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Studs and duds from the Steelers preseason loss to the Buccaneers
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- Studs and duds from the Steelers preseason loss to the Buccaneers
The final score in any preseason game is less important than how the players perform, so the Pittsburgh Steelers ' 17-14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was more about player evaluation and whether players grew from the previous week. Here are our studs and duds from Saturday's game.
Stud - Wide receiver Roman Wilson
For a second-straight game, Wilson made a couple of big catches and is working his way toward a big role with the offense this season. The ongoing injury issues for Calvin Austin III can only benefit Wilson as he looks to bounce back from last season.
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Dud - Cornerback James Pierre
The Steelers cornerbacks as a whole struggled but the play of Pierre stood out in all the wrong ways. Pittsburgh went into this game resting their core of cornerbacks to give guys like Pierre a chance but he's on the roster bubble at this point.
Stud - Running back Lew Nichols
We loved what we saw from Nichols last week and we love what we saw this week. He could be this year's Jaylen Warren and end up the team's No. 3 running back.
Dud - Outside linebacker DeMarvin Leal
Another meh performance for Leal, who is still a guy that the team isn't sure where to play.
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Stud - Safety Sebastian Castro
Castro had a very active game on Saturday. He played just 29 snaps but led the team with six total tackles. As much as the Steelers cornerbacks struggled, Castro and the safeties really performed well.
Dud - Quarterback Mason Rudolph
Last week, Rudolph was basically perfect, but that wasn't the case against the Buccaneers. The gap between Rudolph and Skylar Thompson for the No. 2 quarterback spot might be closer than we think after Saturday's game.
Stud - Defensive line Derrick Harmon
The Steelers rookie got his first career sack on Saturday and looked sharp. With Cameron Heyward holding out, Harmon is taking on the added responsibility and responding well.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Studs and duds from the Steelers preseason loss to the Buccaneers
