Fast Start: Ben Roethlisberger saw his first action of the preseason against the Saints, and he looked like he was in midseason form.
Roethlisberger played two series and completed 12 of 17 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns and a 136.4 quarterback rating.
"It feels good. It feels good to get out and go against someone else, to have everybody out there," said Roethlisberger. "We anticipated playing the half depending on how things went. They went pretty good the first two series so Coach said that's enough."
Roethlisberger opened the game by leading the team on an 11 play, 61 yard drive that culminated in a five-yard touchdown reception by Jesse James.
On the next drive, Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown in stride and he then broke free for a 57-yard touchdown.
While Roethlisberger went to Brown several times, he spread the ball around.
"We came in today with a game plan of no huddle," said Roethlisberger. "We were 90 percent no huddle. When we are doing that it's about me trying to find the right matchups and taking what they give us. Could I throw the ball to AB every time? Probably. They were doing a lot of doubling AB and trying to get safeties over the top. You have to get other guys the ball and try and showcase what we have in terms of weapons and I think we have a lot of good ones."
AB being AB: Another player who saw his first preseason action was Brown. And he didn't disappoint.
Brown finished the night with four receptions for 87 yards. And that was in just two offensive series. Brown also had the 57-yard touchdown, which he caught around the 40-yard line and took off running.
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Rebound performance:** Landry Jones responded to a disappointing outing a week ago by completing 12 of 15 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown in the first half, and two of the three incomplete passes were the result of a dropped ball and a throw away.
Jones extended the Steelers lead to 21-7 in the second quarter when he connected with Sammie Coates for an eight-yard touchdown.
Jones didn't let up in the second half, playing all of the third quarter and half of the fourth quarter. Jones finished the night completing 19 of 22 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown.
Aches and pains: The last thing you want to hear about in a preseason game is injuries, but the Steelers saw a few players make early exits with injuries against the Saints.
Defensive end Cameron Heyward left the game with an ankle injury and was on the sidelines in a boot. After the game Coach Mike Tomlin said he doesn't know "the significance of that." Tomlin also said safety Robert Golden left because of a groin injury and fellow safety Jacob Hagen with a quad and all three players were being evaluated. Marcus Gilbert left the game with an apparent elbow injury, which Tomlin didn't mention until asked and indicated it wasn't serious.
