A knee injury suffered by first-round draft pick Derrick Harmon put a blemish on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason finale.
Harmon was injured with 10 minutes, 4 seconds left in the second quarter of the Steelers’ 19-10 victory against the Carolina Panthers and was taken from the field on a medical cart. He was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Coach Mike Tomlin called it a “knee sprain of some description” for the defensive tackle from Oregon, who was taken No. 21 overall by the Steelers to shore up their front.
Promoted to a starting role at the outset of training camp, Harmon if healthy is expected to be part of the starting defensive line when the regular season opens for the Steelers on Sept. 7.
Encouraging news came in the second half when Harmon returned to the sideline. He walked to the Steelers bench where he watched the conclusion sitting between Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt.
Harmon was injured on the final play of Carolina’s third series, an interception by James Pierre in the end zone. He was engaged with an offensive lineman on the pass rush when he was thrown to the ground, landing on his knees.
Harmon had one assisted tackle in the game.
Harmon’s injury notwithstanding, the Steelers will be happy to have the preseason behind them. The finale featured 13 penalties for 104 yards against the Steelers and all-around sloppy play from both teams.
“We’re not a finished product,” Tomlin said, “but nobody is.”
Five penalties against the Steelers in the first quarter set the tone, and they were penalized for having too many men on the field in the second quarter. Backup center Ryan McCollum was flagged three times in the second half. Edge rusher DeMarvin Leal lined up offside on the first defensive snap and later was hit with a facemask penalty.
“I thought we were highly penalized, we turned the ball over there early and the tackling was shaky at best at times,” Tomlin said. “I think they had 100 yards rushing at the half, and that’s just kind of indicative of how poor the tackling was at times.”
After Harmon’s departure, Yahya Black moved into the rotation in the second half and made an immediate impact. He sacked Bryce Perkins for 8-yard and 12-yard losses on consecutive plays, and he finished with five tackles.
Starting for the third time in the preseason, Mason Rudolph played three series and completed 6 of 8 passes for 36 yards and an interception.
Skylar Thompson, vying for a spot on the 53-man roster, took over at quarterback in the second quarter and led the Steelers on an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive for a 7-3 lead. He finished it with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Lance McCutcheon.
The drive was set up by Pierre’s interception in the end zone.
Thompson completed 11 of 13 passes for 152 yards and had an impressive 141.0 passer rating. For the preseason, he had 498 yards passing, completed 78% of his attempts and threw four touchdowns against one interception.
“He’s not afraid to attack,” Tomlin said. “I mean, he comes in boom, boom, boom. He’s got playing experience. This guy started (three career) games in Miami and so, I think that experience shows.”
Carolina took a 10-7 lead with 17 seconds left in the half when third-string quarterback Jack Plummer threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end James Mitchell. Tomlin bucked conventional thinking that he would run out the clock, and it paid off. Thompson uncorked a 53-yard completion to Scott Miller, and Ben Sauls kicked a 38-yard field goal on the final play of the half to tie the score 10-10.
Sauls provided the Steelers with a 13-10 lead when he booted a 50-yarder in the third quarter. He handled the kicking duties after Chris Boswell kicked the extra point following the McCutcheon touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Sauls connected from 49 and 28 yards to cap a 4-for-4 performance.
“To see the ball go through the uprights four times in a game that was tight, it’s important,” Sauls said. “It’s important for a rookie and any kicker in general.”
Tomlin previously ruled out quarterback Aaron Rodgers, wide receiver DK Metcalf, Heyward and Watt. On the pregame broadcast, he admitted to getting “cold feet” about guard Isaac Seumalo, who also sat out for the third time.
Tomlin wanted to see who would be on the field for Carolina before deciding whether to play the cornerback trio of Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr. Although the Panthers sat 33 players, including every starter, Tomlin still gave those three cornerbacks the start but played them for just one series. Strong safety DeShon Elliott also played just one series after making his preseason debut.
It was long enough for Ramsey to make a tackle in the backfield for a 3-yard loss. But Ramsey continued to hold onto running back Trevor Etienne before throwing him to the ground, earning a 15-yard penalty. This was the fifth for the Steelers in the opening quarter.
Three penalties occurred before the first possession was complete. After a holding call on the opening kickoff, center Zach Frazier and tight end Pat Freiermuth were flagged for holding on the drive. Freiermuth’s penalty wiped out a 26-yard run by Kenny Gainwell.
Jayen Warren started at running back for the first time in the preseason and had a rough debut. Warren fumbled on his first reception, and he slipped and fell for no gain on another screen. He had four touches before departing.
Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.
