Watch: McCutcheon goes vertical for lone Steelers touchdown

Following every NFL game in 2025, Steel City Underground parses the best plays from the Pittsburgh Steelers to highlight for Steelers Nation fans to rewatch, complete with what led up to the big play.

The preseason finale between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers was a relatively low-scoring affair with just one touchdown scored by each team and a handful of field goals. The Steelers walked away from Bank of America Stadium with a 19-10 victory.

Although the Panthers scored first with three points in the first quarter, the Steelers answered in the early part of the second quarter to take the lead off of a well-timed pass from quarterback Skylar Thompson to receiver Lance McCutcheon.

The Steelers offense opened the second quarter with an errant Mason Rudolph pass that was intercepted by Lathan Ransom. Panthers quarterback Jack Plummer threw his own poor pass that was picked by James Pierre on the next series. When the Steelers offense took the field fo r the following series, Thompson jogged out in place of Rudolph.

The Steelers had Kaleb Johnson carry the ball twice before Thompson hit Ke’Shawn Williams over the middle for a 16-yard gain. Thompson then threw two short strikes to Scotty Miller for 13 yards and 16 yards, moving the chains. A subsequent pass to Johnson went for just a 2-yard gain before he carried the ball up the middle for another 2 yards to the Carolina 26.

On 2nd & 8, Thompson took the snap from the shotgun position and lofted a beautiful pass over the cornerback, allowing McCutcheon to go vertical to catch and secure before he fell into the end zone for the 24-yard touchdown.