The Pittsburgh Steelers began their preseason with a 31-25 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, using the game to evaluate players across several positions, including quarterback.
Mason Rudolph, who rejoined the Steelers after spending last season with the Tennessee Titans, started at quarterback. He completed nine of ten passes for 84 yards and threw a touchdown to tight end Darnell Washington. Reflecting on his return, Rudolph said, “(Offensive coordinator) Arthur (Smith) did a good job of calling some aggressive shots over the middle. First couple plays and first drive. Roman Wilson made a really nice catch to kind of get us going. So, it was fun.
“Good to be back in the black and gold. Just a lot of friends, a lot of dear friends and coaches that I’ve spent a lot of time with and there’s just a level of comfortability there that you can’t really replace.”
Skylar Thompson took over in the second quarter and finished with 20 completions on 28 attempts for 233 yards and three touchdowns. “I was super excited to get out and compete today,” said Thompson. “Coming into a new organization, new team, a little bit of a fresh start for me. I was excited to go play some football with all my teammates and definitely did that today.”
Rookie Will Howard did not play due to an injury sustained during training camp. Logan Woodside, signed earlier in the week as cover for Howard’s absence, played but did not attempt any passes.
Coach Mike Tomlin described the game as productive for player evaluation: “It was really a good evening’s work,” he said. “We got put in a lot of situations and got a chance to watch people perform in them. Two-minute drive before the half, kind of highlighting some of that. I thought we did a nice job of not beating our own butt. We kept pre-snap penalties virtually to a minimum. I think we had one.
“We played a pretty clean game for a first time out. We gave a lot of people a lot of opportunities and that’s what this is about. It was good to see some offensive players tackling on special teams, defensive players blocking on special teams. We’ll comb through that really closely. And to top it all off, we kind of got through the game virtually injury free. I think Cam McCutcheon got taken out with a soft tissue injury, maybe a hamstring that needs to be evaluated. But other than that, we’re pretty clean.
“And so productive night on a lot of fronts. And obviously we’ll comb through the tape and learn from it in a lot of ways, both players and coaches, and hopefully be better the next time out.”
Many regular starters were held out by Tomlin as is common during preseason games; among those sitting were T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, Jalen Ramsey on defense along with Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf on offense.
The Jaguars opened scoring with an early field goal before Rudolph led Pittsburgh’s offense downfield for their first touchdown—a pass caught by Washington—putting them ahead 7-3 after Ben Sauls’ extra point kick.
Jacksonville rotated quarterbacks throughout; Trevor Lawrence started but left after one series while Nick Mullens led subsequent drives including one cut short by linebacker Cole Holcomb’s pass breakup—his first action since recovering from knee surgery last year.
A notable moment came when Jacksonville kicker Cam Little converted from 70 yards as time expired in the first half—a rare feat acknowledged by Tomlin: “You’ve just got to tip your cap to that field goal kicker, banging that 70-yarder,” he said.
Thompson continued at quarterback into the second half for Pittsburgh while John Wolford entered under center for Jacksonville later in the third quarter.
The Steelers’ offense produced multiple scoring drives highlighted by Thompson’s passing touchdowns—including connections with Max Hurleman and Ke’Shawn Williams—and another score via screen pass to Trey Sermon.
Pittsburgh’s defense faced late pressure but ultimately preserved their lead despite allowing two second-half touchdowns from Jacksonville running back Bhayshul Tuten and backup quarterback Seth Henigan leading another field goal drive late in regulation.
Logan Woodside managed clock duties late as Pittsburgh closed out its victory without further incident or major injuries reported beyond Cam McCutcheon’s soft tissue concern.
