Dwayne Haskins struggles as Steelers conclude preseason with loss at Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The experiment of what might transpire when one NFL team plays many of its starters and the other primarily uses backups was on display Friday night at Bank of America Stadium.

While the Pittsburgh Steelers rested their core group with the regular season still 16 days away, the Carolina Panthers took the opposite approach in the preseason finale for both teams.

It wasn’t a fair fight.

Dwayne Haskins’ first start of the preseason was a dud, and the defense couldn’t get off the field for the Steelers in a 34-9 loss.

“I thought it would be a great platform for them to display varsity skills,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “Just succinctly, we didn’t.”

After finishing the preseason with a 3-1 record, the Steelers will begin the process of paring the roster from 80 to 53 players before the 4 p.m. deadline Tuesday.

With Ben Roethlisberger and backup Mason Rudolph watching from the sidelines, Haskins finally got his chance to run what constituted the first-team offense — and face a legitimate NFL defense — as he tries to earn a roster spot.

He had difficulty adjusting to the step up in competition.

Haskins played into the third quarter, then returned midway through the fourth after a turf toe injury to Josh Dobbs. Haskins finished 9 of 16 for 108 yards and a late 22-yard touchdown pass to Ray-Ray McCloud.

“It was a tough one,” Haskins said. “I wanted to play better.”

Under constant pressure in the first half, Haskins completed 3 of 9 attempts for 24 yards, one interception and a passer rating (2.8) that resembled a middling college student’s grade-point average. The Steelers totaled 65 yards in the opening half and ran just 19 plays.

“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. Such is life.”

Haskins didn’t take the field totally empty-handed. While many offensive starters were rested, Chase Claypool and James Washington were the starting wide receivers, and Eric Ebron made a token appearance at tight end. Three of the anticipated starters on the offensive line also protected Haskins: center Kendrick Green, left guard Kevin Dotson and left tackle Chuks Okorafor.

On Haskins’ first two drives, the Steelers went three-and-out, the first drive ending when Haskins was forced to dump a pass to running back Benny Snell for a 3-yard gain. On the first play of the third drive, Haskins rolled out to his right and threw a pass behind fullback Derek Watt, who tipped the ball with his trailing hand. Brian Burns intercepted, and the Panthers took over at the Steelers 25.

“A lot of guys were trying to figure out how to get into the groove of the game,” Haskins said. “We weren’t getting on the same page.”

The Steelers’ offensive inefficiency, of course, provided plenty of work for punters Jordan Berry and rookie Pressley Harvin III.

In their final audition of the preseason, Berry and Harvin alternated attempts, with Chartiers Valley graduate Christian Kuntz doing all of the long snapping because of an illness to Kam Canaday.

Each punter got four chances. Berry averaged 43.8 yards with a long of 55. Harvin averaged 42.3 yards with a long of 48. Each dropped a punt inside the 20.

Berry was the holder when Chris Boswell connected on a 52-yard field goal with 1:38 left in the third quarter, pulling the Steelers within 24-3. Harvin was the holder when Boswell missed an extra point.

“They represented themselves solidly tonight, and largely it’s been a really competitive thing throughout this process,” Tomlin said.

The cupboard was nearly barren of starters on defense. James Pierre, who could be an outside corner in the nickel defense, got the start. Chris Wormley, who has been filling in for Stephon Tuitt on the defensive line, and inside linebacker Robert Spillane, who lost his starting job after the Joe Schobert trade, also were on the field at the outset of the game.

Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold completed 19 of 25 passes for 162 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while playing the entire first half.

Rookie Tre Norwood started at safety but also moved inside to slot corner when the Steelers used a fifth defensive back. Norwood dropped a sure interception in the second quarter on a third-down pass that hit him in the chest. On the ensuing punt, Mathew Sexton muffed the ball when he tried to field it on the bounce. Sexton, trying to make the roster as a returner, bobbled the ball, which bounced off his knee and was recovered by the Panthers at the Steelers 15.

This gaffe set up Darnold’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Terrace Marshall Jr. for a 10-0 Panthers’ lead.

Spillane, whose difficulties in coverage led to the Schobert trade, was victimized on Darnold’s 8-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Robby Anderson with 24 seconds left in the half. This put the Steelers in a 17-0 hole.

The Panthers drove 76 yards to open the third quarter and increased their lead to 24-0 on Spencer Brown’s 20-yard touchdown run. Former West Virginia quarterback Will Grier raced 24 yards through the Steelers defense for a touchdown in the third quarter that put Carolina ahead 31-3.

Asked if there was anything he liked in the game, Tomlin said, “Not much. When the score looks like that, that’s generally the case.”