What do you need to know about the Steelers preseason opener? Rookie QB Mason Rudolph was the leading passer playing exclusively in the second half. Journeyman backup RB Felix Toussaint was the leading rusher with 29 yards and a touchdown. Rookie free agent WR Damoun Patterson from Youngstown State was the leading receiver with 6 catches for 77 yards and a beautiful 29 yard touchdown. Go Penguins! QB Nate Sudfeld started behind center for the Eagles. So the answer is not much during a 31 to 14 victory in Philadelphia. RB LeVeon Bell of course did not play waiting to sign his franchise tender until after the preseason for a second straight year. Neither did QB Ben Roethlisberger. WR Antonio Brown sat with a nagging quad injury. He was unlikely to play anyway. Nice to see ILB Ryan Shazier on the sidelines walking on his own and giving a pre-game pep talk.

QB: All three backup quarterbacks played decently. Jones was perfect completing 4 passes in 4 attempts for 83 yards. The bulk of his yardage came on a 71 yard touchdown to WR JuJu Smith-Schuster. Smith-Schuster out fought CB Rasul Douglas to bring down a not particularly well thrown pass by Jones. A pair of sacks all but ended the first two drives. QB Josh Dobbs arguably out played his competition with 9 completions in 13 attempts including the touchdown to Patterson. Dobbs also showed another dimension with an 18 yard run. Last year with both Roethlisberger and Jones missing larger portions of the preseason Dobbs did not look particularly good against opponents starters early in games. He looked much better on Thursday night albeit against backups in the second quarter. Dobbs did unfortunately throw the only interception of the night for the Black and Gold. Rudolph finished off the night with 101 yards passing on 7 completions in 12 attempts. Rudolph and obviously Roethlisberger are locks to make the roster. A decision on Jones and Dobbs is unlikely to be made until final cuts. Being able to keep Dobbs would be nice, he has some modicum of upside. Jones' ceiling is as a veteran, somewhat sub-par backup.

RB: Like last year Bell is sitting out camp before signing his $17 million franchise tag tender. He won't be franchised again so he'll basically be playing for a new contract with a new team. Expect the Steelers to give him a ridiculous number of touches barring injury figuring they will not be a part of his future. RB James Conner easily looked like the best backup back on the roster playing against the Eagles starter, or some of them anyway, behind a make shift offensive line with only two starters in OT Alejandro Villanueva and OG David DeCastro. Conner had 25 yards on 4 carries and added a reception for 9 yards. Toussaint and RB Steven Ridley were solid in their own ways against lesser competition. Toussant got his 29 yards on 7 carries, had a 3 yard touchdown and a 2-point conversion on the ground. Ridley had only 14 yards on 10 carries, where he flashed was in the passing game which was no surprise. Ridley had 45 yards on 3 receptions. Rookie jack-of-all-trades FB Jaylen Samuels had only 8 yards on 7 touches.

WR: Smith-Schuster's only catch came on the third drive to give the Steelers a 7-0 lead. He immediately left the game. Patterson was targeted 10 times and looks to have a real chance to make the roster over veterans WR Justin Hunter and WR Eli Rogers. Rookie WR James Washington had 2 catches from college teammate Rudolph. None of the other young receivers hoping to make an impression had even 15 yards receiving. Brown's injury despite keeping him out of practice for over a week is not expected to be a long term issue.

TE: An minor injury kept TE Vince McDonald on the sidelines. He tops the depth chart when healthy which unfortunately was not often enough last season. Locked in backup TE Jesse James had a catch for 2 yards. TE Christian Scotland-Williamson and TE Pharoah McKever each had a catch for 5 and 3 yards respectively. I only point that out because I desperately wanted to include their names in at least one report.

K: Nothing to see here.... A solid 11 points for PK Chris Boswell with no misses. Just another day at the office.

DEF/ST: Hard to get much of a feel for the defense with a number of starters not participating. They were held sack-less. Rookie free agent OLB Ola Adeniyi provided some pressure from the outside. CB Cameron Sutton and CB Coty Sensabaugh each had an interception. ILB Tyler Matakevich forced a fumble and led the team in tackles. Free agent signee ILB Jon Bostic was adequate against the run, basically playing as advertised. First round rookie S Terrell Edmunds was fairly quiet despite getting significant playing time. Rookie free agent WR Quadree Henderson from Pitt did not get much of an opportunity in the return game.

End.