Dwyer, Steelers top Panthers
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Ben Roethlisberger wore a baseball cap. Rashard Mendenhall, Hines Ward and most of the Steelers starters joined him.
Jonathan Dwyer did his best to keep the wins, albeit of a preseason variety, coming. Dwyer busted off a 50-yard touchdown run as part of an 88-yard effort, leading Pittsburgh to a 33-17 victory over Carolina in the preseason finale for both teams.
Charlie Batch completed 6-of-8 passes for 59 yards in a starting role, while Dennis Dixon, who also has experience filling in for Roethlisberger, finished 11-of-22 for 157 yards and a touchdown. Emmanuel Sanders, slated as the slot receiver before injury kept him out nearly the entire preseason, played more than most key contributors, catching four passes for 60 yards.
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Pittsburgh starts the regular season against Baltimore next Sunday in another edition of the AFC North's main rivalry.
Cam Newton played sparingly for the Panthers, finishing 3-of-5 for 25 yards and a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey. Mike Goodson ran for a team- best 31 yards in the loss.
Pittsburgh scored the game's final 13 points to pull away and finish off a 3-1 preseason.