Mike McCarthy preseason
Mike McCarthy preseason
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team full of veterans. Thursday night’s preseason finale was set aside for the young kids. With nearly all starters and many established players sitting out entirely, Pittsburgh’s focus was on giving the youth on its roster one last spin during exhibition action. Even after blowing a late fourth quarter lead to end the preseason with a 28-27 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Mike McCarthy was excited about giving those up and comers a chance.
“This is the oldest team I’ve had the privilege to coach as a head coach, but our young guys got to play a ton of ball tonight,” McCarthy told reporters via the team’s YouTube channel. “And that excites me. I got to see personalities. I got to see guys step up, see interaction. I got to see guys captains take that role today, and that’s all part of growing the whole roster of your team.”
Like the second preseason outing, Will Howard and Drew Allar logged all the snaps at quarterback. Howard threw an interception after a miscommunication with TE Lake McRee while Allar completed only half his passes, although he also dealt with drops and misreads by his targets. Even on the failed final drive, McCarthy saw the sheer opportunity as a bright spot.
“Drew, he got his first fourth-and-four call in an NFL game on Thursday night in the preseason in Buffalo. And got a two-minute drill. Obviously, those experiences are valuable,” McCarthy said.
Allar completed a short throw to reserve WR Colton Powell, but his next three passes fell incomplete. A fourth down seam pass to McRee was behind him, though Allar appeared frustrated that McRee didn’t turn back to make a play on the football.
Quarterbacks were far from the only ones to represent the youth movement. At running back, Lew Nichols and Eli Heidenreich dominated the snaps. Both ran well with Heidenreich scoring his first NFL touchdown. Rookie Germie Bernard did the same at wide receiver for Pittsburgh’s first points while Max Hurleman continued to impress. First-round pick Max Iheanachor made his NFL debut and after some early jitters, finished the game on a strong note.
Defensively, Kevin Jobity Jr. picked up a first half sack while rookie Gabriel Rubio played nearly the entire game. In the secondary, Robert Spears-Jennings continued to soak up reps while UDFA Devan Boykin led the team in tackles. On special teams, Kaden Wetjen made his first impact play as a returner with a 44-yard run back for a score.
In due time, Thursday night’s loss will be forgotten. The lessons, good and bad, will apply to the rest of the season and beyond. It’s why preseason is important. Not for the old heads but the young bucks trying to make their mark. Even a veteran coach like McCarthy can get pumped up for that.
Steelers
Steelers