The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for their final preseason game ahead of the 2024 NFL season. While there are some areas of the team that seem to be coming along well, there are plenty others that appear to need a lot of work. So how much work will the Steelers be getting in this last tuneup before the regular season?

Looking at the units as a whole, the defense has been getting the job done, especially on the scoreboard. In two games they have averaged only 14.5 points surrendered per game. The Steelers have only given up two touchdowns, both of which were set up on short fields due to issues on special teams. There are plenty of other individual things the unit can work on to improve, but overall it’s hard not to give credit to the unit as a whole, despite some of the top players not even seeing the field or for a very limited number of snaps.

As for the offense, that is a whole different story. In two games they have scored a total of 15 points. Two touchdowns were scored by the third quarterback where one had a missed extra point and the other a failed two-point conversion. Between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, they have managed one field goal. Things are not rolling anywhere close to where they should be.

Making sure I don’t completely ignore the third phase of the game, the Steelers special teams was the worst unit in the first preseason game but made necessary improvements to where they were not a hindrance in Week 2 despite missing a 52 yard field goal.

So when it comes to how the Steelers play their starters in their final preseason game, hopefully they will adjust their usage based on need. For the defense, they might not need to play their starters much, if at all. Last season, T.J. Watt played a total of three snaps in the final preseason game but still managed to have a sack. Cam Hayward did not play at all, and I can’t recall at this time if there was any injury issues or things of that nature going on. The only players who started the game and played more than 13 snaps were Cole Holcomb at linebacker with 19 and Isaiahh Loudermilk who started in place of Heyward and got additional work. Other than that, the defensive unit saw limited action and was done for the night.

On the offensive of side of the ball, the Steelers starters were used even more sparingly. They did play in the game, but Kenny Pickett, most of the offensive line, and the top skill players only played the first series which was 11 snaps. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren split those snaps as Harris had seven and Warren had four. The only player who stayed on the field longer was Dan Moore who added eight additional snaps.

Looking at these numbers, it does appear the Steelers did have almost all their players suit up for some action. On the offensive side, if the Steelers first third down conversion would have fallen incomplete, it would have been interesting to see if they would have come out for another drive after only three plays.

Last year, as Steelers fans well know, the offense had it rolling with their starters in the preseason. For 2024, it is basically the exact opposite.

So how will the Steelers play this last preseason game? Will the starting offense get more work until the coaches are satisfied with what they see? Will the Steelers not take the risk of having another injury ahead of the regular season?

I asked this question about the offense because I don’t think the Steelers should play it the same way with both units. For the defense, I think the Steelers could make the decision early in the week and stick to it. As for the offense, it might need to be a more fluid situation.

So if you were the coach, how would you divvy out the playing time for the Steelers starters in the last preseason game? Would you treat the offense and defense the same? Would you go in with a fixed plan or would you adjust based on what you see? Make sure you leave your thoughts in comments below.