Winners and losers from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 31-25 win Saturday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the teams’ preseason opener.
WINNERS
QBs Mason Rudolph & Skylar Thompson
Pittsburgh’s top two quarterbacks tonight were excellent. Rudolph went a perfect 7-of-7 on his opening drive, consistently throwing over the middle and ending with a 19-yard throw down the seam to TE Darnell Washington. Rudolph took one bad coverage sack but finished the night with just a lone incompletion.
Thompson relieved him midway through the second quarter and ran a successful two-minute drill to close out the first half. He found RB Trey Sermon for a touchdown on a screen in the third quarter. Late in the fourth, he stood tall and delivered a jump ball TD to WR Ke’Shawn Williams to salt the game away.
Both quarterbacks played clean from an exchange standpoint, made good decisions, threw with accuracy and confidence, and ran the show well. Combined, they threw four touchdown passes.They showed why they’re veterans who have started playoff games and can shine in preseason action like this.
TE Darnell Washington
Washington carried over a strong camp into stadium action. His touchdown catch copied the types of plays he’s made in training camp, showing strong hands and build-up speed downfield.
With just three tight ends dressed for this game, Washington had to play a fair amount of snaps. He made good use of them.
WR Max Hurleman
Hurleman came alive during Thompson’s two-minute drill, recording two catches for 29 yards. The first came down the seam, the UDFA rookie making a falling snag in tight coverage. He finished the drive with a touchdown along the sideline. He’s a great athlete – as shown by his post-score backflip – and has had a solid and consistent training camp. Hurleman even helped his cause with a punt-coverage tackle late in the game.
He’s still competing for a practice spot but his versatility as a receiver/returner with a background as a runner and corner could give him a leg up.
WR Ke’Shawn Williams
Williams showed up tonight. Fighting for reps in camp, he showed speed and hands in Jacksonville. The hands were the more surprising of the two after struggling with drops and finishing plays in practice. He caught two passes for 55 yards, the latter a jump ball he won in the end zone.
Williams also had a 27-yard punt return wiped out by a holding call. Pittsburgh has some interesting players at receiver trying to carve out practice squad spots.
First-Team OL
A young offensive line under the spotlight, the unit passed its first test. All starters sans veteran LG Isaac Seumalo suited up and all played well in first watch through. Rudolph had a clean pocket on Washington’s touchdown and even on his sack, the o-linemen held up for at least five seconds. That outcome isn’t on them.
The running game had less room but overall, the Steelers’ o-line did its job for a first time out without any game planning. All while facing the Jaguars’ starting defense on the opening possession, no less.
CB Brandin Echols
Echols has quietly had an excellent summer and is ticketed to be a top backup behind Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr., and Darius Slay. Getting depth from his underneath hook zone, he broke up a first-half pass. He also recorded a tackle for loss. With Cory Trice Jr. injured, Echols could work into dime packages or, at the least, be a solid next-man-up option in a Steelers cornerback room that is much better than a season ago.
S Juan Thornhill
Thornhill’s play tonight won’t make him the next Minkah Fitzpatrick, but his energy and physicality were on display. He had the biggest hit of the night with this first-drive pop over the middle, a textbook clean hit that forced the incompletion.
ILB Cole Holcomb
Holcomb checked a major milestone tonight, suiting up in his first game since his devastating November 2023 knee injury that’s robbed him of the last 21 months. He made one impact play, defending a pass in the flat that led to an incompletion, and he looked healthy and moved around well. That’ll not only give himself confidence but the coaching staff confidence in his healthy and full recovery. Holcomb has a good chance to make the 53-man roster.
P Corliss Waitman
Atypical for the preseason, Pittsburgh didn’t do much punting tonight. Waitman made his lone boot count, a 57-yarder with good hangtime that resulted in a 51/52-yard net. Even if Cameron Johnston has the edge — and Pittsburgh has framed it as an open competition — Waitman is keeping things tight.
RB Lew Nichols
Nichols made noise late in the game, ripping off several tough runs to breathe life into the Steelers’ ground game late. He recorded 28 yards on his first four carries. Evan Hull wasn’t as productive but worked hard and showed effort, recovering a fumble to keep Pittsburgh in possession and scoring position. Trey Sermon also made a couple of plays on special teams and offense, catching a screen pass for a score.
LOSERS
Backup Offensive Line
Pittsburgh’s o-line depth has been questionable all offseason, and the second-team unit had its problems tonight. Pass protection was serviceable, but the running lanes weren’t there. New addition OT Andrus Peat was flagged for false start inside Jacksonville’s 10-yard-line, OG Doug Nester was later called for holding, and at first blush, no one stood out. Right tackle Gareth Warren had issues protecting the edge, giving up a sack/fumble the Jaguars nearly recovered.
Pittsburgh will need to keep a close eye on the waiver wire and potential trade market, slim as it is, for o-line help, come cutdowns.
Pass Rush
No T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, or Nick Herbig tonight so it shouldn’t be a shock the Steelers’ rush felt muted. But even with Keeanu Benton, Derrick Harmon, and Jack Sawyer in the game, the rush hardly got home.
Harmon was especially quiet, and his play didn’t match his training camp performances. Need to rewatch but felt like he was dropping his eyes and not playing with a strong base. Sawyer was less effective than I thought, though he dealt with running back chips in obvious passing situations. He also couldn’t finish a late-sack opportunity on what was a nice move to win the edge.
The Steelers finished the night with zero sacks and just two QB hits.
CB Kyler McMichael
McMichael struggled tackling the catch, leading to two good YAC plays by Jacksonville during a fourth quarter touchdown drive. McMichael is at the back end of the cornerback depth chart and though his reps increased due to injuries, he’s done little to give himself a chance to stick on the practice squad this season.
