The Steelers beat the Panthers without really trying to win the game.  Ben Roethlisberger completed his only pass attempt for 7 yards.  Charlie Batch followed him into the game and he completed both of his pass attempts for 15 yards.  Mike Reilly finished up the game by completing 5 of 7 passes for 65 yards.  Isaac Redman had a huge game carrying the ball 12 times for 79 yards (6.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  WR Stefan Logan also had a game to remember.  He caught 2 passes for 27 yards and returned a kickoff for 28 yards.  But, his biggest play was when he returned a punt 80 yards for a TD.  The Steelers finished up with only 211 total yards in this game (137 rushing, 74 passing).

Safety Ryan Mundy led the way for the Steelers on D in this game with 6 tackles, a sack and a interception that he returned 31 yards for a TD.  CB Keenan Lewis was also busy with 10 tackles in this game.  The Panthers finished up with 320 total yards in this game (123 rushing, 197 passing).  The Steelers finished up the pre-season with a 3-1 record.

With Nate Washington off to the Titans as a free agent the Steelers needed someone to step into his role as the #3 WR.  Limas Sweed looks like he wants the job and nothing would make the Steelers’ happier.  Sweed was a high draft pick last season for the Steelers but he didn’t play like one.  He played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Steelers last season and he caught 6 passes for 64 yards (10.7 avg).  He has already caught more passes than that this pre-season in three game (7 rec, 107 yards, 15.3 avg).  The Steelers have their fingers crossed as Sweed needs to justify the faith that they have in him.

Rashard Mendenhall needs to get his act together this season.  Many had projected that he was going to kick Willie Parker to the bench but he hasn’t shown he’s ready for that kind of roll thus far in the pre-season.  In three pre-season games so far, Mendenhall has carried the ball 30 times for 98 yards (3.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 2 passes for 16 yards (8.0 avg).  Mendenhall had his rookie season cut short after 4 games last season.  Hopefully he learned his lesson as he texted fellow Ravens’ rookie RB Ray Rice about how he was going to run all over them.  Rice then showed the defense what he said and in the game that week the Ravens’ defense broke his shoulder.  With his stats at the time he shouldn’t have been talking trash to anyone.  He played in 4 games (1 start) last season and he carried the ball 19 times for 58 yards (3.1 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg) last season.  The Steelers need Mendenhall to step up as he’s not in the Big 10 anymore where he could simply run over defenders.

The Steelers really pushed the Bills around on Saturday Night.  Ben Roethlisberger started this game at QB and he completed 15 of 19 passes for 168 yards.  Charlie Batch followed Big Ben in this game as he was efficient also completing 7 of 9 passes for 79 yards.  Mike Reilly finished up this game completing all three of his pass attempts for 35 yards.  Rashard Mendenhall was busy in this game for the Steelers as he carried the ball 16 times for 48 yards (3.0 ypc) with a TD.  He also caught 2 passes for 16 yards in this game.  Isaac Redman also had a big workload in this game carrying the ball 13 times for 31 yards (2.4 ypc).  He also caught a pass for 19 yards.  Hines Ward was the leading receiver in this game for the Steelers catching 5 passes for 74 yards (14.8 avg).  Limas Sweed also had a decent game with 4 grabs for 34 yards (8.5 avg).  The Steelers were ball hogs in this game as they had possession of the football for a stunning 41:15 of this game while they rolled up 359 total yards (81 rushing, 278 passing).

Linebacker James Farrior led a awesome effort by the Steelers’ D with 4 tackles, a sack and a interception that he returned 22 yards for a TD.  The Bills could only muster 135 total yards of offense in this game (49 rushing, 86 passing).

The Steelers played this game without Ben Roethlisberger and it showed.  Charlie Batch was off all game completing only 5 of 14 passes for 63 yards.  Dennis Dixon had another decent outing completing 8 of 16 passes for 68 yards and rushing for 20 yards on 3 carries (6.7 ypc).  Rookie Mike Reilly finished up this game by completing 2 of 5 passes for 17 yards.  He also carried the football 2 times for 25 yards (12.5 ypc) in this game.  Rashard Mendenhall was the Steelers’ leading rusher in this game with 26 yards on 5 carries (5.2 ypc).  Willie Parker pitched in with 13 yards rushing on 4 carries (3.3 ypc) with a TD.  WR Martin Nance led the Steelers in the passing game with 2 receptions for 26 yards (13.0 avg).  The Steelers had 11 different receivers catch a pass in this game.  The Steelers only had the football for 24:32 of this game and they finished up with only 238 total yards (99 rushing, 139 passing).

Rookie DT Ziggy Hood was unstoppable for the Steelers in this game with 4 tackles and 2 sacks.  CB Keiwan Ratliff also had a outstanding game with 3 tackles and a interception.  The Redskins rushed for 167 yards on 41 carries (4.1 ypc) as the Steelers’ D seemed to wear down from being on the field so much.  But they were solid against the Redskins’ passing attack only allowing 137 yards thru the air.