NFL preseason takeaways: Steelers offense finally shows something

The third and final week of the NFL's preseason continued on Saturday with the Pittsburgh Steelers first-team offense finally scoring some points, Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young playing like a No. 1 overall pick and an undrafted free agent in Buffalo making a big statement.

Here are some takeaways from Saturday's NFL preseason action.

Steelers first-team offense shows something

Through their first two preseason games, the Pittsburgh Steelers offense looked completely uninspiring — whether it was Russell Wilson or Justin Fields playing quarterback — as it failed to produce a single scoring drive. That changed on Saturday afternoon in Detroit when Wilson helped engineer a five-play, 60-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a 31-yard touchdown run by Cordarelle Patterson. Wilson completed both of his pass attempts for 26 yards, including a big 32-yard third-down conversion to George Pickens.

Even if it came against a Detroit Lions unit that was playing mostly backups, it was still important for the Steelers offense to show it could move the ball. It finally did.

Bryce Young looks like a No. 1 pick

The Carolina Panthers have a ton invested in Bryce Young after giving away a truckload of draft picks and players to select him No. 1 overall in 2023. His rookie season was about as bad as a rookie season could be for a No. 1 pick. Surprisingly, the Panthers opted not to play him in their first two preseason games, only putting him into the starting lineup on Saturday in Buffalo. The former Alabama star looked like the player the Panthers wanted to develop, completing 6-of-8 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown.

That stat line included this impressive throw and completion on the run.

Kenny Pickett still does not look like a first-round pick

While Young had a strong showing, another recent first-round pick, Kenny Pickett, did not. It was not that Pickett was terrible, it was just that he continues to look nothing like a potential starting quarterback in the NFL. His performance in the Eagles' 26-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings looked like every other Pickett performance at the professional level. A decent completion percentage (6-for-9) but almost nothing downfield. He managed just 58 yards (only 6.4 per attempt) and zero touchdowns. The best thing for Pickett on Saturday was that Tanner McKee also played poorly and was responsible for a couple of turnovers, which should be enough to keep Pickett secured as the Eagles' No. 2 quarterback.

Frank Gore Jr. keeps making big statements

Like father like son for Frank Gore Jr.

The undrafted free agent continued his spectacular preseason for the Bills on Saturday by delivering a statement game on the ground. He carried the ball 18 times for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Running back is the one position where teams seem to consistently be able to find productive players late in the draft— and even after it — and the Bills may have found one in Gore Jr.

Good and bad from Trey Lance

There was a lot to like about what Lance did for the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday. He completed 33-of-49 passes for 323 yards and a touchdown.

He also ran for 90 yards on 11 attempts and showed off the type of dual-threat ability that made him the No. 3 overall pick in his draft class.

All of that is excellent.

There was also a lot to dislike about his performance, including five interceptions and two fumbles (one of which he lost). The fourth of those interceptions was returned for a touchdown, with Lance getting run over at the goal line.

While playing alongside mostly backups may have contributed to some of those issues, the bottom line for Lance is that no matter how many yards he passes for or gains on the ground he is not going to be a productive NFL quarterback if he does not protect the football better than that.