Bills and Steelers Drop Preseason Openers
The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the battle of Pennsylvania by a score of 24-23. Eagles kicker Alex Henery kicked a 51 yard field goal with 14 seconds left to finish the scoring. It was Andy Reid’s first game back since the death of his son on Sunday.
Ben Roethlisberger was sharp completing seven of eight passes for 49 yards. The Steelers got the ball first to start the game and help it for 9:48 seconds before getting a field goal from Shaun Suisham for a 3-0 lead. Roethlisberger played the entire first quarter before giving way to Byron Leftwich in the second quarter.
Leftwich threw for fourteen yards on three completions with a two yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders in the second quarter. The Steelers led 13-0 at the half before the Eagles got hot in the second half. Jerrod Johnson played the entire second half and he passed for 93 yards and a score.
The Steelers defense was led by the defensive tackles. Steve McLendon had three solo tackles and a sack while Al Woods had the only interception in the game. He picked off a pass from Eagles backup Mike Kafka. Michael Vick left the game early in the second quarter after hitting his hand on the helmet of one of his offensive line members.
Former Oregon tight end David Paulson entered in special teams late in the game with 15 seconds left, grabbing the ball on a kickoff return but for no yardage. The Eagles had a penalty on the play to move up the Steelers 15 yards, but the Steelers just ran it up the middle to run out the clock.
The Steelers will look for their first win next Sunday, August 19th when they travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts and top pick Andrew Luck. The Steelers open up their regular season against Peyton Manning in Denver on Sunday night, September 9th. The game is set for 8:20 pm ET.
Check out Raymond Mencke’s blog at www.sportissue.com. Also follow him on Twitter @RaymondMenckeJr,
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