit’s depth players matching up against the backups from the Cowboys.

Let’s focus on Jones here. He showed a great motor in his 39 defensive snaps and was difficult to handle for the backups along the Cowboys front. Jones added a tackle for loss as well.

I’m betting on him registering a sack tonight. And if he makes the most of roughly 15 snaps on special teams (as he totaled last week), he may take one step closer to becoming a surprise keep on this roster.

Pressley Harvin III

I know. I probably should’ve started with the punter first. He was that good against Dallas. And the rest of the game was that … blah.

The seventh-round draft choice from Georgia Tech averaged 45 yards per punt on four attempts. Three were pinned inside the 12-yard line. One was downed at the 1-yard line. Another took some tricky bounces and resulted in a fumble recovery.

He may have won the job from Jordan Berry already. Now it may just be a case of him not punting his way out of it with a few shanks. We’ll see if he gets to kick again against the Eagles, based on game situations. And based on whether or not Tomlin wants to give this game to Berry as he gave the first game to Harvin.