All three Steelers quarterbacks looked pretty good Saturday night. Pickett, a first-round pick, took his first NFL snaps and wowed the crowd. He hit the game-winning shot 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’s still a good sign 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 the scoring play, Trubisky started scrambling, then saw there was a blown coverage on a wide open Gunner Olszewski and hit him for a 13-yard touchdown. It was a strong, effective first move. Trubisky started the second drive with a beautiful lateral to Connor Heyward over the middle just past the defender’s distance. Trubisky showed his athleticism later in the drive, coming off a sure sack by Seahawks tight end Darrell Taylor and scrambling for a few yards. Trubisky played two drives and was 4-of-7 for 63 yards. Rudolph came in after Trubisky — Pickett playing third tells you how far away he is from winning the starting job — and threw a nice deep touchdown pass to George Pickens, a second-round rookie making big noise with a great camp, in the end zone angle. Rudolph finished 9 of 15 for 93 yards and Pickett started the second half. Pickett, who played at the University of Pittsburgh, came to a standing ovation from Steelers fans. He caught a pass for 11 yards on his first play. He capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to running back Jaylen Warren and a two-point conversion pass. The fans were chanting 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 on a game-tying play, Pickett led a game-winning drive, throwing a 24-yard score to Tyler Vaughns, who broke away from a tackle and scored with three seconds left. Pickett finished 13-of-15 for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Quite a debut. The story continues Right now, Trubisky is the favorite to start Week 1. But the competition isn’t over. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett had a strong debut in a preseason game against the Seahawks. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
Spotlight team: Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks also have a quarterback competition, so Saturday’s game in Pittsburgh was the biggest of the preseason. Geno Smith played pretty well when Russell Wilson was injured last season, was the starter during the offseason even though Seattle traded Drew Lock and started against the Steelers. Smith didn’t do much, but he was good. Smith finished 10-of-15 for 101 yards before sitting out at halftime. Drew Lock got the second half and his performance will keep the quarterback competition alive. Lock was 11-of-15 for 102 yards and two touchdowns. He looked good enough and might have closed the gap on Smith. Not much else went right for the Seahawks. They fell behind early 14-0. A fumbled coverage led to Pittsburgh’s first touchdown. A long punt return set up the Steelers’ second touchdown. Tackle has been 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 for a touchdown with 21 seconds left in the half to end his night on a positive note. Lock did have some success against the Steelers’ backups, which was good, though he was late when he didn’t see the blindside pressure and got sacked. This led to the Steelers winning the game. Seattle is likely to struggle this season. That’s usually what happens when you trade an elite quarterback like Wilson. Saturday night didn’t provide much optimism that the Seahawks will be better than expected this season.
Standout player: Washington QB Sam Howell
Quarterback Sam Howell, a rookie fifth-round pick, made some things happen. It’s only one preseason game, but Washington fans have to wonder if they got a good value pick in the draft. Howell was 9-of-16 for 143 yards passing and also had two rushing touchdowns. One was a nice matchup in the middle. The Panthers won 23-21 on a last-minute field goal, but Howell did his best to lead the Commanders after they trailed. Howell was once considered a first-round pick before his stock plummeted, and he looked 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 it’s not certain he’ll play well in Washington either. Howell is worth watching the rest of the preseason, even if it might be a while 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 entertaining to Darnell Mooney, who made a nice catch for 26 yards. But Fields was also under a lot of pressure, which reinforces that the Bears’ offensive line could be a problem all season. Buffalo Bills 27, Indianapolis Colts 24: The Bills didn’t play any starters, but the Colts did. The Colts had their starters throughout the first quarter and into the second, and freshman quarterback Matt Ryan threw 10 passes. He completed six for 58 yards, an unusual Colts debut in the preseason. He did complete two passes for 30 yards to new No. 1 receiver Michael Pittman, but no other receiver stood out. The Bills came back to win their ninth straight preseason game, scoring the game-winning field goal on the final play. Miami Dolphins 26, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24: The Dolphins faced a lot of starters and the Buccaneers withstood almost everyone they could play in Week 1. Here’s what preseason football looks like: Buccaneers sophomore quarterback Kyle Trask took a long performance. After Blaine Gabbert was pretty good (5-of-5 for 56 yards and a nice touchdown throw), Trask was up and down to start, but settled in well. Trask threw an interception that landed at the defender’s feet before hitting the ground, but he shouldn’t have been thrown from the start as he was under pressure. He had a touchdown drive in which he completed five of six passes for 56 yards. Trask led a nice drive to win the game at the end, but the kick hit the uprights. Trask finished 25-of-33 for 258 yards. Houston Texans 17, New Orleans Saints 13: Andy Dalton started for the injured Jameis Winston and showed why he will be one of the top backups in the league for a while. He went 5-of-5 for 51 yards and a touchdown to running back Dwayne Washington. If Winston has to miss any time during the regular season, Dalton can step right in and keep the offense going. Dallas Cowboys at Denver Broncos: These two teams had a joint practice this week in Denver, so both coaches sat from almost every start. Josh Johnson started at 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 at Los Angeles Chargers: Neither team played their starter. The Rams started the trend of sitters starting during the preseason under Sean McVay, and Chargers coach and former McVay assistant Brandon Staley followed suit.
Final thoughts
• Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports had a breakdown of Carolina Panthers QB Baker Mayfield’s start on Saturday. Mayfield had a solid outing in limited playing time, completing 4-of-7 passes for 45 yards. • The Chiefs should be excited about rookie defensive end George Karlavitis. A first-round pick out of Purdue, Karlavitis was under constant pressure at quarterback. Part of that is playing against a bad Chicago Bears offensive line, but he had one sack and two quarterback hits. He will be a big part of Kansas City’s defense. • The Bears also got a promising game from a rookie linebacker. Safety Jaquan Brisker was all over the field. He had four tackles, a pass defensed and a tackle for loss. The Bears might have nailed that pick. • Colts backup quarterback Nick Foles has had some rough times. He never saw pressure coming from his front end and was sacked, missing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. He also threw a pass that was well over his receiver’s head and was picked off by the Bills. Bills QB Case Keenum, who started as Josh Allen sat out, wasn’t much better with a pair of interceptions. • Washington rookie running back Bryan Robinson looked good, picking up 26 yards and a touchdown on six carries. He could cap Antonio Gibson’s starting job if he continues to impress. • Steelers rookie wide receiver George Pickens has done nothing but impress. He slipped in the draft due to a knee injury at Georgia, but already looks like he belongs in the NFL. The Steelers will have to find ways to get him involved early in the season. And as a bonus, check out Pickens pancake a cornerback (bottom of screen): • Texans 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 earn a starting spot. His first run of the preseason was 20 yards and it was impressive. Pierce had 49 yards on five carries.
