Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin did not say a word after his team’s 34-9 loss to the Carolina Panthers in the preseason finale.
The Steelers, while starting mostly backups against the Panthers starters, didn’t play at the level they expected, and it applied more than to quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who made his first outing in the preseason Friday night. .
“Like the rest of us, I didn’t think it was enough college work for him,” Tomlin said. “It wasn’t the kind of performance we wanted or wanted. But that’s life.”
Going against a first-chain defense for the first time in the preseason with a spot on the roster, Haskins completed 9 of 16 attempts from 108 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
But even these figures are misleading. Haskins, selected in the first round of the 2019 draft by the Washington football team, finished the first half completing just 3 of 9 24-yard attempts and an interception. His passenger score in the first half was 2.8.
“It was tough,” Haskins said. “I wanted to play better. I know we wanted to do better as a team. You just have to watch a movie, get ready and get ready.”
Haskins led the team to two triples and outings to start, completing his first two passes in third downs, but both pitches fell far short of the posts. The next unit ended prematurely when Haskins threw winger Derek Watt. The ball looked out of Watt’s hands and went into the waiting arms of Panthers corner Brian Burns.
Haskins bounced back with more aggressive throws in his last half actions, pushing the ball down the field instead of checking it. But twice Ray-Ray McCloud could not complete the catch of a well-thrown ball. Haskins threw one at tight coverage, but the pass hit McCloud on the shoulder and he couldn’t catch it. In the next drive, Haskins led McCloud to the sideline and placed the ball perfectly in front of him. McCloud, however, was unable to keep both feet in limits to complete the catch.
Haskins led a drive to start the third quarter, but was also one of three and three, and Josh Dobbs took over for the next four vehicles until he suffered a turf injury in a sack in the fourth quarter.
The injury gave Haskins a chance to redeem himself. The first unit was reduced when runner Tony Brooks-James collided with the ball in the second play, but Haskins led a scoring in the Steelers ’final series. Facing a third and a five on the two-minute warning, Haskins hit McCloud with a 28-yard gain above center. In the next two plays, he connected with Anthony Johnson for a 12-yard gain and a tight 8-yard Marcus Baugh. He finished the rider with one more finish from McCloud to get the 22-yard marker.
“I thought it was good to have a two-minute chance just to have some gaming experience with that, and of course I wanted to start fast, but we didn’t,” Haskins said. “Being able to finish so we got some kind of rally afterwards was a good way to end the match.”
Still, Haskins’ late scoring hardly captivated Tomlin.
“I’m sure he did it for him, in terms of getting that taste out of his mouth,” Tomlin said of Haskins ’touchdown that helped the quarterback. “It obviously had no consequences or influence on the outcome of the game.”
With the final cuts, the decision in the quarterback room seems to have reached Dobbs or Haskins to get the final spot. Outside of Friday night’s performance, Haskins said he felt good about the work he did during the Steelers preseason.
“I feel like I’ve done a great job just proving that I’m capable of directing myself,” the former first player said. “Showing that I want to learn, that I want to improve. Just trying to put on films that can show what I can do. The first three games are something I’m pretty proud of, and of course how we started is something I wanted better.
“The best I can do is hope that what I’ve done during the preseason and on the training ground is enough to show and show how much I’ve improved.”