Steelers' Mike Tomlin Says Starters Will Play Again On Thursday Despite Excellent Start To The Preseason

The Pittsburgh Steelers just wrapped up a 27-15 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, making them 2-0 through the first two weeks of the 2023 preseason. The starting offense has scored three touchdowns on three possessions, and the full-strength starting defense hasn't given up a score. Despite the success from the starters, Head Coach, Mike Tomlin still wants to see more from his first unit. In his post game press conference on Saturday, he announced the team plans to play its starters against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday. 

Steelers Will Play Their Starters In Third And Final Preseason Game

The Steelers starting offense was extremely efficient in their preseason contest against the Bills, scoring two touchdowns before the 10-minute mark of the first quarter, and the group was taken out of the game. The offense played against Buffalo's first-string defense, and scored twice with ease. Due to the offense playing so well Saturday night, and also doing so in Week 1 of the 2023 preseason against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it's surprising to hear Tomlin say with such assurance that the starters will play in the third preseason game. 

"Some good things to be excited about from a performance perspective. It was going pretty well that's why we got the first unit out of there relatively early. But also, we got a five day turnaround. So those guys will get an opportunity to play again here in a short period of time."

Many fans were happy to see Kenny Pickett and the starters play for the first couple of preseason games, especially because of the result that occurred. Pickett needed some more game experience after not playing the full season in 2022. However, playing starters after a short week of practice and just five days after a game seems like a risk. 

Having such a quick turnaround and rushing players to get prepared in a short period of time seems risky, and feels like it can put the starters at a higher chance of injury. However, it is good practice to have them preparing for a game on such a quick turnaround as the Steelers are scheduled to play in two Thursday night games during the 2023 season where they play on Sunday the week before. This means they'll only have three days to prepare for a game twice in 2023. Tomlin spoke more about playing the starters in Week 3 of the preseason.

"They did enough man to check the boxes of Week 2 of the preseason. And because Week 3 is coming so quickly, we moved on and got some exposure to other people. We'll be wheels up here in a short number of days, and again we expect to play everyone that is available to and particularly the starters, and that's why we proceeded in the manner we did tonight." 

After seeing the way the first unit on offense has performed during the 2023 preseason, it seems Tomlin is just looking for the starters to be consistent from week to week, which could be another reason he has decided to play them in the preseason finale. That, paired with preparing on a short week, will be good for the young offense. They will be playing in Atlanta, where they won in the 2022 regular season by a final score of 19-16. 

Steelers fans will be watching the game Thursday with both excitement and nerves. We have seen such good things so far in the preseason and the last thing anyone wants is an unnecessary injury in a preseason game to ruin it. The excitement comes from getting to watch Pickett and the rest of the first-string offense have an opportunity to continue the success and momentum they have gained over the first two weeks of the 2023 preseason. After a great start to the preseason, the starting offense will be looking to finish off strong and find a way to carry that into Week 1 against a tough San Francisco 49ers team.

What do you think about the Steelers playing their starters on Thursday Steeler Nation? Let us know in the comments below!

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