Local standouts open preseason
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Week 1 of the NFL preseason kicked off with six games on Thursday night.
A pair of former standouts for the Marshall Tigers in Trey Lance and Yahya Black saw their first game action of the 2026 season.
Steelers 28, Packers 9
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Rookie Drew Allar threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another during an impressive debut as the Pittsburgh Steelers surged past the Green Bay Packers 28-9 in the preseason opener on Thursday night.
Allar, a third-round pick from Penn State, was 10 of 13 for 154 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Wetjen and a 4-yard flip to Riley Nowkowski. Allar, who entered the game to calls of “Drewwww!” also sprinted into the end zone for a 3-yard score as the Steelers made coach Mike McCarthy’s debut leading his hometown team a successful one.
The 22-year-old Allar wasn’t the only Pittsburgh quarterback who seemed to have a handle on McCarthy’s offense. Will Howard, a sixth-round pick last year, guided the Steelers to a touchdown while deftly operating the 2-minute offense. Howard was 7 of 9 for 86 yards, including a handful to former Packers tight end Robert Tonyan, who caught four passes for 61 yards.
Green Bay starter Jordan Love was 3 of 5 passing during one series of work while leading the Packers on an opening drive that ended with the first of rookie Trey Smack’s three field goals. Love wasn’t hit during his cameo, a welcome development after he injured his left (non-throwing) hand against the New York Jets during the preseason last year.
Pittsburgh star Aaron Rodgers, who said this week he doesn’t think he needs to play during his 22nd and final training camp, caught up with Love and other Green Bay players and staff and then watched from the sideline with a headset on as his last NFL team faced his first.
The 42-year-old’s roster spot is secure. What happens behind him is anyone’s guess as Howard, Allar and veteran Mason Rudolph compete for a spot on the depth chart that will likely last until rosters are trimmed to 53 on Aug. 30.
Rudolph started and completed 10 of 11 passes for 93 yards and had a lengthy drive of his own end with Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth tackled at the Green Bay 1 on fourth down.
McCarthy stressed the biggest goal of the season was to emerge from it healthy. To that end, many of the club’s bold-faced names joined Rodgers in sweats. Longtime Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward, outside linebacker T.J. Watt, wide receivers DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman and running backs Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle also had the night off.
The game had all the trappings of a preseason opener, including some sloppy play on both sides. Pittsburgh was flagged 11 times for 135 yards while the Packers were penalized nine times for 76 yards.
The Steelers outgained Green Bay 385-160 and collected yardage in huge chunks at times on plays that had receivers running wide open against a vanilla defense more focused on fundamentals than elaborate schemes for a game that didn’t count.
Black recorded one tackle in the win.
Chargers 27, Texans 7
HOUSTON (AP) -- Amar Johnson ran for two touchdowns and had a 55-yard reception to lead the Los Angeles Chargers to a 27-7 win over the Houston Texans on Thursday night in the teams’ preseason opener.
Most of the starters for both teams, including the quarterbacks -- Houston’s C.J. Stroud and Los Angeles’ Justin Herbert -- sat out.
Johnson scored on a 7-yard run that put the Chargers on top 10-7 in the second quarter on a drive led by backup quarterback Trey Lance. Johnson, an undrafted free agent entering his second season, scored again on a 1-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter and ran in the 2-point conversion that pushed the lead to 21-7.
He put the team in scoring position with his 55-yard reception from D.J. Uiagalelei on the previous play.
Davis Mills started for the Texans and threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jared Wayne on the first series, during which he played with the starting offensive line before being replaced by Graham Mertz.
But he was forced back into action to start the second half after Mertz was injured with 2 seconds left in the second quarter. There was no immediate word on the nature of his injury.
Mills finished the game and was 9 of 15 for 82 yards.
Lance, the third overall pick in the 2021 draft, was 12 of 20 for 164 yards with an interception.
Uiagalelei made it 27-7 with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Devonte Ross with about 10 minutes remaining.
Up next
Two more area talents are scheduled open their NFL careers on Saturday, as Marshall's Bryce Lance and Dawson-Boyd's Zach Durfee will make their preseason debuts when the New Orleans Saint host the Jacksonville Jaguars.