Trubisky leads TD drive in 2-minute offense, helps Steelers beat Lions in preseason finale

Mike Tomlin isn’t ready to name his starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers even though Mitch Trubisky has continued to do everything asked of him in the preseason.

Trubisky took his biggest step toward winning the quarterback competition Sunday, directing a touchdown drive while running the 2-minute offense at the end of the first half in a 19-9 victory against the Detroit Lions at Acrisure Stadium.

Trubisky started for the third consecutive preseason game and played the entire first half while helping the Steelers to a win that gave them a 3-0 record in the exhibition season.

Tomlin, though, isn’t ready to announce his starter for the Sept. 11 opener at Cincinnati.

“You guys aren’t going to have it today,” Tomlin said. “We’re not going to make knee-jerk reactions and statements following a performance.”

Trubisky completed 15 of 19 passes for 160 yards and exited with a 119.3 passer rating. For the preseason, Trubisky was 24 of 34 for 283 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 115.3 rating.

“I feel confident with where I’m at and our overall developing as an offense,” Trubisky said. “I’m excited to see where we go from here.”

More on the Steelers' final preseason game:

• Steelers RB Najee Harris has been dealing with sprained Lisfranc injury since early August
• Steelers notebook: Injuries to T.J. Watt, Diontae Johnson not expected to be serious
• Tim Benz: Despite 3-0 preseason record, very few Steelers' questions have been answered
• Mark Madden: If there was a Steelers quarterback competition, Mitch Trubisky won it
• Madden Monday: Steelers 'think they are far better than what they are' — the offensive line may be their undoing

First-round pick Kenny Pickett, who moved into the No. 2 quarterback slot in the final two preseason games, played three series and completed 10 of 14 passes for 90 yards. Mason Rudolph replaced Pickett with 7 minutes, 6 seconds left in the game and was 0 for 3.

Pickett finished the preseason with 29 completions in 36 attempts for 261 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 124.7 rating. Rudolph finished with 26 of 39 for 220 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 98.2 rating.

“You want to make decisions based on what people are doing and not because of what others aren’t,” Tomlin said. “The fact they all played well is a good problem to have, certainly.”

Tomlin’s decision to play his starters the entire first half nearly proved costly on each side of the ball.

Wide receiver Diontae Johnson left after the second series with a shoulder injury. Outside linebacker T.J. Watt, the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year, headed to the locker room with a knee injury in the second quarter after playing five series.

Tomlin, who said neither injury was serious, didn’t regret using his starters extensively in the preseason finale.

“You can’t box without sparring,” he said.

In the two previous preseason games, Trubisky hadn’t been on the field long enough to run a two-minute drill. He got the chance against the Lions when the Steelers got the ball at their 8 with 1:34 left in the half.

Armed with three timeouts, Trubisky moved the offense 92 yards in six plays, capping the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Steven Sims with 14 seconds remaining. Making it more impressive was that Trubisky had to overcome a 10-yard holding penalty against Chuks Okorafor.

“We wanted to finish the half strong,” Trubisky said. “We knew we weren’t going back out for the second half.”

Trubisky was 6 of 6 on the drive, hitting George Pickens with a 22-yard completion and Pat Freiermuth for a 32-yard gain before hitting Sims on a slant for the score that gave the Steelers a 16-0 halftime lead.

The Steelers got three field goals from Chris Boswell in the opening half, but they only got a first down on one of those drives. The other two were set up by a Cameron Sutton interception return to the Lions 19 and a turnover on downs at the Lions 25.

“It was important to establish a rhythm and score points,” Trubisky said. “We wanted to get more touchdowns early on, but we got field goals. We’ll go back and get better at that.”

Boswell added a fourth field goal, from 54 yards, in the fourth quarter while Pickett was in the game. He had another field-goal try blocked.

Pickett led drives that consumed five, 10 and 12 plays, a sign he also has taken strides in the Steelers offense.

“I put my best foot forward,” Pickett said of his preseason. “I feel confident because of how prepared I am and how much I put into it. Every game I felt really confident with the gameplan and what I was going to see defensively and how I want to attack them. I think it’s a great first step in my pro career.”

Trubisky faced early pressure from an offensive line that got off to another shaky start. He was sacked on his first two dropbacks. Then, on the 10-play drive that ended with Boswell’s 45-yard field goal, left tackle Dan Moore was called for holding twice and left guard Kevin Dotson was flagged for a false start.

On the plus side, the line opened a hole for Najee Harris to reel off an 11-yard run. However, he totaled 10 yards on four carries before exiting.

The defensive starters, aside from Watt, went the distance in the first half.

Minkah Fitzpatrick had a sack and a pass breakup, Cameron Heyward knocked down two passes and Sutton’s interception set up a 34-yard field goal.

The Lions totaled 48 yards on 12 carries, but the Steelers allowed a 27-yard run on a third-and-17 draw when inside linebacker Devin Bush couldn’t shed his block. Bush atoned by teaming with Myles Jack to stop Justin Jackson for no gain on a fourth-and-1 run up the middle, the turnover on downs leading to Boswell’s 38-yard field goal for a 9-0 lead.