Dwayne Haskins states case as No. 2 quarterback; Steelers rally to beat Eagles

PHILADELPHIA – Hindered by penalties on the first three drives, the offense wasn’t in concert when quarterback Mason Rudolph was in the game Thursday night for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

When Dwayne Haskins entered in the second quarter, he made sweet music – and short work of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The former first-round draft pick led four scoring drives in five series over the second and third quarters and helped the Steelers rally for a 24-16 victory at Lincoln Financial Field.

Following a script reminiscent of the first preseason game, Haskins replaced Rudolph for the fourth series and helped rally the Steelers from 13-0 and 16-7 deficits. Not counting a kneeldown at the end of the first half, Haskins directed three consecutive touchdown drives followed by a field goal drive.

Haskins said he was just following the orders of quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan, who told him to play like a “jazz player.”

“Pretty much be smooth, and that is what I was trying to do,” Haskins said after completing 16 of 22 passes for 161 yards and one touchdown. “Be smooth, allow plays to come to me, trust what I saw and let my eyes and feet tell me where to go with the ball.”

The performance came a week after Haskins led field goal and touchdown drives against Dallas.

In both games, Haskins worked with the second-team offense — and against second-team and third-team defensive players. If Haskins is going to work with the first team, it won’t come in the third preseason game. Coach Mike Tomlin said Ben Roethlisberger will play against the Detroit Lions next weekend.

That leaves the preseason finale at Carolina as Haskins’ lone chance to start prior to the regular season and perhaps win the backup quarterback job from Rudolph.

“As a competitor, you want to get in with the guys who make the plays,” Haskins said.

At one point against the Eagles, Haskins completed 10 consecutive passes and 13 out of 14.

On his second series, he directed a nine-play, 70-yard drive that resulted in Anthony McFarland’s 1-yard touchdown run.

Haskins opened the second half by leading a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Johnson on a free play with the Steelers facing a third-and-11. The touchdown cut the Steelers’ deficit to 16-14.

When the Steelers got the ball back at midfield following a Justin Layne interception, Haskins led another touchdown trek. On the 11-play, 50-yard drive, he completed 3 of 4 passes for 30 yards. Jaylen Samuels scored from the 1 with 2:59 left in the third to give the Steelers their first lead, 21-16.

Before Haskins was finished, he led a 14-play, 76-yard drive that ended with Sam Sloman’s 22-yard field goal with 11:05 remaining.

“I thought he was in command tonight,” Tomlin said. “He did a great job communicating with people, going through his progressions. There was a third-down play, third-and-8 maybe, and I saw him go through three or four reads and throw the ball over the middle of the field and converted for us. That was a snapshot of the night he had.”

In a repeat of the Hall of Fame Game, Rudolph generated zero points in three series. This time, his efforts were plagued by penalties. Rudolph hit on 8 of 9 passes for 72 yards, including a 33-yard completion to Diontae Johnson.

Rookie running back Najee Harris was credited with two carries for 10 yards. Uncounted were the two long gains that were called back because of holding calls.

“Obviously, you want to get points, you want to finish drives,” Rudolph said. “We talked about that. We had some penalties that put us behind the chains, but we’ve got to convert when we have the chance.”

Left tackle Chuks Okorafor and right guard Trai Turner made their preseason debuts on the offensive line, but right tackle Zach Banner’s return from ACL surgery will have to wait another week. Banner stood on the sideline in shorts and a T-shirt. Kevin Dotson entered at guard on the third series.

The line contributed to the offense’s issues while the “starters” were in the game. A holding call against rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth negated a long run by Harris on the first series. A holding call against Turner wiped out another first-down run by Harris on the second drive. Okorafor had a false start on the third series.

“It was self-inflicted wounds,” Tomlin said. “Run-game holding calls kill drives.”

Before the game, the Steelers were working to complete a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for inside linebacker Joe Schobert.

Known for his coverage ability, Schobert would fill a void in the middle of the Steelers defense. Devin Bush is returning from ACL surgery, and undrafted free agent Robert Spillane has encountered issues in coverage.

Bush played the first two series in his return from ACL surgery. On the second play of the game, tight end Dallas Goedert got behind Bush for a 34-yard reception. This set up Jake Elliott’s 47-yard field goal.

Bush finished with two tackles.

“It’s good to get out there, get a feeling for playing football again in a live stadium, just being out there and being with different groups of guys,” Bush said. “It was a good experience.”

Not dressing for the Steelers were starters Roethlisberger, Banner, T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, Tyson Alualu, Stephon Tuitt, Joe Haden and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Among the others not in uniform were James Washington, Benny Snell, Kalen Ballage, Ray-Ray McCloud and Antoine Brooks Jr.