Dwayne Haskins showcased his talents in the Steelers' second preseason game Thursday night, as the battle for the second quarterback job is on in Pittsburgh. Haskins led the Steelers on three second-half scoring drives, including a touchdown pass to Anthony Johnson, in Pittsburgh's comeback 24-16 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Pittsburgh finished 11 of 17 on third down, the majority of the conversions were when Haskins was at quarterback. The Steelers had 28 first downs in the game and outscored the Eagles 17-0 in the second half.
Philadelphia's offense got off to an impressive start, scoring on three of its first four possessions. The Eagles' first team offense put up three points on two possessions, as Jalen Hurts finished 3 of 7 for 54 yards and a 69.9 passer rating. The stat line was deceiving for Hurts, as Jalen Reagor dropped a low throw and Zach Ertz dropped a third-and-7 pass that would have extended the Eagles' first drive.
Philadelphia jumped out to a 13-0 lead as Joe Flacco led the Eagles on back-to-back scoring possessions, the big play coming from a Quez Watkins 79-yard touchdown with 33 seconds left in the first quarter to put Philadelphia up 10-0. Flacco finished 10 of 17 for 178 yards and a touchdown in the loss, playing until halftime. Nick Mullens finished 1 for 5 for 4 yards and two interceptions, as the Eagles didn't score in four second-half possessions.
The Steelers improved to 2-0 on the preseason while the Eagles lost in Nick Sirianni's head coaching debut. Takeaways from this game are coming shortly, but here's a recap of the game in our live blog below.
Why Steelers won
The Steelers took a chance on Haskins for a reason, and he rewarded their faith. Haskins was impressive against the Eagles third-team defense, finishing 16 of 22 for 161 yards and a touchdown in the win. Haskins got off to a slow start, but was crisp on his intermediate throws in the second half.
The Steelers running game was sharp in the second half, as Jaylen Samuels and Anthony McFarland combined for 79 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Pittsburgh had 260 yards in the final 30 minutes, scored on three of the five possessions, and ran out the clock on the final possession that lasted 6:14. Pittsburgh averaged 4.9 yards per play in the second half.
Why Eagles lost
Eagle fans shouldn't worry about the starters and second team, but guys trying to make the 53-man roster did not make a good impression. With the rosters being cut to 85 on Tuesday, Jonathan Gannon did not rotate his third-team defensive players as he was trying to give them as many game reps as possible.
The Eagles looked winded and gassed on this scorching evening. Pittsburgh had four possessions that went double-digit plays and 50-plus yards, as Philadelphia couldn't get a pass rush on Haskins or Josh Dobbs. Elijah Riley was one of the only players on the third team to contribute, having an interception in the fourth quarter to keep the Eagles in the game.
Mullens had two interceptions on five pass attempts, the first leading to a touchdown that gave Pittsburgh the lead for good. Mullens may be fighting for a roster spot after all. The Eagles were also 0-for-8 on third down.
Turning point
The Eagles defense showed signs of fatigue on Haskins' lone touchdown pass on the night. Philadelphia was very disciplined in the first half, but Haskins earned a free play on an offsides penalty — and took advantage.
Haskins saw the pocket collapse and stepped up to his right. While running, he threw a pass across the middle and found Johnson for the score to cut the score to 16-14 with 9:38 left in the third quarter.
Johnson was wide open in the back of the end zone, a sign of things to come for the Eagles secondary in the second half.
Play of the game
Watkins has turned some heads during Eagles training camp and is making a strong case to become the starting outside wide receiver on this team. Watkins caught a bubble screen from Flacco in the second quarter and took the pass 79 yards for the touchdown to put the Eagles up 10-0.
Richard Rodgers had a nice block to set up Watkins for the big play. Watkins turned on the jets once he reached the second level, going right past Tre Norwood for the score.
The Eagles offense got off to a fast start, and Watkins played a huge role in that.
The quote
"It was great to see him respond. I was pleased that he didn't let that drop get to him and he continued to play hard. I was impressed with that." -- Sirianni on Reagor's 13-yard catch on his second target.
Reagor has been getting the tough love from Sirianni in training camp, and had a drop on the Eagles' first series (his first target of the night). Reagor ran a strong route on his second target that led to an Eagles first down. This was what the Eagles wanted to see from Reagor all of training camp.
Up next
The Eagles have joint practices coming up with the New England Patriots next week. Philadelphia will play host to New England in Week 2 of the preseason next Thursday (Aug. 19) at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Steelers play host to the Lions on Saturday, Aug. 21 at Heinz Field, which will be their third preseason game.
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Steelers at Eagles score: Dwayne Haskins turns in impressive performance; Quez Watkins shines for Eagles - CBSSports.com
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