Aug 10, 2013 5 min read

PITTSBURGH – As preseason games go, the Steelers had to be at least somewhat happy with Saturday night’s opener against the New York Giants.

Though the Steelers lost, 18-13, to the Giants at Heinz Field, none of their front-line players suffered an injury.

Other than second-round pick Le’Veon Bell, who was a late scratch, their young players made enough plays to show the Steelers’ faith in them was justified.

First-round draft pick Jarvis Jones was disruptive as an outside linebacker playing with the defensive reserves. Jones recovered a fumble and made three tackles, including one in the third quarter when he beat three blockers to stop a third-down screen play short of a first down.

Third-round pick Markus Wheaton, a wide receiver, showed off his explosiveness with a 10-yard end around and his solid hands making a third-down catch by snatching the ball just before it hit the ground to secure the 8-yard gain.

With Bell sidelined after not showing head coach Mike Tomlin he had recovered enough to play from a left knee bruise suffered Monday at training camp, former Pitt star LaRod Stephens-Howling was the surprise featured runner for the Steelers in the first quarter.

After Isaac Redman started and played the first two snaps, Stephens-Howling, signed as a free agent from Arizona, showed off some nifty running skills working behind a revamped Steelers offensive line.

Stephens-Howling had seven carries for 40 yards in a first quarter that saw the Steelers rush for 56 yards on 11 carries.

“LaRod had some cuts on the back side, and he’s a great running back,” said Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey. “He has great vision, and he got outside and made some plays.”

Unfortunately for the Steelers, so did the Giants.

A holding penalty on right tackle Marcus Gilbert followed by a sack of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ended Pittsburgh’s first drive after a promising start. Drew Butler’s first punt sailed to the New York 23, but first-year linebacker Marshall McFadden was penalized for getting downfield early.

The Giants opted to have Butler kick again, and this time, defensive end Demontre Moore beat safety Damon Cromartie-Smith at the line of scrimmage and blocked the punt. Teammate Louis Murphy recovered the loose ball, returning it 8 yards to the Pittsburgh 5.

But a run for no gain and two incomplete passes forced the Giants to settle for a 23-yard Josh Brown field goal and a 3-0 lead.

“We know that we will get put in situations like that during the year,” said defensive end Brett Keisel. “In order for us to be a good defense, we have to go out and make stops, no matter how much field is left. That was a good start.”

The Steelers tied the game on their next possession, getting a 34-yard field goal from Shaun Suisham, but only after Antonio Brown failed to get his feet down in bounds on a perfect back-shoulder throw from Roethlisberger in the front corner of the end zone.

“I need to be in control of my body on the sidelines,” Brown conceded. “We need to get touchdowns, not field goals.”

The Giants’ starters did just that in their second – and only other – possession before leaving the game.

Eli Manning threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz down the middle of the field to give New York a 10-3 advantage. Cruz got behind William Gay, who was starting in place of injured Cortez Allen, but help from safeties Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark was provided too late to get to the pass.

Both teams pulled their starters after that, taking a long look at some younger players and things looked a lot less like an NFL game from there.

Both teams added field goals in the second quarter, while New York picked up a safety in the third quarter when Pittsburgh rookie Landry Jones was taken down in the end zone on his first pro snap after running into running back Baron Batch while attempting a handoff.

That made the score 15-6, but the Giants had some mishaps of their own.

Pittsburgh scored its lone touchdown when the ball was snapped over fourth-string quarterback Ryan Nassib’s head and Steelers linebacker Adrian Robinson recovered the loose ball in the end zone to cut the New York lead to 15-13 with 12:04 remaining in the game.

But the Giants made it 18-13 with just over four minutes remaining on a 47-yard Josh Brown field goal.

Odds and end zones

In addition to Bell, tight ends Matt Spaeth and Jamie McCoy, cornerbacks Cortez Allen, Terry Hawthorne, DeMarcus Van Dyke and Curtis Brown, safety Ross Ventrone and defensive end Nick Williams did not dress for the Steelers because of injury. … Spaeth has a Lis Franc sprain in his foot and will be out eight to 10 weeks. … The Steelers released cornerback Buddy Jackson prior to the game and re-signed offensive tackle Mike Farrell, who had been released earlier in the week. … Linebacker Stevenson Sylvester injured his ankle making a special teams tackle in the second quarter and did not return. … New York wide receiver Kris Adams suffered a fractured lower leg early in the third quarter.