CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- And just like that, the Steelers' three-game winning streak in the preseason came crashing mercifully to a close.
But that was hardly the biggest thing to come out of this game, a 25-19 win by the Panthers over the Steelers here at Bank of America Stadium Thursday night.
No, the biggest splash coming out of this one was made by guys putting their best foot forward -- or not -- one final time before Mike Tomlin and his coaching staff make their decisions regarding who will remain part of this team and who will not, and what their roles, if any, might be.
In that case, the biggest winners coming out of this game were Mason Rudolph, Tuzar Skipper and Johnny Holton.
In under a quarter of playing time, Rudolph might have put his stamp on the No. 2 quarterback job and also helped Holton, a fourth-year player working with this third team, make this roster.
Following a Cam Sutton interception with 23 seconds remaining in the first half -- the Steelers' first of the preseason -- Rudolph and the second-team offense took possession of the ball at the Carolina 31 with 15 seconds remaining.
They did this:
"It was Randy's (Fichtner) call," Rudolph said of being aggressive following the turnover. "They were in Cover-1, which escapes me why they would do that. Johnny made a great play and got some separation and pulled away there at the end."
That ended Rudolph's night at 7 for 11 for 125 yards and a touchdown, while Holton caught all three passes thrown his way for 86 yards.
That included another reception from Rudolph that went for a 44-yard gain.
The play might have gone for a touchdown had the ball not been slightly underthrown or if Holton hadn't cut back and lost his footing.
But Holton, who had four fumbles on 17 career touches prior to joining the Steelers, finished off a strong preseason with seven catches for 187 yards, both of which trailed only James Washington for the team lead.
As for Rudolph, he'll await word from the coaching staff about who will be No. 2 and who will be No. 3 behind Ben Roethlisberger going into the regular season opener next weekend at New England.
Fichtner, the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, told the quarterbacks at their meeting on the first day of practice after cuts a year ago, naming Josh Dobbs the backup and Rudolph, then a rookie, the No. 3.
Those roles could be reversed this year.
"That's a coaching decision," Rudolph said. "I don't have any say in that. I control what I can control, which was in OTAs and offseason workouts and training camp. It's been a long season without football, and it's a long offseason. I tried to put my best foot forward and we'll see what the coaches think."
Given his stats -- 28 of 42 for 368 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in the preseason — compared Dobbs' 18 of 33 for 280 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions, it would seem to lean heavily in favor of Rudolph.
Dobbs was 3 of 5 in this game for 21 yards and also scrambled once for 11 yards, but his stats paled by comparison to Rudolph's — not only in this game, but overall.
"I think I competed well. You can't control the final decision," Dobbs said.
And it seems Rudolph, a third-round pick a year ago, was better prepared for this than he was last season.
"I think he's taken a significant step," said Tomlin. "Not only in consistency and production, but just awareness and communication -- overall readiness. Like a lot of other second-year guys, I thought he came in physically ready from a conditioning standpoint. He carried that knowledge from last year's journey, so it's been a good process for him."
• Skipper, meanwhile, was leading a defensive effort that saw the Steelers sack Carolina quarterbacks six times, intercept them twice and score on a strip-sack by Jayrone Elliott, an outside linebacker signed a week ago when defensive tackle Lavon Hooks was waived/injured.
That play was the first points of what was otherwise an offensively challenged game:
Skipper, meanwhile, just missed on a sack earlier in the game but ran his preseason total for quarterback takedowns to an impressive five once he got rolling.
On his first, he cleaned up former West Virginia quarterback Will Grier after Sutton Smith just missed him in the third quarter.
Then, later in the quarter, rotating at outside linebacker throughout the game with Smith and Elliott, he got to Taylor Heinicke for a sack and another forced fumble.
Heinicke recovered the loose ball, but it was just another big play for the undrafted rookie out of Toledo in this preseason.
"I'm just happy I got the results I worked so hard to do," said Skipper, who also had six defensive tackles. "I'm just grateful and thankful. I don't look at the statistics or anything like that. I'm just grateful to be able to go out there and play and put on a Steelers uniform. I could care less about the statistics or anything like that. I just want to put on a Steelers uniform."
But will he get a chance to do so after the cut down to 53 players, which must be done by 4 p.m. Saturday?
Well, he did take the next step there, as well, recording a pair of special teams tackles on kickoff coverage early in this game.
"I had two tackles on kickoff," said Skipper, who had seen just three special teams snaps going into this game. "I'll do anything it takes to be on this team and help this team win. You want me to be a janitor? I'll be a janitor, it doesn't matter.
"I laid it all on the line. I put everything out there on film. I want them to be like, 'This guy right here, aw, let's keep him.'"
With Ola Adeniyi potentially out for the opener after having a minor knee surgery to repair a meniscus tear two weeks ago, the Steelers could have a need for another outside linebacker behind starters Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt and primary backup Anthony Chickillo.
Obviously, Skipper would love to be that guy. And perhaps he opened enough eyes with his preseason that he might not be someone the Steelers can slide onto the practice squad.
"If I don't make this team, hopefully I'll get picked up somewhere else and it will work out," Skipper said.
• Outside of those performances, it was largely a spotty effort. The Steelers' third-team units struggled mightily. The Steelers had minus-26 yards of offense in a forgettable third quarter -- the Panthers gained 4.
But Carolina pulled things together enough in the fourth quarter to pull out the win as Heinicke threw a pair of touchdown passes in the final 8:30.
For Tomlin, however, the key was getting through the preseason healthy, and the Steelers did that as they held 27 players out of this game.
"It's been a long process," Tomlin said of the offseason, training camp and the preseason. "A tough process in a lot of ways for the young people, and I didn't want to see guys limp across the finish line.
"I wanted to see tremendous effort. I wanted to see growth and I wanted to see growth displayed in the quality of play. In some instances, we got it. And in some instances, we didn't. That's why you lose football games."
That was at least the case in this game -- if anyone cared about the result.
• First-round pick Devin Bush played in the first half and matched Skipper with a team-high six tackles.
• In addition to the interception by Sutton, the Steelers also got one from Marcellis Branch.
• The Steelers ran the ball 14 times for 18 yards, with Benny Snell gaining 12 of those on eight carries. But Snell had four carries for no yards in the second half, losing seven yards on his first two attempts.
• Devlin Hodges played the entire second half and completed 10-of-20 passes for 73 yards and throwing an interception.
• Matthew Wright handled the kicking duties and made two of his three field goal attempts, missing from 47 yards and making from 49 and 42 yards. He also missed a PAT.
• Rookie inside linebacker Ulysees Gilbert blocked a field goal attempt in the first quarter.
• Grier was 11 of 18 for 189 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE INJURIES
• Ola Adeniyi (knee, DNP)
• Sean Davis (ankle, DNP)
• Anthony Chickillo (chest, DNP)
THE SCHEDULE
The Steelers are off until Monday when they will resume preparations for their 2019 regular season opener at New England Sept. 8. They will have their roster cut down to 53 players by 4 p.m. Saturday.
THE COVERAGE
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