Steelers Win Big but Lose DeCastro; Cowboys Hold Off Rams in NFL Preseason Action
By Ken Dye
Ironically, the Pittsburgh Steelers wound up being the biggest losers in their 38-7 stampeding of the Buffalo Bills. Backed up inside their own five yard line, DeCastro helped fend off a furious blitz from the Bills’ defense. Let’s just say the slow motion replay wasn’t pretty. Knees aren’t supposed to bend that direction.
Unfortunately, it appears they will lose their top draft pick, guard David DeCastro, for the season. It’s early and MRI details haven’t been released yet, but it didn’t look good at all.
This is a severe blow to a team that drafted two rookies – DeCastro and projected LT Mike Adams from Ohio St. – to be starters. It’s never a good thing to lose anyone, let alone your prized rookie. I recall on draft night that it seemed like a dream scenario in Pittsburgh that the best guard in the draft fell to them I think at 24th overall, if memory serves.
The “dream scenario” became a nightmare on a single play last night, and that’s unfortunately a part of the game.
Otherwise, Ben Roethlisberger drove the offense 98 yards for a touchdown. Veteran backup Charlie Batch threw for two scores late as they pulled away from the 0-3 Buffalo Bills. The Bills could move the ball some but couldn’t sustain their drives, save their lone touchdown in the first quarter. The Steelers then scored 38 unanswered points over the course of the contest.
The Dallas Cowboys beat the St. Louis Rams 20-19 but it wasn’t that close. The Rams’ offense was stymied all night against the Cowboys’ starters on defense, and second-year WR Dwayne Harris had 3 catches for 118 yards and two TDs. The Rams couldn’t do anything until the fourth quarter with the backups facing each other.
Oakland beat Detroit 31-20 and knocked QB Matthew Stafford out of the game with an injury to his non-throwing hand. It isn’t serious, I hear. A handful of other Lions’ players left the game with various injuries injuries so check back here later for updates if anything turns out to be serious. Very few bright spots on the night for the Detroit Lions.
On a brighter note, Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub and New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees each appeared to be in midseason form. Neither had an interception and RBs Arian Foster and Ben Tate each had a rushing TD for the Texans as they entered halftime tied at 24 in a wild one. The Saints’ backups scored the second half’s only TD to seal a 34-27 victory.
On balance…Houston, New Orleans, and Dallas looked great. Oakland QB Carson Palmer looked unsurprisingly bad with 2 interceptions. Second-year QB Terrelle Pryor had 137 yards in the air with two TDs and ran for 81. Buffalo looked like they have to “circle the wagons” – again – despite their upgrades but it’s still early. Pittsburgh fans will probably have mixed emotions due to DeCastro’s apparent season-ending injury and the Rams fans are having flashbacks to last year.
If Pryor plays the same next week as he did this week, and if Palmer keeps throwing picks (he will), there could be a growing outcry from Raider Nation during the season as Palmer’s Picks mount up. I suspect Hue Jackson is a wanted man in Los Angeles these days, and not for any of the good reasons.