Well, there will be no perfect preseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium, the Steelers came up short on the final play of the game. Tampa Bay kicker Chase McLaughlin drilled a 42-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Bucs to a 17-14 win.
Despite the loss, the Steelers saw some positive developments throughout the matchup, like second-year receiver Roman Wilson producing some splash plays, rookie running back Kaleb Johnson bouncing back from a tough preseason debut, and rookie defensive lineman Derrick Harmon showing off his impressive power for his first sack in the NFL.
But there were also some issues with ball security, as Steelers quarterbacks threw three interceptions. Penalties were a problem, too, as were third-down conversions. The Steelers found themselves in far too many third-and-long situations.
It’s just the preseason, though. Let’s dive into some grades.
QB — C
If this grade were just for the likes of Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson, it’d be higher. But Logan Woodside played the whole fourth quarter and was largely dreadful.
Woodside missed rookie UDFA receiver Roc Taylor wide open in the end zone for a would-be touchdown, overthrowing him on the go route before the Steelers then missed a field goal. Later in the game, Woodside threw short of the sticks on 4th and 7, then followed it up on the next series with a horrendous interception, staring down wide receiver Max Hurleman right from the snap. It allowed a Tampa Bay linebacker to undercut the ball and set up the game-winning field goal.
Prior to Woodside’s ugly fourth quarter, Rudolph had some good moments. He did throw an interception early in the game, but it was a great undercut by cornerback Zyon McCollum. I liked seeing Rudolph aggressive and trying to rip the throw up the seam. He came right back firing, connecting with Roman Wilson for a 42-yard gain.
Rudolph also had a deep shot to Brandon Johnson that drew a pass interference, ultimately setting up his 2-yard touchdown to Johnson. Rudolph did a great job stepping out of a muddy pocket, buying time and delivering a strong throw for the score.
Thompson played most of the game and performed relatively well again, hitting Wilson for a 30-yard gain on his first throw of the game. He did throw an interception, but it was a bad drop by Lance McCutcheon. The ball bounced into the air, leading to the interception. That wasn’t on Thompson. The veteran quarterback did leave a post-route underthrown for McCutcheon that should have gone for a big play, but overall, he was solid.
RB — B+
After head coach Mike Tomlin stated he wanted to see him trust his instincts and play freely, rookie running back Kaleb Johnson did just that against the Buccaneers and had some really strong moments. On the night, Johnson rushed for 50 yards on 11 carries, with a long of 14 yards. He had a strong stretch in the third quarter, too, ripping off runs of 9, 9 and 7 yards, helping set up a touchdown to tie the game.
He even had a nice rep in pass protection, helping Thompson slip out of the pocket by picking up a corner blitz. Nice progress from the rookie.
Veteran Trey Sermon had a 1-yard touchdown, finding the end zone for the second straight week. But he had just three carries for four yards and was also the target on a failed screen. He’s being pushed heavily right now by Lew Nichols, who had another impressive showing.
Nichols ripped off a 37-yard run and had a nice 6-yard catch on a bad throw from Logan Woodside, taking a big hit in the process. He’s made plays the past two weeks and is a name to watch entering Thursday night’s preseason finale.
Evan Hull had some nice moments, including a solid 12-yard run, making a play one week after having a tough showing in Jacksonville.
WR — A-
If not for the interception that bounced off the hands of Lance McCutcheon, it would have been a pretty great night for the receivers.
Roman Wilson had two huge plays for the Steelers, hauling in a 42-yard deep shot from Mason Rudolph and later a 30-yard strike over the middle from Skylar Thompson. Two catches, 72 yards. Efficient, explosive work of a guy that feels he has nothing to prove. UDFA Roc Taylor had a nice night, too, finishing with three receptions for 39 yards, making some plays after the catch in the loss.
Taylor should have had a touchdown if Woodside could have hit him in the end zone after he won downfield on his route.
Scotty Miller made plays once again, too, hauling in two passes for 38 yards, including a long of 23 yards. He appears to be a lock for the roster at this point. I liked what I saw from Brandon Johnson, too. Though he’s a significant long shot for the 53-man roster, he made plays Saturday night, drawing a key pass interference penalty, and then did well to get open for Rudolph, leading to his 2-yard touchdown.
Max Hurleman had a tough drop in the end zone on a look from Rudolph where he was wide open. One week after making a couple of plays against Jacksonville, it would have been nice to see him haul that one in and keep stacking a strong preseason. Such is life in the NFL, though.
TE — C
Not the best night for tight ends. Connor Heyward had one catch for one yard, though it did pick up a first down. He also had a nice cut block on the backside of Kaleb Johnson’s 14-yard run, springing the rookie on the cut-back.
Outside of Heyward, though, it was a tough night. JJ Galbreath had two receptions for 17 yards, but he had a big drop on a fourth-down look.
OL — C-
Penalties were a real issue in this one. Dylan Cook had a false start penalty. Gareth Warren had a false start and a holding penalty. Steven Jones had an illegal formation and a false start penalty. Sloppy play.
Zach Frazier had some low snaps that were concerning, leading to messed-up timing in the passing game. He also was bulldozed into Mason Rudolph in the pocket by Vita Vea on the touchdown pass to Brandon Johnson. Vea does that to everyone, but it was eye-opening to see that happen to Frazier.
That said, I liked what I saw from Broderick Jones in this one, especially in protection on Rudolph’s touchdown. He clamped up Yaya Diaby on the play and controlled him. An encouraging sign.
The Steelers also had some success running the football in the second half of this one, but overall, the penalties were concerning and the three sacks allowed weren’t all that great, either.
DL — A
Heck of a showing from the Steelers defensive line in this one. The Buccaneers ran for just 41 yards on 24 carries and had just one run over 6 yards on the night, which happened to be Josh Williams’ 10-yard run in the second half.
Rookie Derrick Harmon had a nice performance and flashed his impressive power on his sack of quarterback Kyle Trask. He put rookie guard Ben Scott on skates and turned it into a highlight-reel sack. Encouraging work from Harmon. Keeanu Benton had a batted pass at the line of scrimmage and generated two tackles.
Breiden Fehoko flashed at times as a run defender and controlled the point of attack, especially in the second half. He had a really nice rep leading to a tackle against the run in the fourth quarter.
This group really controlled the line of scrimmage and made life difficult for the Buccaneers. Very encouraging in the second preseason game.
LB — B+
The pass rush wasn’t all that great once again from this group, but how the linebackers played the run certainly was noteworthy.
Cole Holcomb looked pretty good in his second game action since his injury in 2023. He shot through the line on the first drive of the game for what should have been a tackle for loss on Bucs running back Bucky Irving. But Irving was somehow credited with a one-yard gain. Holcomb finished with four tackles and really flew around making plays.
Malik Harrison and Devin Harper had some impressive plays against the run, with Harrison shooting through for a tackle for loss and Harper blowing up a fourth-down play.
Outside linebacker Eku Leota had a really nice night, recording four tackles and two tackles for loss. He played the run very well and flashed a few times as a pass rusher. So too did Jack Sawyer. The rookie had just one tackle, but he applied some pressure throughout.
DeMarvin Leal popped off the screen a couple times as a run defender, especially early in the game. Still, I would like to see some pass rush juice here.
Payton Wilson was beat for a touchdown by Irving while lined up wide. It was a strange play from Wilson, who never really turned to look for the ball and just seemed unsure of himself in coverage.
DB — B
Hard to have many issues here with the secondary, though there are a few. Veteran Brandin Echols struggled on the night, allowing a touchdown to rookie Emeka Egbuka. The Buccaneers went at him a few times, which seems like a continuation from the joint practice session.
Rookie UDFA safety Sebastian Castro jumped off the screen quite a few times with his physicality and tackling abilities. He’s been relatively quiet all summer and wasn’t all that impactful against Jacksonville, but it was nice to see him make plays Saturday night.
Juan Thornhill looked pretty good once again, too. He shot downhill early in the game for a big tackle for loss, finishing with four stops in the game. James Pierre had what should have of been an interception in the game, and put together another solid performance.
Quindell Johnson was around the football quite a bit with three stops, a tackle for loss and had a fumble recovery in the second half thanks to a big hit from D’Shawn Jamison, popping the ball loose.
Special Teams — C-
A rough showing for the special teams unit on the night. While Logan Lee gets a great deal of credit for stepping up after the injury to Christian Kuntz, serving as the long snapper the rest of the night without issue, the special teams units were sloppy.
Tez Johnson had a 37-yard punt return, gashing the Steelers and leading to Kuntz’s injury. On the other side, they couldn’t create much room for Ke’Shawn Williams in the return game, though he did have one return for 12 yards.
UDFA kicker Ben Sauls missed a 43-yard field goal, which was disappointing to see. He was never going to beat Chris Boswell out, but it would have been nice to see him drill that kick and set himself up for a job elsewhere.
Kaleb Johnson flashed on a 34-yard kickoff return, which was encouraging. But it’s hard to envision him returning kicks this season in regular season games.
The running into the kicker on D’Shawn Jamison helped set up Tampa Bay’s first touchdown of the game, too. He’s a veteran player who’s been around the block a time or two. I know he’s trying to make a play there, but that simply can’t happen, especially early in a game.
It was nice to see Max Hurleman make a play on special teams in the second half, though, thanks to a Tez Johnson gaffe. Hurleman raced down and hustled to recover the muff by Johnson on a bouncing ball he had no business fielding. It led to the game-tying touchdown for the Black and Gold. He’s constantly around the football, and that was another example of it.
