Though big names like Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf, Isaac Seumalo, Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt aren’t playing Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a number of big names on the field early inside Bank of America Stadium for the preseason finale.
Put simply, it was a slop-fest for the Black and Gold.
Just a few days ago in reference to the Steelers’ second preseason game, Tomlin said he expected the team to be “more varsity” when it comes to penalties, communication and cleanliness.
A few days later against the Panthers, it was anything but early on.
Speaking to KDKA-TV’s Missi Matthews at halftime of a 10-10 game, Tomlin addressed the sloppiness.
“I didn’t like a lot of what I saw,” Tomlin said regarding the start of the game. “We were highly penalized, we didn’t tackle well, and we turned the ball over. And so we’re fortunate to be in the tie ballgame, man. We gotta play better in the second half.”
The Steelers opened with a pair of holding penalties, one from second-year center Zach Frazier and one from veteran tight end Pat Freiermuth, helping stall the first drive of the game. There was even a holding penalty on special teams on the opening kickoff that put the Steelers deep in their own end, too.
On their first defensive series of the game, with starters in the secondary in Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr., Darius Slay and DeShon Elliott on the field, missed tackles, and penalties were big, leading to the Panthers kicking a field goal on their opening drive.
One of the biggest gaffes was Ramsey’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing Panthers running back Trevor Etienne down after the whistle on a play in which he had a tackle for loss. It extended the drive, leading to points.
Missed tackles were also paramount throughout the first few drives from the Steelers’ defense, too, which is a bit concerning.
After an ugly opening drive, things didn’t go all that well on the next two Steelers drives, especially with quarterback Mason Rudolph throwing a bad interception in which he didn’t see a dropping defensive back undercutting a crossing route.
That interception marks the second straight week Rudolph has thrown a pick while attempting to push the ball down the field. He’s the backup to Rodgers and is secure in his role, but throwing an interception in back-to-back weeks isn’t something you want to see from a veteran like Rudolph.
We’ll see what Tomlin has to say after this one, but one thing is clear: the start to the preseason finale with a number of key players on the field was anything but varsity-like.
Making things even worse for the Steelers, rookie defensive lineman Derrick Harmon injured his knee and was carted off the field before quickly being ruled out for the rest of the game.
