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Kenny Pickett Caps Steelers Debut With Last-Second, Game-Winning Touchdown

The Pittsburgh Steelers watched Kenny Pickett lead his first game-winning drive.

Noah Strackbein

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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers utilized all three quarterbacks and saw their first-round rookie lead a game-winning drive in his first ever game on the way to a 32-25 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

The Steelers won the coin toss and decided to put the ball in the hands of their new quarterback. Mitch Trubisky needed no time to lead his team to a touchdown, completing 3 of five passes for 47 yards on a 55-yard drive. 

The Steelers made a switch at quarterback, putting Mason Rudolph in with a little under five minutes remaining. Following a 38-yard punt return from Steven Sims, Rudolph's first play was a sack-fumble from the left side. 

His second pass was a 26-yard touchdown to George Pickens. 

The Seahawks used their passing game to push the ball 57 yards in eight plays, leading to a 33-yard field goal. 

Pittsburgh drove 81 yards on the following drive, but was stalled at the 11 for a field goal. 

With their next possession, Seattle drove deep into opponent territory. Travis Homer continued to gash the Steeler defense and Smith capped the two-minute drill with a two-yard touchdown score. The extra point brought the Seahawks within a touchdown. 

Drew Lock started the second half for Seattle, leading a nine-play, 74-yard drive ending in a three-yard touchdown pass to Dareke Young. After the point after, the Seahawks tied the game at 17. 

Kenny Pickett took over for the Steelers in the second half and matched Lock's drive. The first-round pick took the offense 75 yards, going 5/5 for 33 yards, capping off the drive with a three-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Warren. 

Instead of a point after, Pickett lined back up to go for two, converting on a pass to Connor Heyward. Pittsburgh went up 25-17. 

Lock continued the second-half battle, taking the Seahawks 55 yards in two minutes and 17 seconds, and then finding Travis Homer for a two-point conversation to tie the game 25-25.

The ball switched hands five times during the next quarter before the Steelers started at the five-yard line. Master Teague III started the drive with three rushes for 18 yards. 

Pickett found Christian Blake on first down and Teague ran for four more yards to earn another first. Pickett's first incompletion came on a deep ball to Blake, followed by an eight-yard completion to Tyler Vaughns. On third-and-two, the rookie QB used his legs to pick up the first and keep the drive alive. 

Teague took it up the gut again, picking up nine yards, crossing the 50-yard line. With 1:34 remaining, the Steelers once again found themselves in a third-down situation. After Teague was stuffed on the line, Pittsburgh took a timeout on fourth-and-one on their 44-yard line. 

Pickett rolled out to his left after play-action but couldn't escape the rush, being sacked for an eight-yard loss. 

On the following play, inside linebacker Mark Robinson bolted in off the edge, hitting Lock, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Tuzar Skipper. 

Once again, Pickett had a chance to lead a game-winning drive. 

Pickett escaped the pocket on first down, utilizing a block from Mataeo Durant to rush four yards. Durant took a handoff up the middle for five yards on the next play. 

On third down, Cody White caught a two-yard pass for a first down. Pickett took the ball up the middle on the next play, then, off no-huddle, found Tyler Vaughns, who broke a tackle and took the ball 24 yards, diving into the endzone for a game-winning touchdown, handing the Steelers their first preseason win, 32-25.

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Noah Strackbein
NOAH STRACKBEIN

Noah is the Publisher for All Steelers, Inside the Panthers (InsideThePanthers.com) and Inside the Penguins (InsidethePenguins.com), and is the host of All Steelers Talk (YouTube.com/AllSteelersTalk). A Scranton native, Noah made his way to the Pittsburgh sports scene in 2017. Now, he's pretty much full-yinzer.

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