6 Winners and 6 Losers after Steelers 19-10 preseason win over the Panthers

The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the field Thursday for the third, and final, game of the 2025 preseason when they traveled to play the Carolina Panthers. The Steelers were winners in the contest, but that doesn’t mean every player had a good or bad performance.

Players who play well can be considered ‘Winners’, while those who left a lot to be desired can be called ‘Losers’. It may sound harsh, but it is the crux of this exercise.

Let’s check in to see who fell on which side of the ledger after the latest game…

Winners

Skylar Thompson
Stat Line: 11/13, 152 yards, 11.7 ave., 1 TD, 0 INT, 0 sacks, 141.0 Rating

Another Steelers preseason game, another solid Skyler Thompson stellar outing. I realize Thompson isn’t playing against the top competition from the opponent, but he has done exactly what you want to see your players do against lesser competition. Dominate. Thompson finished off the preseason with another high note against the Panthers and has proven he is a valuable commodity for the Steelers heading into 2025. Whether it be for trade bait, or as a valuable QB3 if Will Howard lands on IR to start the year.

Scotty Miller
Stat Line: 3 catches, 82 yards, 27.3, ave., 0 TD, 53 long, 3 targets

There are some players who are playing their way onto the team, and Miller would fall into that category. I don’t see how they could not have Scotty Miller on the team after his preseason. What role will Miller play? At this juncture he has to have one, whatever that may be. Miller is that guy who should never be counted out, and at one point we all will realize this.

Yahya Black
Stat Line: 5 tackles, 3 solo, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 1 QB Hit, 1 FF

With Derrick Harmon leaving the game with injury all eyes were on the other rookie 5th Round pick from Iowa, and Black didn’t disappoint. Against lesser than competition, Black dominated the offensive linemen in front of him on his way to the quarterback. His two sacks, and one being a forced fumble, were awesome to see, and Black looks like he is acclimating himself to life in the NFL just fine heading into the regular season.

Passing Game
Stat Line: 21/27, 226, 8.4 ave, 1 TD, 1 INT

The Steelers passing game throughout the entire preseason has been prolific, and completely different from what most were expecting to see when the preseason began. While the passes outside the numbers and check downs have been the norm the past 2-4 seasons, chunk plays made down the middle of the field is what fans got to see the most during the preseason. Outside of the stylistic approach, the Steelers might have to rely on their passing game early in the season until the running game gets going. Will they be up for it? We’ll find out soon enough…

Offensive Line
Stat Line: 0 Sacks

This week I was watching the Ben Roethlisberger podcast as he was talking about what he saw at the team’s joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he gave plenty of positives and some negatives. He thought the Rodgers to Metcalf duo could be special, but also added he is hopeful the offensive line can give Rodgers time to make those throws. The starting offensive line might not be pushing bodies in the run game, but they are doing well in pass protection thus far. They didn’t allow a sack through four quarters, and only 3 QB Hits by the Panthers defense. A good showing for a young offensive line corps which is still in the gelling process.

Players who forced the coaches to make tough decisions
Stat Line: Plenty of names

I love the training camp/preseason process. You get to see players who are doing everything they can to keep their NFL dreams alive. While not all of the players will make the 53-man roster, or the practice squad, you have to appreciate the players who have played well enough to make the coaches have a difficult decision. It may be just on special teams, but these players, and I know there are others I didn’t list, have certainly put their best foot forward this preseason.

• James Pierre (INT)
• Scotty Miller
• Carson Bruener
• Mark Robinson
• Lew Nichols
• Max Hurleman
• Trey Sermon
• Sebastian Castro

Losers

Tackling
Stat Line: Thankfully missed tackles isn’t an official stat

The Pittsburgh Steelers are supposed to be a fundamentally sound football team. One of those fundamentals is the skill of tackling, unfortunately the Steelers were fundamentally flawed vs. the Panthers Thursday night. The tackling was bad, and it wasn’t just the 4th string players in the 4th quarter, but also the starters who were in the lineup to start the game. It’s the preseason, so you take it with a grain of salt, but the coaching staff can’t be thrilled with that aspect of the performance.

Penalties
Stat Line: 13 / 104 yards

If the tackling wasn’t enough to drive you mad, the penalties certainly did. From the start of the game to the end, it was a penalty-fest where at times it looked as if the officials were being paid by flag thrown. Regardless, 13 penalties is extreme, and 20 penalties between the two teams is more than excessive. The Steelers didn’t play a clean brand of football in any capacity, and the penalties were just another example of that.

Derrick Harmon Injury
Stat Line: Never good

When Derrick Harmon left the game with an apparent knee injury, it cast a cloud over the entire game. Suddenly, no one really cared about the outcome of the game, just the outcome of the injury. After the game Mike Tomlin called it a knee sprain, but did suggest he would need further evaluation. Harmon was permitted to walk back to the bench and was without any noticeable brace on his leg, which are all good signs. It hopefully marked avoiding what could have been the second year in a row the Steelers 1st round pick goes down with a knee injury. I’m not about to suggest Harmon will be back and ready to go for Week 1, but it could have been way worse.

Steelers Return Units
Stat Line: Just look bad

Maybe it’s Kaleb Johnson looking like he was getting hit by a truck every return, or a punt returner catching the ball surrounded by the opponent without a black jersey anywhere on the television screen, but I feel like the Steelers return units are lacking in a lot of ways. I’m not a coach, and I am not watching the All-22, but just from a knee jerk reaction standpoint I feel like this part of the team will hopefully improve when the starting units are out there consistently.

Run Defense
Stat Line: CAR 171 yards rushing, 35 attempts, 4.9 ave

If you go back to the category talking about tackling, it had a lot to do with these lofty rushing numbers. The Steelers would have a ball carrier bottled up, only to have one, maybe two, missed tackles equate in a big run. I’m not concerned about the run defense, especially considering how stellar the unit was during the prior two games; however, you can tell there should be an emphasis on the basics to ensure this type of result doesn’t happen when the games count.

Fans who sit through NFL Preseason games
Stat Line: It can be brutal

The NFL preseason can be brutal to watch. Whether it’s the lousy home announcers or the poor product on the field, watching all three preseason games in their entirety is for the football sickos out there. So, if you are like me and you waded through the mess these past few weeks, raise a glass! You did it! Next up are the games which really count…all we have to do is wait two weeks to get there.

If you want a more detailed look at the above list, check out my “Let’s Ride” podcast in the player below where I outline each Winner and Loser, and MORE!