Pittsburgh Steelers mentor Mike Tomlin didn’t beat around the bush in the outcome of his group’s 34-9 misfortune to the host Carolina Panthers in the preseason finale Friday night.
The Steelers, yet beginning for the most part reinforcements against the Panthers’ starters, didn’t play at the level he expected – and it more than applied to quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who made his initial beginning in the preseason.
“Like the rest of us, I didn’t think it was enough varsity work from him,” Tomlin said. “It wasn’t the type of performance he wanted or we wanted. But such is life.”
Conflicting with a first-string protection without precedent for the preseason with a program spot on the line, Haskins finished 9-of-16 endeavors for 108 yards, a score and a capture attempt.
In any case, even those numbers are misdirecting. Haskins, chose in the first round of the 2019 draft by the Washington Football Team, completed the principal half finishing only 3-of-9 endeavors for 24 yards and a block attempt. His passer rating in the primary half was a humble 2.8.
“It was a tough one,” Haskins said. “I wanted to play better. I know we wanted to do better as a team. Just have to watch some film, prepare and get ready.”
Haskins drove the group to two three-and-outs to begin, finishing his initial two passes on third downs, however the two tosses were well shy of the sticks. The following drive finished rashly as Haskins tossed behind fullback Derek Watt. The ball looked off Watt’s mind and into the holding up arms of Panthers cornerback Brian Burns.
Haskins bounced back with more forceful tosses in his last drives of the half, pushing the ball down the field more instead of actually taking a look at it down. In any case, twice Ray-Ray McCloud couldn’t finish the catch on an all around tossed ball. Haskins tossed one into tight inclusion, however the pass hit McCloud on the shoulder brace and he was unable to make the snatch. On the following drive, Haskins drove McCloud down the sideline and set the ball entirely before him. McCloud, however, couldn’t keep the two feet in limits to finish the catch.
Haskins drove one drive to begin the second from last quarter, yet it, as well, was a three-and-out, and Josh Dobbs took over for the following four drives until he supported a turf toe injury on a sack in the final quarter.
The injury offered Haskins a chance to vindicate himself. The main drive was scaled short as running back Tony Brooks-James bobbled the ball on the subsequent play, however Haskins drove a scoring drive on the Steelers’ last series. Confronting a third-and-5 at the two-minute admonition, Haskins hit McCloud for a 28-yard acquire over the center. On the following two plays, he associated with Anthony Johnson for a 12-yard acquire and tight end Marcus Baugh for 8 yards. He covered the drive with another fulfillment to McCloud for the 22-yard score.
“I felt having the two-minute opportunity was good just to get some in-game experience with that and of course, I wanted to start fast but we didn’t,” Haskins said. “Being able to finish in a way where we got some type of a rally after was a good way to finish the game.”
In any case, Haskins’ late scoring drive scarcely enchanted Tomlin.
“I’m sure it did for him, in terms of getting that taste out of his mouth,” Tomlin said of Haskins. “Obviously, it had no consequence or bearing on the outcome of the game.”
With finished products approaching, the choice in the quarterback room seems to come down to Dobbs or Haskins for the last spot. Outside of Friday night’s presentation, Haskins said he had a positive outlook on the work he put in during the Steelers’ preseason.
“I feel like I’ve done a great job just showing that I’m coachable,” Haskins said. “Showing that I’m needing to pick up, needing to improve. Simply attempting to put things on film that are something that I can feature what I can do. The initial three games are something I’m fairly pleased with and obviously how we began is something I needed better of.
“Best thing I can do is just hope that what I’ve done throughout preseason, throughout training camp is enough body of work to showcase and show how much I’ve improved.”
