Steelers vs. Texans First Half Observations: Justin Fields has strong debut, rookie LB shines

Fields lasted three series before retiring for the night, going 5-6 for 67 yards and recording a 113.2 QB rating. The team had a questionable call go against them on what was an obvious catch from Van Jefferson, stalling the drive and putting an incompletion on what otherwise was a perfect night passing. 

Fields did take two ill-advised sacks and had a couple of bobbled exchanges those were largely the centers fault. The key point is that he looked sharp from the pocket and carried over his chemistry from camp with WRs George Pickens and Van Jefferson.

Fields is still firmly behind Russell Wilson in the QB battle, and on the depth chart but if he can continue to build off Friday heading into the final week of camp and remaining preseason games, there's a chance he flips the script. 

Payton Wilson Flys Around

Payton Wilson got the start alongside of veteran Elandon Roberts with Patrick Queen sitting for the night, and he was around virtually every play, leading the team with five combined tackles at the half. 

What was perhaps most intriguing was watching Wilson properly key, diagnose, and shed blocks en route to the ball carrier, with the latter being one of the areas of his game that needed development. Tough to ask for a better first half from the rookie. 

DeMarvin Leal starts putting it all together 

The first two years of Leal's career have been clouded by injury, conditioning concerns and a lack of true position for the 2022 third-rounder. 

But through three weeks of camp and his first preseason game, Leal has been a revelation at a new position. Pittsburgh opted to move him to EDGE instead of playing him along the interior, and it is paying both him and the Steelers dividends. 

Dropping weight and showing he can be a mix of power and speed, Leal may now be the team's fourth pass rusher following Markus Golden's decision to retire ahead of Friday's game.