The Steelers played a lot of regulars in this game but they got Ben Roethlisberger out of the game after one series of handing the ball off.  Byron Leftwich did not have a good game as he completed 6 of 14 passes for 82 yards.  Rookie Dennis Dixon finished up the game completing 5 of 9 passes for 42 yards and he also carried the ball 1 time for 11 yards.  Rashard Mendenhall led the Steelers in rushing with 79 yards on 21 carries (3.8 ypc) but he lost another fumble.  Gary Russell was also busy with 43 yards rushing on 14 carries (3.1 ypc).  Willie Parker was effective in his short time on the field with 4 carries for 34 yards (8.5 ypc).  Fullback Carey Davis pitched in with 11 yards on 3 carries (3.7 ypc) and he scored on a 6-yard TD run.  The Steelers finished up this game with 178 yards rushing on 44 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 11 of 23 passes for 124 yards.

Linebacker Keyaron Fox continued his impressive preseason by leading the Steelers in tackles in this game with 9 and he also had a sack.  The Steelers held the Panthers to only 62 yards rushing on 25 carries (2.5 ypc).  The Panthers also completed 21 of 38 passes for 261 yards in this game.   Jeff Reed was the hero in this game once again as he nailed a 43-yard field goal as time expired.  The Steelers finish the preseason with a 3-1 record as they were impressive.

The Steelers won this football game with defense and special teams.  Aaron Smith, LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison led the Steelers’ defense with 5 tackles and 1 sack apiece in this game.  Jeff Reed nailed a 47-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to give the Steelers this win as he scored all 12 of the points for them.  The Vikings finished up with only 32 yards rushing on 22 carries (1.5 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 24 passes for 131 yards.

The Steelers’ offense might not have scored a lot of points in this game but they had possession of the football for a stunning 36:23!  Ben Roethlisberger had a so-so game completing 10 of 17 passes for 65 yards.  Byron Leftwich was pretty effective for the Steelers in this game as he completed 16 of 23 passes for 129 yards.  Rookie RB Rashard Mendenhall led the Steelers in rushing in this game with 79 yards on 15 carries (5.3 ypc) but he lost two fumbles, one of which led to the Vikings only TD.  Willie Parker did not look good in this game as he finished up with only 18 yards rushing on 10 carries (1.8 ypc).  WR Willie Reid was the Steelers’ leading receiver in this game with 5 catches for 55 yards (11.0 avg).  The Steelers finished up with 102 yards rushing on 31 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 40 passes for 179 yards.

The Steelers have brought back 34-year old DE Orpheus Roye on a 1-year contract.  Roye played in 13 games for the Cleveland Browns last season and he made 37 tackles and had 1/2 a sack.  Roye is on the last legs of his NFL career and he will likely be nothing more than a backup for the Steelers this season.  Roye has now played in 174 games in his NFL career and he has made 510 tackles, defensed 41 passes, has 18.5 sacks, forced 5 fumbles and has 2 interceptions.  This was a solid depth signing for the Steelers.

2nd year linebacker Lawrence Timmons is in a battle with Larry Foote for a starting job on the inside of the Steelers’ defense and he has really looked good this preseason.  Timmons is leading the Steelers in tackles with 12 and he also has a sack.  Timmons has really played well as the Steelers’ defense is also looking tight this preseason allowing only 267.0 yards per game and 17.0 points per contest.  Starting Timmons over Foote in the middle will really make the Steelers defense fast.

The Steelers have liked what they have seen out of rookie QB Dennis Dixon and RB Rashard Mendenhall so far this preseason.  Dixon is really a super athletic QB but it might take him a little while to improve his passing accuracy.  Still, he has a good arm and he will be able to learn from Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich this season while holding a clipboard.  Dixon has completed 12 of 24 passes (50%) so far this preseason for 109 yards without either a TD pass or an interception for a QB Rating of 62.7.  Dixon has really looked good when he takes off running out of the pocket as the has carried the ball 2 times for 54 yards (27.0 ypc) with a TD.  Rookie RB Rashard Mendenhall has been running hard this preseason so far but he’s not getting a lot of yards.  He has carried the football 18 times for 64 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He will likely split carries with Willie Parker this season getting a lot of touches near the red zone.