Mitchell Trubisky started for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their preseason opener and did nothing to lose ground in quarterback competition. But Mason Rudolph and Kenny Pickett aren’t going away.
All three Steelers quarterbacks looked pretty good Saturday night. Pickett, a first-round pick, took his first snaps in the NFL and wowed the crowd. He threw the game-winning touchdown with three seconds left and Pittsburgh won 32-25. Maybe it says something about the Seattle Seahawks’ defense that all three Steelers quarterbacks played well, but it still bodes well for a Steelers team trying to replace Ben Roethlisberger.
Trubisky looked confident from the start of the game. On the first drive, Trubisky led a touchdown drive. On goal, Trubisky began to crawl, then saw Gunner Olszewski was wide open and hit him for a 13-yard touchdown. It was a strong, efficient first ride.
Trubisky started the second drive with a nice throw to tight end Connor Heyward down the middle, just outside of the defender’s reach. Trubisky showed his athleticism later in the drive, wobbling out of a secure sack from Seahawks end darrell Taylor and scrambling for a few yards. Trubisky played two series and was 4-of-7 for 63 yards.
Rudolph came in after Trubisky — Pickett, who finishes third, tells you how far he’s from winning the starting job — and threw a nice one at George Pickens, a second-round rookie who’s causing plenty of buzz with a great camp deep touchdown pass to the corner of the end zone.
Rudolph finished 9 of 15 for 93 yards and Pickett started the second half. Pickett, who played at the University of Pittsburgh, was greeted with great cheers from Steelers fans. He hit a bootleg pass for 11 yards on his first game. He finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to running back Jaylen Warren and a two-point conversion pass. Fans chanted his name. Pickett completed his first 10 passes, though most of them were short, low-risk throws. Then, when the Steelers got the ball back late in a tie, Pickett led a game-winning drive and threw a 24-yard score to Tyler Vaughns, who turned away from a tackle attempt and scored three seconds from time. Pickett finished 13 of 15 for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Quite a debut.
The story goes on
Right now, Trubisky is the favorite to start Week 1. But the competition isn’t over yet.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett made a strong debut in a preseason game against the Seahawks. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
Spotlight Team: Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks also have quarterback competition, so Saturday’s game in Pittsburgh was their biggest preseason.
Geno Smith played pretty well when Russell Wilson got injured last season, was the offseason starter, though Seattle traded for Drew Lock and he started against the Steelers. Smith didn’t do much, but he was fine. Smith finished 10 of 15 for 101 yards before sitting down at halftime. Drew Lock won the second half and his performance will keep the quarterback competition alive. Lock was 11-of-15 for 102 yards and two touchdowns. He was pretty good looking and might have closed the gap on Smith.
Otherwise, not much was going on for the Seahawks. They were 0:14 behind early on. A blown cover led to Pittsburgh’s first touchdown. A long punt return set up the Steelers’ second touchdown. Tackling was a big problem for the Seahawks. Seattle’s offense wasn’t bad, but it had three punts and a field goal in four drives. Smith ran in for a touchdown with 21 seconds left at halftime to end his night on a positive note. Lock had some hits against Steeler’s backups, which was good, although he fumbled late when he didn’t see blind pressure and got sacked. That led to the Steelers’ game-winning touchdown.
Seattle will likely struggle this season. This usually happens when you’re trading an elite quarterback like Wilson. Saturday night didn’t give much optimism that the Seahawks will do better than expected this season.
Standout Player: Washington QB Sam Howell
Commander quarterback Sam Howell, a fifth-round rookie pick, has made a few things possible. It’s only a preseason game, but Washington fans have to wonder if they made a good pick in the draft.
Howell was 9 of 16 for 143 yards and also had two rushing touchdowns. One was a nice scramble in the middle.
The Panthers won 23-21 with a last-minute field goal, but Howell did his best to put the Commanders ahead after going behind. Howell was once considered a first-round contender before his stocks plummeted, and he was looking pretty good in his NFL preseason debut.
Carson Wentz is the starter for Washington. The commanders gave up a lot to get him. But Wentz couldn’t find success in Indianapolis last season, and he’s not sure he’ll play well in Washington either. It’s worth keeping an eye on Howell for the remainder of the preseason, although it could be some time before he gets a chance to play in the regular season.
Other games
Chicago Bears 19, Kansas City Chiefs 14: Bears quarterback Justin Fields had some nice passes, especially a fun one to Darnell Mooney, who made a nice jump catch for 26 yards.
But Fields was also under a lot of pressure, which confirms that the Bears’ offensive line could be a problem all season.
Buffalo Bills 27, Indianapolis Colts 24: The Bills didn’t play starters, but the Colts did. The Colts had their starters throughout the first quarter and second, and new quarterback Matt Ryan threw 10 passes. He completed six for 58 yards, an unremarkable Colts preseason debut. He completed a few passes for 30 yards to his new No. 1 receiver, Michael Pittman, but no other receiver stood out. The Bills came back to win their ninth straight preseason game and kicked the game-winning field goal in the last game.
Miami Dolphins 26, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24: The Dolphins sat out many starters and the Buccaneers held nearly everyone who might play in Week 1. Here’s what pre-season football looks like:
Kyle Trask, the Buccaneers sophomore quarterback, got a long look. After Blaine Gabbert was pretty good (5-of-5 for 56 yards and a well thrown touchdown), Trask was up and down early on but settled in well. Trask threw an interception that landed on the defender’s legs before the defender hit the ground, but it shouldn’t have been thrown at all as he was under pressure. He had one touchdown drive, completing five of six passes for 56 yards. Trask ended up leading a nice drive for a game-winning field goal attempt, but the kick hit the post. Trask finished 25 of 33 for 258 yards.
Houston Texans 17, New Orleans Saints 13: Andy Dalton made the start for the injured Jameis Winston and showed why he will be one of the league’s best backups for a while. He went 5 of 5 for 51 yards and a touchdown to run back Dwayne Washington. If Winston has to sit out during the regular season, Dalton can jump right in and keep the offense going.
Dallas Cowboys at Denver Broncos: These two teams had practice together in Denver this week, so both coaches seeded virtually every starter. Josh Johnson started as quarterback for the Broncos and threw two touchdowns to give Denver an early lead. He finished with 172 yards and two touchdowns.
Los Angeles Rams vs Los Angeles Chargers: Neither team played their starters. The Rams started the trend of sitting preseason starters under Sean McVay, and Chargers coach and former McVay assistant Brandon Staley has followed that path.
Final Thoughts
• Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson glitched over the start of Carolina Panthers QB Baker Mayfield on Saturday. Mayfield had a solid outing in limited play, completing 4 of 7 passes for 45 yards.
• The Chiefs should be happy to have rookie George Karlaftis on the defensive end. As Purdue’s first-round pick, Karlaftis put constant pressure on the quarterback. Part of it is playing against the Chicago Bears’ poor offensive line, but he had a sack and two quarterback hits. He’ll be a big part of Kansas City’s defense.
• The Bears also got a promising game from a rookie defenseman. Safety Jaquan Brisker was all over the field. He had four tackles, a pass defended and a tackle for loss. The bears may have made that choice.
• Colt’s backup quarterback Nick Foles had some difficult moments. He never saw pressure coming from his front and was dismissed, losing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. He also threw a pass that went well over his receiver’s head and was picked up by the Bills. Bill’s QB Case Keenum, who started when Josh Allen sat out, wasn’t much better with two interceptions.
• Bryan Robinson, Washington rookie running back, looked good with 26 yards and a touchdown on six carries. He could intervene in Antonio Gibson’s early work if he continues to impress.
• Steelers rookie receiver George Pickens has impressed. He slipped out in the draft with a knee injury at Georgia, but already looks like he belongs in the NFL. The Steelers need to find ways to get him involved early in the season.
And as a bonus, check out Picken’s Pancake a Cornerback (bottom of screen):
• Texas rookie running back Dameon Pierce is an interesting player. He’s a fourth-round pick on a team that needs young talent to emerge and a pretty clear path to land a starting job. His first run of preseason was 20 yards and it was impressive. Pierce had 49 yards on five carries.