NASHVILLE, Tenn. – If James Washington keeps this up, people are going to forget about that wide receiver with the Oakland Raiders.
Washington, last year’s No. 2 draft choice, continued his eye-opening preseason with his third catch of at least 40 yards, this time for a touchdown in the first quarter of the Steelers’ 18-6 victory against the Tennessee Titans.
“We talk about all second-year players making significant steps, he’s done that,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “He’s kind of representative of the group.”
On the second play after quarterback Mason Rudolph replaced Ben Roethlisberger, Washington beat cornerback Kenneth Durden deep in the middle of the field for a 41-yard touchdown that gave the Steelers a 15-0 lead.
Mason Rudolph to James Washington is a beautiful thing. Washington has been nothing but a big play machine this summer. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/WpuZKfqdgm
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) August 26, 2019
Washington came into the game averaging 20.2 yards on eight catches, including receptions of 43 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 40 yards versus Kansas City Chiefs.
All three of his long catches have followed a similar pattern: They have come either on the first or second play of a series. That the first deep one with Rudolph, his former college teammate.
Coach Mike Tomlin said during the week not to read too much into the quarterback rotation he would use against the Titans, which was a tipoff Rudolph, who is trying to unseat Josh Dobbs as the No. 2 quarterback, would be the first one off the bench to replace Roethlisberger.
Injuries
Tomlin said safety Sean Davis (ankle) and outside linebacker Bud Dupree (thumb) were the only injuries of note against the Titans.
Two of the Steelers promising young rookies – wide receiver Diontae Johnson and running back Benny Snell – did not play. Johnson did not practice on Friday and Snell has an undisclosed injury that is not expected to be serious.
Also, veteran CB Joe Haden was held out for the third game in a row after sustaining a bruise to his ankle/foot area during a training camp practice in Latrobe. Artie Burns started in his place. Backup CB Brian Allen did not make the trip.
Disruptive Tuitt
The Steelers are hoping Stephon Tuitt can live up to his big contract that makes him one of the highest-paid defensive linemen in the league. He showed in the first quarter the disruptive type of player he can be.
Tuitt sacked quarterback Marcus Mariota in the end zone for a safety after pushing guard Rodger Saffold backward from the 4-yard line. Then he beat the other guard, Kevin Pamphile, for a 7-yard sack on backup Ryan Tannehill.
The Steelers, who have either led or tied for the league lead in sacks each of the past two seasons, had four sacks in the first half – three by defensive linemen. Cam Heyward and inside linebacker Vince Williams had the others.
Other news
Rookie linebacker Sutton Smith played for the first time in the preseason and will have a difficult time making the 53-man roster because the coaches haven’t had enough time to see him in game situations.
But, because of injuries to Anthony Chickillo and Ola Adeniyi, Smith replaced Bud Dupree in the second quarter and was paired with outside partner T.J. Watt.
Smith was one of the most intriguing draft choices because of his versatility and tenacity and showed a lot of that in the spring. But he has missed a lot of practice time because of an abdominal injury and has likely fallen too far behind to make an impression.
Gerry Dulac: gdulac@post-gazette.com and Twitter @gerry dulac.
First Published: August 26, 2019, 1:59 a.m.
