Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger looks for the ball as the snap goes over his head in the first quarter of the preseason football game against the Carolina Panthers in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008.

PITTSBURGH (AP) _ As Carolina's starters left the field following pregame warmups, coach John Fox was waiting with a surprise: They were getting the night off.



It's merely an illusion that, except for Jeff Reed and Rashard Mendenhall, the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense has been resting for a couple of weeks.



Reed kicked his fourth field goal of the game and his eighth in less than a week, a 43-yarder on the last play, and the Steelers beat the Panthers' backups 19-16 on Thursday night in the final exhibition game for both teams.



Carolina, holding out 25 players, didn't do much offensively except for three field goals by John Kasay until No. 3 quarterback Brett Basanez threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Chris Hannon with 1:54 remaining. Fox opted to kick the extra point and try for overtime, something most coaches look to avoid in games that don't count.