PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rookie Drew Allar threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another during an impressive debut as the Pittsburgh Steelers surged past the Green Bay Packers 28-9 in the preseason opener on Thursday night.
Allar, a third-round pick from Penn State, was 10 of 13 for 154 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Wetjen and a 4-yard flip to Riley Nowkowski. Allar, who entered the game to calls of “Drewwww!” also sprinted into the end zone for a 3-yard score as the Steelers made coach Mike McCarthy's debut leading his hometown team a successful one.
The 22-year-old Allar wasn't the only Pittsburgh quarterback who seemed to have a handle on McCarthy's offense. Will Howard, a sixth-round pick last year, guided the Steelers to a touchdown while deftly operating the 2-minute offense. Howard was 7 of 9 for 86 yards, including a handful to former Packers tight end Robert Tonyan, who caught four passes for 61 yards.
Green Bay starter Jordan Love was 3 of 5 passing during one series of work while leading the Packers on an opening drive that ended with the first of rookie Trey Smack's three field goals. Love wasn’t hit during his cameo, a welcome development after he injured his left (non-throwing) hand against the New York Jets during the preseason last year.
Pittsburgh star Aaron Rodgers, who said this week he doesn't think he needs to play during his 22nd and final training camp, caught up with Love and other Green Bay players and staff and then watched from the sideline with a headset on as his last NFL team faced his first.
The 42-year-old's roster spot is secure. What happens behind him is anyone's guess as Howard, Allar and veteran Mason Rudolph compete for a spot on the depth chart that will likely last until rosters are trimmed to 53 on Aug. 30.
Rudolph started and completed 10 of 11 passes for 93 yards and had a lengthy drive of his own end with Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth tackled at the Green Bay 1 on fourth down.
McCarthy stressed the biggest goal of the season was to emerge from it healthy. To that end, many of the club's bold-faced names joined Rodgers in sweats. Longtime Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward, outside linebacker T.J. Watt, wide receivers DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman and running backs Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle also had the night off.
The game had all the trappings of a preseason opener, including some sloppy play on both sides. Pittsburgh was flagged 11 times for 135 yards while the Packers were penalized nine times for 76 yards.
The Steelers outgained Green Bay 385-160 and collected yardage in huge chunks at times on plays that had receivers running wide open against a vanilla defense more focused on fundamentals than elaborate schemes for a game that didn't count.
Injuries
Packers: Backup tackle Darian Kinnard exited in the third quarter. ... Defensive tackle Anthony Campbell left late in the third quarter with a significant limp.
Steelers: Reserve cornerback D'Shawn Jamison left in the first quarter
Up next
Packers: Visit the Denver Broncos on Aug. 21.
Steelers: Host the New York Jets on Aug. 21.
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