CHARLOTTE, N.C. — James Mitchell scored a touchdown for the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night in their 19-10 NFL preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The former Union High School and Virginia Tech standout scored his team’s only TD with 17 seconds remaining in the second quarter as he hauled in a 7-yard scoring strike from Jack Plummer.
It was just the second TD of the tight end’s pro career as the other came during the regular season in 2022 when he was a rookie with the Detroit Lions and scored against the Green Bay Packers.
A fourth-year pro, Mitchell will find out soon whether or not he makes the Panthers’ 53-man opening-week roster. He had four receptions in three preseason games,
Meanwhile, Skylar Thompson completed 11-of-13 passes for 152 yards including a 24-yard touchdown strike to Lance McCutcheon and rookie Ben Sauls kicked four field goals for Pittsburgh.
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The Steelers (2-1) played a handful of starters on both sides of the ball, while the Panthers (0-3) rested all of theirs and several top reserves.
Getting some players extra preseason reps may have backfired on Steelers coach Mike Tomlin as defensive end Derrick Harmon, the team’s first-round draft pick, was carted to the locker room because of a sprained knee in the first half. Harmon, the 21st pick in the draft, did not return and will continue to be evaluated.
Tomlin said Harmon has a “knee sprain of some description” and called the injury significant. He did not give a timetable on his return.
Tomlin said despite holding the Panthers to 10 points, there are areas to improve upon.
“I thought we were highly penalized, we turned the ball over there early and the tackling was shaky at best at times,” Tomlin said. “I think they had 100 yards rushing at the half and that’s just kind of indicative of how poor the tackling was at times.”
Thompson entered the game in the second quarter in relief of Mason Rudolph, who started with Aaron Rodgers sitting out. Thompson completed his first five passes for 72 yards, including a perfectly-placed over-the-shoulder pass to McCutcheon in the left corner of the end zone for the game’s first touchdown.
Thompson also connected on a 53-yard strike to Scotty Miller, who finished with 82 yards on three receptions.
“He’s not afraid to attack,” Tomlin said. “I mean, he comes in boom, boom, boom. He’s got playing experience. This guy started (three career) games in Miami and so, I think that experience shows.”
Rudolph finished 6-of-8 for 36 yards, including an interception on an overthrow.
“Hey, we’re not a finished product, but no one is,” Tomlin said.
Plummer, playing in place of Bryce Young and the injured Andy Dalton, started slow for the Panthers with a red-zone interception on Carolina’s third possession after escaping pressure in the pocket. But he battled back to complete 7-of-14 passes for 48 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown toss to a wide-open Mitchell in the corner of the end zone to tie it at 10 before halftime.
Carolina struggled in the second half under recently signed quarterback Bryce Perkins, who turned the ball over on a sack-fumble by Yahya Black and failed to lead a scoring drive.
Panthers rookie outside linebacker Princely Umanmielen said he’s not worried about the team going winless in the preseason and being outscored 69-23.
“I don’t really look at it too much and read into it too much because (teammates) DJ Wonnum and Pat Jones told me when they were at Minnesota they never won a preseason game — and Minnesota was usually always in the playoffs," Umanmielen said.
Both teams open the season on the road Sept. 7, with the Steelers facing the Jets, and Panthers playing the Jaguars.
CFL
Winnipeg 26, Montreal 13
Rookie safety Cam Allen made three tackles and deflected a pass for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in their road win over the Montreal Alouettes.
It was the second regular-season game Allen has played for Winnipeg after beginning the campaign on the practice squad.
The Graham High School and Purdue University graduate had seven tackles the week before in a win over Ottawa.