In his first real matchup against a starting-caliber defense in years, Dwayne Haskins fell well short of expectations.
The Steelers don’t have another starting-caliber quarterback on the roster minus Ben Roethlisberger, and don’t let Mike Tomlin or any deranged fan tell you otherwise.
As good as Mason Rudolph and especially Haskins have looked at times this preseason — it’s still rather meaningless football against a number of players who will barely make an NFL roster. Haskins narrowly out-performed Rudolph against worse defenses, but now that he’s been given an opportunity to shine against starters in Carolina, it hasn’t gone according to plan.
Haskins is 2-5 for 6 yards and an interception. He refuses to throw the ball downfield unless the receiver is college wide open. That doesn't happen often in the NFL.
— Dale Lolley (@dlolley_pgh) August 28, 2021
Haskins out there Hasking 🧀🧀🧀😂
— Tre Boston (@TreBos10) August 28, 2021
Brian Burns with his first ever INT.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) August 28, 2021
He's been wanting that for a while now.
Haskins' pass was a little behind his intended receiver, popped off his hands and into Burns' hands.
Haskins pass location to Watt on INT #Steelers pic.twitter.com/TpARESlE1m
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) August 28, 2021
Haskins’ inability to make consistent throws on the run is a clear weakness of his, and one opposing defenses can exploit. A rather simple dump-off became a game-changing (preseason, mind you) interception. And this is nothing new for this former first-round pick. It haunted him in Washington as well.
Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger’s replacement isn’t on the roster
As convenient as it would be for Big Ben’s replacement to be waiting in the wings, neither Rudolph nor Haskins has shown in extended playing time that they deserve that chance. The Steelers may still provide them with one next season, assuming Roethlisberger retires, if another option doesn’t present itself. But that doesn’t mean sticking with the current QB room is a legitimate, plausible decision.
Dwayne Haskins is the same guy.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) August 28, 2021
Old habits die hard. Haskins just isn’t great at throwing on the run. This is a throw he’s gotta make if he wants to end up competing for a starting job somewhere down the road. pic.twitter.com/Vh8YGnSqcb
— Jarrett Bailey (@JBaileyNFL) August 28, 2021
Dwayne Haskins looks like the Washington Football Team Dwayne Haskins tonight.
— Mike Nicastro (@MikedUpSports1) August 28, 2021
Who’s ready to apologize to Mason Rudolph?
Rudolph isn’t much better, but he still remains a more capable backup, which says a lot about what the Steelers see from Haskins consistently in practice. If he cannot outperform Rudolph, he should not be sniffing the field with No. 1 unit in Pittsburgh.
Perhaps, with more reps and opportunity this season, Haskins can develop facets of his game that are sorely lacking at this juncture. But if anything, Friday night proved the need for a redshirt year of sorts.