The Mike McCarthy era in Pittsburgh is off to a great start, thanks to the Steelers’ thoroughly convincing 28-9 win over the Green Bay Packers Thursday night in the preseason opener at Acrisure Stadium.

Under McCarthy’s guidance, the Steelers looked quite good, especially on offense. Quarterbacks Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar all performed well, while the defense under Patrick Graham put the clamps on the Packers, holding them to just three field goals.

Penalties were an issue on offense and special teams, but it was an encouraging night as a number of new faces — especially the rookie class — performed well, generating buzz for the Black and Gold.

Now, attention shifts back to training camp in Latrobe as the Steelers have just a few practices left at Saint Vincent College.

Let’s get to some positional grades coming out of the preseason opener.

QB — A

Things didn’t start well for Mason Rudolph and the Steelers’ offense Thursday night against the Packers as Pittsburgh went three-and-out. But on the second drive of the game, Rudolph looked very good for the Black and Gold, driving the Steelers right down the field.

Rudolph looked in command of the new scheme under McCarthy, connecting on 10-of-11 passes for 93 yards. He had a strong connection with rookie Germie Bernard and had a great throw over the middle to Ben Skowronek to move the chains in the first quarter, getting the Steelers’ offense rolling. The veteran also had a highlight-reel play in the red zone, avoiding a sack on third down and firing a strike to Bernard in the back of the end zone, but the rookie couldn’t get his second foot down for the score.

The veteran looked good moving around in the pocket, extending plays and finding open receivers to move the chains.

Will Howard came in for two drives to end the half and looked pretty darn good in the two-minute drill. He threw well off platform and made some big-time completions to Ben Skowronek and Robert Tonyan to spark the offense. Then, the 22-yard completion to Tonyan up the seam was impressive as he moved in the pocket well and fired a dart.

While Howard had a strong night, Drew Allar stepped in and was very impressive for the Steelers. On his first throw of the night, Allar hit fellow rookie Kaden Wetjen for a first down over the middle, and it resulted in a 74-yard catch-and-run. That set up an Allar rushing touchdown off read-option, too.

After the scoring drive, Allar came out firing, hitting the likes of Max Hurleman and Levi Wentz for chunk plays over the middle. He later threw a dart to Wetjen for a 5-yard touchdown, rolling to his left and putting it on the money for the score.

Heck of a night for the quarterbacks in the first showing under McCarthy. Very encouraging.

RB — B

With no Jaylen Warren or Rico Dowdle Thursday night, it presented the likes of Lew Nichols and Travis Homer plenty of run, especially in the first half. Nichols continued to build off a strong training camp and looked good Thursday night. He ripped off one 11-yard run and also capped the two-minute drive at the end of the first half with a 1-yard touchdown run.

Homer didn’t do much as a runner, gaining just eight yards on four carries. But he did have two receptions for 10 yards, one of which moved the chains. He’s a dependable special teams piece, but he played a number of snaps offensively, which was a bit surprising.

What was shocking was the fact that second-year pro Kaleb Johnson didn’t get a single offensive snap in the first half. Though that’s largely a continuation of the last week from training camp, it’s clear that Johnson doesn’t appear to be in the picture for Pittsburgh.

Johnson had just two touches on the night, gaining three yards on the ground before giving way to rookie seventh-round pick Eli Heidenreich. The Navy produced, who missed some time in training camp with an undisclosed injury, had some flashes in limited work.

Heidenreich carried the ball nine times for just 20 yards, but he showed some good vision and churned out some tough yards. I was hoping the Steelers would get him some touches as a pass catcher out of the backfield, but that didn’t happen. Still, it was a nice showing in his first NFL action.

WR — B+

DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. didn’t dress for the game, so that gave the likes of Roman Wilson and rookie Germie Bernard and extended look. Bernard didn’t disappoint. The rookie second-rounder hauled in four passes for 51 yards, showing good chemistry with Rudolph. He had a big-time 25-yard catch-and-run on a third down in the first half, breaking a tackle along the sideline to show of his YAC abilities.

I liked what I saw from Skowronek, too. He had two receptions for 36 yards, with included a key 19-yard reception over the middle for a first down on the second drive of the game, and then a 17-yard catch on 4th-and-1 in the two-minute drill to spark the Steelers’ offense. I think he can be a nice piece in the passing game for Pittsburgh this season.

It was a great to see Wetjen have the performance that he did. Much of the discussion surrounding him was the concern about him being a special teams piece only. But he flashed as a receiver with his 74-yard catch-and-run, then a 5-yard touchdown from Allar. He’s a dynamic route runner that just needs coached up.

Max Hurleman had some good moments on the night, too. He hauled in three passes for 46 yards and showed toughness over the middle, make some key catches on looks from Allar. Levi Wentz had a nice 9-yard grab over the middle on a dart from Allar, while Joaquin Davis had one catch for six yards and drew a holding penalty in the end zone to set up another touchdown.

TE — B

It was the Robert Tonyan revenge game — sort of. A late signing at the end of minicamp after a tryout, Tonyan had a big night against his former team. Tonyan hauled in four passes for 62 yards, serving as a dependable outlet for Howard.

Tonyan has had a great training camp and has shown good chemistry with the young quarterbacks, consistently making plays in Latrobe. That continued Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium.

There wasn’t much else to write about with the tight ends. Pat Freiermuth had one catch for two yards, but wasn’t able to break the goal line on fourth down in the first half on a throw from Rudolph.

Undrafted rookie free agent Lake McRee had two catches for nine yards in the second half, while rookie fifth-rounder Riley Nowakowski bounced back from a rough drop in the end zone to haul in a 4-yard touchdown from Allar. He also took some snaps at fullback, including as the lead blocker on Nichols’ first-half touchdown.

OL — C-

Really sloppy night for the offensive line as a whole. With a lot of moving parts and it being the first time in-stadium with the new look up front, it wasn’t that big of a surprise. But it’s still concerning nonetheless.

Left tackle Troy Fautanu was a mess most of the night. He had a holding call wipe out a Nichols touchdown run in the first quarter and had a false start earlier on the drive. That’s a continuation of what’s occurred in training camp, where Fautanu has been sloppy with pre-snap issues.

Right tackle Dylan Cook had some rough moments in protection, too, getting pushed back into Rudolph early in the game, leading to a sack.

The second unit wasn’t all that good, either. They didn’t open up many holes in the running game, and the likes of Broderick Jones, Brock Hoffman and Jack Driscoll allowed pressures. That said, it was good to see Jones get so much run in the game, and he had some strong moments, too. He’s still getting his legs underneath him, but it was encouraging to see him out there.

I’ll get a better feel overall for the trench play after looking at the tape, but hard to not be somewhat discouraged by the sloppiness.

DL — B+

It was a nice night overall for the defensive line as they helped hold the Packers to just 2.6 yards per carry on the ground, and helped generate five sacks in the win.

Rookie Gabriel Rubio really stood out for the Steelers, generating six tackles in the win. He played the run really well, which was expected considering his history at Notre Dame. He even looked comfortable dropping into coverage in Patrick Graham’s scheme.

I am really intrigued by Kyler Baugh and Anthony Goodlow moving forward, especially after what they showed as interior pass rushers in the second half. While Goodlow had a roughing the passer penalty, he generated multiple pressures. Baugh closed the game out in style, getting in on a pair of sacks. He’s had a good camp and has generated plenty of buzz from Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora, so it was great to see it translate to the game.

Not much to write home about with Keeanu Benton, Derrick Harmon or Yahya Black. Black looked good at nose tackle and handled the point of attack well, finishing with one tackle. Harmon had one tackle, too.

LB — A-

Have a night, Jamin Davis.

The veteran, who was signed after a minicamp tryout, had a team-high eight tackles and two sacks. He was all over the place off the edge. After playing off-ball much of his career, he’s getting a look as an OLB in Pittsburgh’s 3-4 scheme and he looked natural Thursday night.

He’s a great athlete that has familiarity with Graham, so him having a huge night right away was encouraging and eye-opening from a roster building perspective.

Carson Bruener played a ton of snaps and finished with six tackles. He’s running with the second unit right now and looks to be the next guy in behind Payton Wilson at the moment. He had a strong night. Cole Holcomb was his running mate, and while he had a bad penalty early in the game hitting a sliding Tyrod Taylor late, Holcomb had a tackle for loss in the win.

Malik Harrison appears to be an afterthought for the Steelers as he was on the field late in the game. He had three tackles, including one on special teams, but he’s not doing anything to force his way onto the roster.

I liked what I saw from outside linebacker Jack Sawyer in the game against the Packers, especially as a run defender. He’s still developing as a pass rusher and had half a sack in the win, but he set the edge well against the run, much like he did as a rookie. Julius Welschof flashed with some pressures in the second half, too.

DB — A-

Any time you hold the opponent to under 200 passing yards, you’re doing something right.

Right from the start, it was a strong night for the secondary as Asante Samuel Jr. picked up where he left off in training camp, breaking up a pass and having great coverage on another go ball down the sideline, leading to an incompletion. He’s on fire right now.

Doneiko Slaughter got the start in the slot and had an up and down night. He gave up a 19-yard completion on third down on the first drive — the longest completion of the night for Green Bay — but bounced back with a key tackle for loss on the next third down. He then had a bad post-play penalty that kept a Green Bay drive alive, but followed up with a pass breakup.

I thought rookie seventh-round pick Robert Spears-Jennings was really impressive. He attacked downhill against the run well, filling the lanes for stops. He was sound in coverage, too, making a key stop in the flat on one completion to set up a third down. So, too, was fellow rookie Daylen Everette. The third-round pick had five tackles and showed up in coverage all night long. He’s made some noise in training camp, and that showed up on the field Thursday night.

UDFA Devan Boykin flashed a few times, too, shooting through the line for a big TFL in the first half, and then nearly coming up with an interception late in the second quarter. He’s been quiet in training camp, but it was nice to see him make some plays in the preseason opener.

Veteran safety Israel Mukuamu recorded a sack in the win, showing off his versatility rushing off the edge in the second half.

Special Teams — D

What a mess of a debut for new special teams coordinator Danny Crossman. Taking over for Danny Smith, Crossman’s special teams units had four flags in the first seven minutes of game action. It was pretty sloppy overall. 

Chris Boswell opened the game with a touchback. Then, veteran defensive lineman Dean Lowry had a roughing the snapper penalty on Green Bay’s field goal attempt on the first drive, extending the drive. Fortunately, Pittsburgh held the Packers to a field goal after that.

Ben Skowronek had a penalty on a punt. Carson Bruener and Cole Holcomb both had penalties on a kickoff return.

The only real positive on special teams was Wetjen, who made a number of defenders miss on punt and kick returns. He had just 10 yards on two punt returns, but flashed his elusiveness. Punter Cameron Johnston performed well, punting the ball three times for 147 yards, averaging 49 yards per punt.