”Then I got back there (in the backfield), I knew (Bradford) was way taller and I was like, `that ain’t even him,”’ Dupree said.

Dupree spent most of the rest of the afternoon getting a close-up look at Keenum, spearheading another solid defensive performance by the Steelers. Pittsburgh (2-0) held the Vikings to 237 total yards, sacked Keenum twice and kept Minnesota rookie running back Dalvin Cook under wraps.

For a team that spent most of the offseason talking about its high-powered offense, the guys on the other side of the ball are more than holding their own until the ”Killer Bs” gets it together.

”We know the offense is going to score points,” Dupree said.

Maybe, but not yet. The Steelers have only four offensive touchdowns through two games, forcing the defense to be something more than adequate. So far, it hasn’t been an issue, though Pittsburgh is well aware sterner tests await after facing Cleveland rookie DeShone Kizer and Keenum – a journeyman who got the nod when Sam Bradford’s swollen left knee prevented him from playing – in the first two weeks.

”You see leaps and bounds (of improvement),” defensive end Cam Heyward said. ”We’re better in some instances, whether it’s our technique and execution. But we’ve got to get better. It’s just two games. I’m not going to jump head over heels because it’s two games.”

Still, Dupree borrowed one of head coach Mike Tomlin’s favorite ”Tomlinisms” when he offered ”we have the arrow pointing up” when asked about the strides the defense is making. Pittsburgh has allowed just 474 net yards through two games, an impressive start for a group that finished a pedestrian 12th in the league in 2016.

”We’re going to be a great team all the way around,” Dupree said. ”Don’t want to be an offensive team or a defense team. … We just want to keep it rolling.”

Some other takeaways as the Steelers improved to 10-1 in home openers under Tomlin.

SAM’S STATUS: Vikings coach Mike Zimmer stressed Bradford is going to be ”OK.” Other than that, everything else about Bradford’s status is a mystery. Asked to give a timetable on how long Bradford might be sidelined, Zimmer said he wasn’t going to offer any sort of specifics.

”Maybe next week, maybe six weeks from now,” Zimmer said. ”(Bradford) is going to be OK. It’s non-surgical so he is going to be fine.”

FLAG DAY: Tomlin promised the Steelers would improve after drawing 13 penalties in the opener against Cleveland. He was right, but only by a little. The Steelers were flagged 10 times for 72 yards. The Vikings weren’t any better, earning 11 penalties for 131 yards, including a pair of pass interference calls that directly set up Pittsburgh touchdowns.

”I’d like us to play cleaner,” Tomlin said. ”I respect the flags thrown.”

ROLLING, ROLLING, ROLLING: Pittsburgh wide receivers Martavis Bryant and JuJu Smith-Schuster both threw imaginary dice while celebrating their first touchdowns of the season. Bryant said it was something the receivers came up with during the week following a brainstorming session. They plan on mixing it up week to week. The Steelers drew a delay of game penalty after Bryant’s score, a flag Tomlin took the blame, saying ”it was more of a procedural thing on my part.”

OLD FRIENDS: Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes grew up in Miami, going to the same high school. They were two years apart at Miami-Norland and held an impromptu reunion at Heinz Field. Brown ultimately got the upper hand, finishing with five receptions for 62 yards.

”Our battle was good,” Rhodes said. ”We had fun but at the end of the day we still wanted to win.”

INJURY UPDATE: Pittsburgh rookie LB T.J. Watt left in the first half with a groin issue but said he considers it ”something minor.” Steelers TE Jesse James is dealing with a left ankle issue. Left tackle Alejandro Villanueva missed part of the second half due to ”heat related issues” on a day the temperature at Heinz Field hovered in the mid-80s.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker heads into Sunday’s game against the New York Giants without any limitations, ending a patience-testing stretch in which the 2015 first-round pick missed training camp then underwent sports hernia surgery before beginning the arduous process of getting back into what coach Mike Tomlin calls ”football shape.”

The initial step came against Cleveland two weeks ago, when Dupree made it on the field for a single snap. The next came on Thanksgiving in Indianapolis, where Dupree picked up his first two tackles in nearly 11 months in a 28-7 victory. Dupree was in the huddle for 20 plays against the Colts, enough to unleash weeks of pent up adrenaline. And almost enough for Dupree to start lobbying defensive coordinator Keith Butler and outside linebackers coach Joey Porter for more playing time.

”I will but I try not to because I don’t want to get on their nerves,” Dupree said with a laugh. ”Some people do it. Some people don’t. I just don’t get into it. I’m right beside (the coaches). If they put me in, they put me in.”

And they’re most certainly going to put Dupree in against the surging Giants (8-3), who have only surrendered 13 sacks all season. Pittsburgh needs to make Eli Manning uncomfortable if it wants to end New York’s six-game winning streak, something the Steelers have struggled to do against good teams this season. Only nine of Pittsburgh’s 24 sacks have come against teams with winning records.

”We want to get to the quarterback,” Dupree said.

Dupree’s return should help. He finished with four sacks as a rookie last fall, though all of them came over the first half of the season. He trimmed 20 pounds off his 6-foot-4 frame last spring and while he believes the hernia wasn’t a result of trying to cut weight, he admits he was diagnosed after ”working out too much.”

Whatever the cause, Dupree insists it’s behind him and in a way, he’s relieved. Doctors told him the injury was bound to happen at some point. By taking care of it now, he’s optimistic it won’t come back to haunt him in the future. Either way, he’s encouraged with the added explosiveness. He’s not the only one.

”He’s moving good,” Butler said. ”Is he moving faster? How fast you are only matters when you’re playing on the field. So how fast does he play? He played at a pretty good pace the other night. So we’ll see if he continues to get better.”

Tomlin saw enough to lock Dupree into the four-man rotation at outside linebacker alongside seemingly ageless James Harrison, leaving Jarvis Jones, Anthony Chickillo or Arthur Moats as the odd man out.

”As Bud gets up to speed, somebody’s going to win, somebody’s going to lose,” Tomlin said. ”I don’t care who wins. I think we all win if we play the hot hand and those are our intentions.”

It’s a spot Dupree is thankful to be in after being placed on injured reserve at the end of training camp and enduring a setback early in his rehab that threatened his entire season. It was the first time in his football life he’d been forced to sit and watch for an extended period of time. And it wasn’t fun.

”I just tried to stay positive,” he said. ”But was it easy? No, it wasn’t.”

Dupree buried himself in the film room, and Butler believes the mental reps have allowed Dupree to quickly rise back up the depth chart. The goal now is to stay there. The way the Steelers move guys in and out of the lineup, he doesn’t need to be ready for 60 snaps. If he’s fresh for 40 or so, he thinks that will be enough to make an impact. He’s not as big as he was a year ago. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

”It’s not about that,” Dupree said. ”It’s about being flexible, being bendable, being loose. I just want to go out there and ball.”

NOTES: G David DeCastro (ill), WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (foot) and RB D. Williams (knee) did not practice Wednesday. … TE Xavier Grimble (quadriceps), S Shamarko Thomas (groin) were full participants.

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