The Steelers played a solid all-around game last night in Carolina.  Charlie Batch was efficient in running the offense as he completed 6 of 8 passes for 59 yards without a TD pass or INT.  Dennis Dixon finished up this game by completing 11 of 22 passes for 157 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Jonathan Dwyer led the way in the running game for the Steelers last night with 88 yards rushing on 13 carries (6.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  RBs John Clay (7 carries, 30 yards, 4.3 ypc) and Isaac Redman (4 carries, 29 yards, 7.3 ypc) also pitched in for the Steelers on the ground in this game.  WR Emmanuel Sanders (4 rec, 60 yards) and TE Weslye Saunders (3 rec, 32 yards, TD) led the way for the Steelers in the passing game last night.  TE David Johnson only caught 1 pass for 14 yards, but he also recovered a fumble (Mike Wallace) in the end zone for a TD.  The Steelers rushed for 154 yards on 30 carries (5.1 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 30 passes (56.7%) for 208 yards in this game.

The defense was solid when it needed to be last night for the Steelers.  LB Mortty Ivy led the way for the Steelers in this game with 9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit.  CB Curtis Brown (5 tackles, 2 passes defensed) and safety Ryan Mundy (5 tackles and 1 pass defensed) were also busy in this game.  DE Corbin Bryant (fumble recovery) and safety Will Allen (interception) also made big plays.  The Panthers finished up with 95 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 41 passes (51.2%) for 280 yards.  The Steelers finished up with a 3-1 record in the preseason.

No player on the Steelers has been more impressive than 23-year old WR Antonio Brown in the preseason.  In his first three games, Brown has caught 9 passes for 230 yards (25.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has also returned 4 kickoffs for 109 yards (27.3 avg) so far.  Brown made a lot of big catches in the playoffs for the Steelers last year and they have big plans for him.  He will likely be the #3 WR for the Steelers this year and he will likely eventually replace Hines Ward in the starting lineup in a couple of years.

26-year old QB Dennis Dixon requested a trade right as training camp was starting.  The Steelers now need him to shut his pie hole and do his job, which just became more important due to Byron Leftwich’s injury.  Dixon has played in all 3 preseason games for the Steelers so far and he has completed 10 of 24 passes (41.7%) for 132 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (59.7 QB Rating).  Dixon has also carried the ball 7 times for 25 yards (3.6 ypc) so far in the preseason.  Dixon has moved back up the depth chart a little bit as he will battle Charlie Batch for the #2 QB job in 2011.  With that in mind, he needs to step up and start acting his age again.

The Steelers made big plays on both sides of the ball and on special teams to dominate on the scoreboard last night.  Ben Roethlisberger looked pretty sharp last night as he completed 11 of 16 passes for 214 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Byron Leftwich completed 1 of 2 passes for 11 yards without a TD or interception last night.  Dennis Dixon finished up this game by completing 1 of 3 passes for 13 yards with 0 TD passes or interceptions.  Jonathan Dwyer (6 carries, 36 yards), Isaac Redman (5 carries, 20 yards) and Rashard Mendenhall (7 carries, 8 yards, 1 TD run) led the way on the ground for the Steelers in this game.  Antonio Brown led the way for the Steelers in the passing game last night with 4 grabs for 137 yards (34.3 avg) with 2 long TD returns.  Hines Ward pitched in with 3 grabs for 29 yards (9.7 avg) last night.  The Steelers finished up with 96 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 21 passes (61.9%) for 224 yards in this game despite only having the ball for 24:38 last night.

The Steelers gave up a lot of yards last night but they also made big plays to set up short fields for the offense.  CB Crezdon Butler led the way for the Steelers last night with 9 tackles, 2 passes defensed and a interception that he returned 95 yards for a TD.  LB Lawrence Timmons also had a big game with 6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception (he returned it 44 yards) last night.  OLB Baraka Atkins pitched in with a fumble recovery in this game for the Steelers.  The Falcons finished up with 106 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 60 passes (50%) for 299 yards last night.  The Steelers are now 2-1 on the preseason.

The Steelers raced out to a 24-0 lead last night before the backups gave up a couple of  TDs in the fourth quarter.  Ben Roethlisberger looked sharp last night as he completed 8 of 12 passes for 125 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 8 yards last night.  Byron Leftwich was also sharp as he completed 4 of 7 passes for 67 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 9 yards last night.  Dennis Dixon finished up the game by completing 8 of 11 passes for 90 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Jonathan Dwyer led the way on the ground for the Steelers last night with 44 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.4 ypc).  Rashard Mendenhall (6 carries, 28 yards, 4.7 ypc) and Isaac Redman (8 carries, 26 yards, 3.3 ypc) also pitched in for the Steelers last night.  WRs Jerricho Cotchery (2 rec, 49 yards, TD), Arnaz Battle (3 rec, 47 yards), Antonio Brown (1 rec, 29 yards, TD) and Hines Ward (1 rec, 20 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Steelers last night.  The Steelers would have had more points last night but kicker Swayze Waters only made 1 of 3 field goal attempts last night as he was filling in for a injured Shaun Suisham.  The Steelers rushed for 144 yards on 39 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 31 passes (64.5%) for 259 yards as they had possession of the ball for 38:51.

The defense was very solid for the Steelers last evening.  CB Donovan Warren led the way for the Steelers’ D last night with 6 tackles, 1 QB hit and 1/2 sack.  Safety Troy Polamalu, safety Ryan Clark, LB Larry Foote and CB Keenan Lewis each picked off a pass last night.  The Eagles finished up with 98 yards on 18 carries (5.4 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 39 passes (61.5%) for 237 yards last night.  The Steelers are now 1-1 on the pre-season as they looked sharp last night.

The Steelers looked pretty awful last night in the pre-season opener.  Ben Roethlisberger started at QB and he didn’t last too long.  He completed 2 of 3 passes for 22 yards last night.  He was running for his life most of the night as the O-Line looked crappy in this game.  Byron Leftwich was the only QB that looked pretty good for the Steelers last night as he completed 6 of 10 passes for 70 yards.  Charlie Batch made a brief appearance as he only completed 2 of 4 passes for 16 yards last night.  Dennis Dixon only   completed 1 of 10 passes for 29 yards and he ran the ball 2 times for 17 yards (8.5 ypc) last night.  He looked pathetic last night.  RB Isaac Redman led the way on the ground for the Steelers last night with 42 yards on 5 carries (8.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  WR Antonio Brown led the way in the passing game last night with 4 grabs for 64 yards (16.0 avg) last night.  The offense was pretty brutal for the Steelers in Washington last night.  They rushed for 83 yards on 18 carries (4.6 ypc) and they completed 11 of 27 passes (40.7%) for 103 yards as they only had possession of the football for 20:35 last night. 

The Steelers’ D also sucked last night for the most part.  Safety Ryan Mundy led the way for the Steelers on D last night with 8 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  LB Mortty Ivy (6 tackles) and CB Keenan Lewis (5 tackles and 1 QB hit) also were busy against the Redskins in this game.  The Redskins rushed for 140 yards on 35 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 43 passes (65.1%) for 312 yards last night.  As bad as the Steelers played last night…..it was just a pre-season game.

The Steelers looked pretty good last night in the final tune-up for the regular season.  Ben Roethlisberger started this game and he completed 4 of 6 passes for 39 yards.  Byron Leftwich completed 2 of 4 passes for 43 yards before leaving the game with a injury to his knee.  Dennis Dixon made a very brief appearance in this game as he completed his only pass attempt and it went for a 23-yard TD.  Charlie Batch finished up this game by completing 3 of 4 passes for 10 yards.  Rookie Jonathan Dwyer led the way on the ground for the Steelers with 86 yards rushing on 20 carries (4.3 ypc).  Isaac Redman pitched in with 35 yards rushing on 4 carries (8.8 ypc) last night.  Rookie WR Emmanuel Sanders led the way in the passing game for the Steelers last night with 3 grabs for 66 yards (22.0 avg) with a TD grab.  The Steelers finished up with 168 yards rushing (4.3 ypc) and 105 yards passing last night.

Defensively the Steelers were led by rookie linebacker Stevenson Sylvester who had 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit.  The Panthers finished up with 72 yards rushing (3.4 ypc) and 51 yards passing in this game.  The Steelers finished up the pre-season with a 3-1 record.

The Steelers looked truly awful last night as the Broncos pushed them around a little bit.  Ben Roethlisberger looked solid in his brief appearance as he completed 4 of 6 passes for 67 yards.  Dennis Dixon was pathetic to say the least in this game.  He completed 9 of 16 passes for 94 yards with 2 INTs (one was returned 77-yards for a TD by Broncos’ CB Andre Goodman).  Dixon did rush for 33 yards on 3 carries (11.0 ypc) so that wasn’t too bad.  Byron Leftwich was 0 for 4 passing so he looked pretty poor too.  Charlie Batch finished up this contest by completing 3 of 4 passes for 44 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (he also gave up a pick six to Syd’Quan Thompson of the Broncos (48-yarder).  Rookie RB Jonathan Dwyer led the way on the ground last night for the Steelers with 89 yards rushing on 13 carries (6.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Rashard Mendenhall pitched in with 28 yards rushing on 5 carries (5.6 ypc) last night.  WRs Mike Wallace (3 rec, 59 yards) and rookie Antonio Brown (2 rec, 17 yards, TD) led the way through the air for the Steelers last night.  The Steelers finished up with 175 yards rushing (5.8 ypc) and 180 yards passing last night.

LB Lawrence Timmons led the way for the D last night with 5 tackles and 1 QB hit.  CB Keenan Lewis also had 5 tackles but Coach Tomlin was pissed at him for some big mistakes he made.  The Broncos finished up with 128 yards rushing (4.8 ypc) and 140 yards passing in this game.  The Broncos finished up with 128 yards rushing (4.6 ypc) and 140 yards passing last night.  The Steelers are now 2-1 on the pre-season.

The Steelers pushed the Giants around on offense despite only putting up 24 points on Saturday Night.  The Steelers finished up with 161 yards rushing (3.9 ypc) and 251 passing yards in this game.  Ben Roethlisberger got the start and he completed 6 of 8 passes for 76 yards with 1 INT.  Byron Leftwich looked better in his second game as he completed 3 of 6 passes for 95 yards with 1 TD pass.  Dennis Dixon was outstanding once again as he completed 7 of 8 passes for 82 yards.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 27 yards (5.4 ypc) in this game.  Justin Vincent was the leading ground gainer for the Steelers in this game with 37 yards rushing on six carries (6.2 ypc).  Isaac Redman (6 car, 34 yards, TD) and Dwayne Wright (8 car, 27 yards, TD) also had good games running the ball for the Steelers in this game.  Mike Wallace (2 rec, 80 yards, TD), rookie WR Emmanuel Sanders (3 rec, 51 yards) and TE Heath Miller (3 rec, 33 yards) all played well in the passing game for the Steelers on Saturday Night.

Linebacker Keyaron Fox (6 tackles) and safety Troy Polamalu (4 tackles) led the way for the Steelers’ D in this game.  The Steelers did have some issues against the powerful Giants running game as the Giants rushed for 129 yards (4.3 ypc).  The Giants only passed for 151 yards in this game but the Giants’ #3 QB (Rhett Bomar) played the whole game due to injuries to Eli Manning and Jim Sorgi.

The Steelers looked o.k. on offense Saturday night.  Byron Leftwich didn’t look too good though completing 6 of 10 passes for 43 yards.  Dennis Dixon was the star of the game for the Steelers as he completed 6 of 7 passes for 128 yards with 1 TD pass.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 31 yards (5.2 ypc) on Saturday.  Charlie Batch completed 1 of 2 passes for 10 yards in a very brief appearance.  Isaac Redman led the way on the ground for the Steelers in this game with 60 yards rushing on 15 carries (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD carry.  Redman also caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg) in this game.  Rookie 6th round pick Antonio Brown led the way in the passing game for the Steelers with 3 grabs for 84 yards (28.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Arnaz Battle only caught one pass but it went for 51 yards.  The Steelers finished up with 117 yards rushing (3.3 ypc) and 169 passing yards in this game.

Rookie 5th round pick Stevenson Sylvester led the way for the Steelers’ D in this game with 7 tackles.  The Lions finished up with 79 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.3 ypc) and they passed for 208 yards in this game.