The Steelers kept their starters working deep into the second quarter in this game, and the team has to be more pleased with their performance.
With a few cracks here and there, the Steelers' defensive line looked vastly improved, whether that was the presence of Brett Keisel or not. Keisel, getting his first action in since last season (his beard was in regular season form), looked perhaps a step slow but stepped powerfully and helped set up the edge nicely for Jarvis Jones, who was probably the Steelers' star through two quarters of play.
Defensive end Josh Mauro got the early nod at defensive end over Ethan Hemer, but both played in the first half. Dan McCullers made a nice play in his second quarter action from the nose tackle position.
Darrius Heyward-Bey had three catches as a steadily calming Landry Jones led the team at the end of the half on a drive that nearly got across midfield, but a Jones fumble (his third straight preseason game with a fumble) and a penalty halted that.