Steelers Unimpressed With Dwayne Haskins Start at QB

Reviews weren't very positive on Dwayne Haskins' first start for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers wrapped up their preseason Friday night in Carolina, and for quarterback Dwayne Haskins, it's needless to say he would have liked things to play out differently.

The third-year quarterback played the entire first half before coming back in late in the game for an injured Josh Dobbs, finishing 9/16 for 108 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Pittsburgh's 34-9 loss. 

"I didn't think it was enough varsity work from [Haskins]," Mike Tomlin said after the game. "It wasn't the performance he wanted or we wanted."

When asked about his performance, Haskins echoed what his head coach had to say.

"I agree [with Coach Tomlin]," Haskins said. "I wanted to play better and I know we wanted to do better as a team… Definitely feel like having two three and outs early doesn't help anybody."

Haskins led the Steelers on their lone touchdown drive at the end of the game.

"It's unfortunate that Josh [Dobbs] got hurt," Haskins said. "I think the biggest thing was just to finish the game out strong."

The Panthers had the ball for over 36 minutes compared to just 23:46 for the Steelers, something which Haskins attributed to the Steelers' lack of success in the first half. 

"I think we only had around 20 plays in the first half, so a lot of guys were trying to figure out how to get in the groove of the game," Haskins said. "We just weren't getting on the same page."

Although it may not have been the way he would have liked to end the preseason, Haskins says he is still proud of how he played throughout the Steelers four exhibition games. 

"I feel like I've done a great job showing that I'm coachable, showing that I'm wanting to learn and trying to get better," Haskins said. "The first three games are something I'm rather proud of. The best thing I can do is hope that what I've done throughout preseason and throughout training camp is enough to show how much I've improved."

As the Steelers now look forward to Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, they must first decide who their backup quarterback will be. We'll know sooner or later if Haskins did, indeed, do enough to earn the job. 

Jarrett Bailey is a contributor with AllSteelers. Follow Jarrett on Twitter @JBaileyNFL, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.

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