The 2021 NFL season has officially started.
The season kicked off last night with the NFL Hall of Fame game in which the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 16-3. After being shut out 3-0 in the first two quarters, Pittsburgh outscored Dallas 16-0 in the second half to earn their first victory of the preseason.
Both teams had high points and low points in this game. Dallas defensive rookie Micah Parsons had a great debut, netting three tackles and recovering a fumble. However they also struggled with dropped passes and missed field goals, including one right before the end of the first half.
Pittsburgh struggled to hold onto the ball in this game, fumbling the ball three times. However they did go on to recover two of those fumbles and the defense forced an interception. Quarterbacks Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins played well in place of starter Ben Roethlisberger, who sat out for the game.
Haskins and Rudolph combined for 14/22 for 138 yards with no interceptions. Josh Dobbs added 37 yards passing and a touchdown late in the game. Pittsburgh would go on to rack up over 370 yards of offense in their win.
Dallas, on the other hand, struggled most of the game after going up 3-0 in the first quarter. They showed signs of life at times but the offense just could not get anything going. Like Roethlisberger, starting quarterback Dak Prescott did not play either as he continues to heal his injured shoulder. Prescott signed a massive four-year extension worth $160 million back in March.
Dallas saw big changes with both the roster and the coaching staff this past offseason. They fired defensive coordinator Mike Nolan after a historically awful 2021 season defensively. They quickly replaced Nolan with the hiring of Dan Quinn, the former head coach for the Atlanta Falcons who previous to that was the ringleader behind the Seattle Seahawks famous “Legion of Boom” defense in 2013-2014. They also addressed their needs on defense by drafting defensive players, including Parsons, in the first four rounds.
The offseason also saw linebacker Sean Lee retire from football. Lee, a defensive stalwart and long time team captain, decided to leave the game after 11 years in the league. He finished his career with over 800 tackles, 14 interceptions and four recovered fumbles. His retirement opens the door for fresh young talent to fill his spot alongside defensive stars Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith.
Pittsburgh brings back a few key offensive players to the 2021 season after making an impact last year. Wide receivers Juju Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool were among Roethlisberger’s favorite targets last season, combining for nearly 160 receptions for 1,700 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The Steelers look to keep the upward momentum moving in 2021 after a surprising playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns last season. They promoted quarterbacks coach Matt Canada to the vacant offensive coordinator role. They also drafted University of Alabama standout running back Najee Harris in hopes to replace James Conner, the former Steeler who signed with the Arizona Cardinals during the offseason.
Both teams have a lot of issues which need to be addressed and are hoping to solve these problems by the time the NFL regular season begins on September 9.
The remaining Week 1 preseason games will continue Sunday, August 8.
Kris Johnson
Intern