And just like that, after a rough four quarters of football inside Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte Thursday night, the preseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers has come to an end.
Mercifully.
Even with a 19-10 win over the Carolina Panthers to finish the preseason 2-1, the Steelers had a really tough night from an execution standpoint, struggling with penalties (13 for 104 yards), ball security (one interception, one fumble), and missed tackles.
Rookie first-round pick Derrick Harmon went down with an injury, too, though reports indicate he might have dodged anything more serious like initially feared. He’s still expected to be out a few weeks.
Now, 17 days sit between the end of the preseason and the season opener in New York. Seventeen days to clean up some things and improve.
Let’s get to some grades for the preseason finale and close this chapter.
QB — B+
Once again, Skylar Thompson played some pretty good football for the Steelers. The veteran was 11-of-13 for 152 yards and a touchdown in the win, hooking up with Lance McCutcheon for a 24-yard touchdown. He also hit Scotty Miller on a 53-yard strike late in the first half, setting up a field goal for rookie kicker Ben Sauls to tie things at the half.
Thompson was smart with the football, made all the throws and played some really good football, seemingly solidifying himself in Pittsburgh to at least open the year. Of course, a decision needs to be made on rookie Will Howard and if he’ll open the season on Reserve/Injured and designated to return, but Thompson has performed really well.
He only missed one throw, and that was a wheel route to Lew Nichols that might have been a walk-in touchdown.
Prior to Thompson entering the game, Mason Rudolph had some struggles and threw an interception for the second straight week. He just never saw the defender dropping and threw a bad pick. Rudolph finished 6-of-8 for 36 yards on the night, mostly checking the football down as part of the Steelers’ offense finding themselves well behind the sticks early on during the sloppy start.
Logan Woodside closed out the game for the Steelers and didn’t do anything of note. He completed for 4-of-6 passes for 38 yards. He didn’t turn the ball over like he did last week against Tampa Bay and ended on a positive note.
RB — B
I didn’t like what I saw from Jaylen Warren early in the game, especially with the fumble. He had just two carries for three yards, having very little room to operate. He did add two receptions for 12 yards, but fumbled on his 12-yard catch-and-run on the first possession.
That’s the real concern with him in an elevated role. He has poor ball security and that’s what might hold him back from being a feature guy. Kenneth Gainwell had a nice run called back due to a holding penalty, which was disappointing. But he didn’t do much else, either. Two carries, seven yards.
Kaleb Johnson had some solid moments in the first half, ripping off some decent runs off the left side of the line. He finished with five carries for 24 yards, and also added one reception for two yards. You would have liked to see more, but there were some nice flashes from the rookie.
The story at running back in this one was Trey Sermon and Lew Nichols. Sermon had a nice 30-yard run in the second half, hitting the cutback and bouncing outside, racing for the explosive play. He finished with four carries for 39 yards and added another three receptions for 14 yards. Nichols carried the ball just twice, but gained 14 yards, including a powerful 9-yard run in which he ran over a defender.
Nichols also had three receptions for 21 yards, though he did have a 23-yard catch-and-run on a check down that was a nice play by the running back. Hopefully the Steelers can slip him onto the practice squad if they keep Sermon on the 53-man roster.
WR — B+
Welcome to the 53-man roster, Scotty Miller. The veteran closed out a great training camp and preseason in style Thursday night. His 53-yard catch at the end of the first half saw him run right by defenders up the seam, setting up the game-tying field goal. He finished with three receptions for 82 yards on the night.
Smart player, great speed, shows up in big spots.
Lance McCutcheon found the end zone on a 24-yard strike from Thompson and finished off his preseason on a high note with three receptions for 52 yards and the score. He’s a decent practice squad option to keep working with. Same for Ke’Shawn Williams. He hauled in two passes for 31 yards and also handled the punt return duties all preseason.
He’s an underrated route runner that plays with toughness and has some shiftiness to his game. He made plays all preseason.
TE — C+
Darnell Washington had a great block on one of Kaleb Johnson’s key runs in the first half, pairing with Pat Freiermuth to kick out the left side and open a seam. Freiermuth later had a really nice down-block on a Johnson run, helping collapse the left side of the defense to spring the rookie.
But the holding penalty on Freiermuth wiped out a big run by Gainwell, and there wasn’t much in the passing game to write home about.
JJ Galbreath had a couple of good blocks in the second half, but also had a penalty on the night. His athletic profile and some of the work he did as a blocker in the preseason should keep him around on the practice squad.
OL — C-
Way too many penalties and sloppy play, especially early on. But there was some good reps from Broderick Jones in the run game. He was creating a good deal of movement and looked pretty sharp.
The holding penalty on Zach Frazier was frustrating to see, but it’s not the norm with him, so move on.
The backup offensive line though…yikes. So many penalties, sloppy play, and more. Granted, the Steelers ran the ball well behind them, but depth is a real concern. Center Ryan McCollum had three penalties himself in his first preseason action of the summer, and he still might be ticketed for the 53-man roster as the backup to Frazier.
Obviously, I’ll need to dive more into this group when the All-22 drops, but not much to be happy with up front.
DL — C+
Outside of Yahya Black’s two-sack performance, this was a pretty bland, uninspiring performance from the defensive line.
Black dominated for stretches of this game and really flashed as a pass rusher, which was very encouraging considering it came after Harmon’s injury. He showed his power and had some explosiveness to his game.
Beyond that, though, not much to highlight. Logan Lee had three tackles and looked solid against the run, while Kyler Baugh had a nice sack and earned the right to celebrate. Great moment for that guy.
Esezi Otomewo had two tackles for loss in the win, too, and might be a candidate for the 53-man roster for the time being, considering Harmon’s injury. But on the night, the Panthers rushed for 171 yards and had nearly 100 yards at halftime.
LB — B-
I was pretty impressed by the play of some of the outside linebackers on the night, especially Eku Leota and Jack Sawyer. Leota continued to flash on the field and stated his case strongly for the practice squad. He had three tackles and a tackle for loss, and generated a couple of pressures.
Sawyer finished with five tackles, two tackles for loss and had a quarterback hit on a stunt in which he hammered quarterback Jack Plummer to force an incompletion. Even Julius Welschof had some success rushing the passer, forcing a fumble that led to a Mark Robinson recovery.
DeMarvin Leal had a nice night, too, though he had two penalties. He finished with three tackles and was constantly in the backfield applying pressure to the quarterback, flashing his athleticism as a pass rusher all night long.
Inside, rookie Carson Bruener got a lot of run and finished with a team-high seven tackles. He’s in a position battle with Mark Robinson, and while leading the team in tackles on the night is a feather in his cap, Robinson recovered a fumble and even forced a fumble on a scramble by Panthers QB Bryce Perkins in the second half.
That’s an interesting decision to watch come cutdown day.
DB — B-
I didn’t care for the Jalen Ramsey penalty early in the game, and I was frustrated with the tackling issues from Joey Porter Jr. and Brandin Echols. But overall, the Steelers secondary was solid on the night. The Panthers threw for just 117 yards in the game, and James Pierre made a nice play in the end zone to pick off a pass, keeping Carolina off the board in that spot.
Echols missed at least two tackles, which was frustrating to see. He’s a roster lock, but he has to clean up the tackling.
It was nice to see Ramsey get on the field and make some plays, finishing with three tackles in one series. I can’t wait to see what the Steelers do with him in Week 1 against the Jets on the road. He’s a unique chess piece that is always around the football.
Quindell Johnson had a nice night for the Steelers with four tackles, and even new corner Mikey Victor was around the football often, finishing with three tackles.
The secondary did blow a coverage on Carolina’s lone touchdown though, leaving the tight end wide open in the back of the end zone for an easy pitch and catch for the score.
Special Teams — A-
A really nice night for rookie UDFA Ben Sauls. The Pitt product drilled all four field goal attempts in the game, including one from 50 yards. He’s not going to beat out Chris Boswell, but he earned himself a job elsewhere in the NFL.
Corliss Waitman and Cameron Johnston punted just one time each, with Waitman punting one 35 yards, and Johnston punting one 33 yards. Coverage units were fine on the night, though the 10-yard punt return by Carolina’s Trevor Etienne featured some missed tackles from the Steelers.
In the return game, Ke’Shawn Williams had a nice 11-yard return and averaged 9.5 yards on two punt returns. He handled those duties all preseason and seems like a safe bet to be stashed on the practice squad.
I really do not like Kaleb Johnson returning kickoffs. There’s not much juice there as he doesn’t seem all that comfortable. He was hesitant against the Panthers, and he got blown up on one kick return by former Steelers linebacker Jacoby Windmon.
