The final week of the 2023 NFL preseason is upon us, and it kicks off with the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Atlanta Falcons and the Indianapolis Colts at the Philadelphia Eagles tonight.
We’re keeping our eyes on an undersized edge defender for the Steelers and a second-round pick at left guard who will be called upon to start early, while we’ll get another look at Anthony Richardson at quarterback for the Colts and more of the Eagles' young defensive players from Georgia.
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Player Grades
Pittsburgh Steelers at Atlanta Falcons (7:30 p.m. ET)
Steelers focus: Nick Herbig
If the early returns are anything to go by, the Steelers got an absolute steal in landing Wisconsin’s Nick Herbig in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. With Herbig’s size, many thought that he would have to move to off-ball linebacker for the Steelers, but all of his preseason snaps have come on the edge.
From 25 pass-rushing snaps through two games in August, he has registered four total pressures, three of which have been sacks. He has added a pair of tackles resulting in a defensive stop and is making a strong case to take on a significant role in the team's edge rotation from Week 1.
Falcons focus: Matthew Bergeron
With the injury to Matt Hennessy, second-round pick Matthew Bergeron is slated to start at left guard for the Falcons. In his preseason debut last week, the former Syracuse standout was solid in limited work as a run blocker, earning a 76.0 PFF grade on nine snaps. His 26.6 PFF pass-blocking grade looks concerning, but it's driven by one really bad loss in pass protection, with him having a clean game otherwise. But on only 14 snaps in pass protection, that big negative really drags his grade down.
Indianapolis Colts at Philadelphia Eagles (8 p.m. ET)
Colts focus: Anthony Richardson
Colts head coach Shane Steichen has said that Richardson will start this game at quarterback, so we’re going to get one final look at him in the preseason before he takes the reins as the starter for real in Week 1. The fourth overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft didn’t play last week, but we did see him in the preseason opener. In that game, he bounced back from a poor interception early and finished with a 66.7 PFF passing grade on 12 dropbacks.
We’ve only seen two carries from Richardson in preseason so far, and the Eagles likely aren't the type of defense you want to be exposing your starting quarterback to hits from. It wouldn't be surprising to see the offense focus on some within-structure pass attempts while Richardson is in the game.
Eagles focus: Kelee Ringo
How much the Eagles play their starters in this game remains to be seen, but it’s likely that fourth-round cornerback Kelee Ringo gets more playing time. He’s had his struggles against the run and missed a pair of tackles against the Cleveland Browns last week but has been solid in coverage through two games. From 39 coverage snaps, he has been targeted six times, allowing three receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown with one pass breakup.
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