There were many quality things that transpired for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their preseason opener. This includes quarterback Skylar Thompson, who put on an impressive showing. An aspect that was refreshing to see was his deep passing of 20-plus yards.
Here is a visual of QB ratings and Pro Football Focus passing grades on deep passes through the preseason thus far:
[](https://steelersdepot.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/SkylarThompsonClaytonPost.jpg)
As you can see, Thompson lands with the cream of the crop. He was one of only a handful of quarterbacks to post a perfect 158.3 deep QB rating, out of nearly 100 quarterbacks who have played this preseason. Very impressive.
On top of this, he tied for the most deep attempts of that group, and three of those five quarterbacks only have one deep attempt to date. So, Thompson has provided rare value across the league as a deep passer out of the gates.
Also, Thompson was given a 92.6 deep-pass grade, ranking third amongst his peers. Within this were a couple of big-time throws. One of his three TD passes (the only QB with that bragging right) was his 26 yarder to WR Ke’Shawn Williams, putting it up for him to make an impressive contested catch in the end zone.
My favorite throw was just before halftime, where Thompson threaded the needle between two defenders to the versatile Max Hurleman. That 26-yard gain put the Steelers inside the 5-yard line, setting up their touchdown on the following play.
Earlier on the drive, he connected with WR Scotty Miller for an explosive 22-yard gain, reading the zone defense and doing a nice job finding the soft spot in it for the chunk play. The timing and execution Thompson displayed deserve props, and is great to see from a depth player at the position in his first opportunity of 2025.
No doubt, the offense had a nice showing in Jacksonville. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s preseason. But seeing Arthur Smith and the passing offense jelling is certainly better than the alternative. Lets hope Thompson, and the rest of the group can make more noise moving forward.