Ernest Johnson watched the Steelers leave Acrisure Stadium without a point Friday night, as the Jets won 17-0 in a preseason game built around roster evaluation. Will Howard started at quarterback for the Steelers, and the game quickly became a test of how the staff would weigh his first series, two interceptions before halftime, and the depth chart behind him.
Mike McCarthy said Howard would open the game and Drew Allar would take over in the second half. Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph did not play, and the Steelers were held scoreless for the first time since the second game of the 2016 preseason.
Geno Smith opens 69-yard drive
The Jets set the tone immediately. Geno Smith led a 69-yard opening touchdown drive in 10 plays and 5:56, completed 7 of 7 passes for 65 yards and 1 touchdown, and converted 2 of 2 third downs on the series. Mason Taylor and Garrett Wilson were part of the offense that put the Steelers behind 7-0 before Howard’s first snap had any chance to settle the game.
Howard entered with that margin already on the board, then saw his first offensive series end with a punt. Cameron Johnston punted 6 times for the Steelers, a sign of how often the offense was stuck playing from behind or failing to extend drives long enough to test the Jets' defense.
Steelers evaluation under pressure
The result did not decide anything in the standings, but it still carried weight because the Steelers were sorting 90 players into a 53-man roster. In that setting, a shutout tells the staff more than a close loss would: who handled pressure, who protected the quarterback, and who could sustain a drive when the opponent already had the lead.
Two Steelers possessions before halftime ended with interceptions, and that is where the evaluation tightens. One mistake can be dismissed in preseason; two before halftime force a harder read on decision-making, timing, and how Howard responds when the offense is forced to chase the game instead of settling into it.
Howard and the 53-man roster
David Bailey got away from Broderick Jones for a third-down sack, another snap that fed into the broader roster picture. The Steelers were not only trying to avoid empty possessions; they were also trying to sort out how the quarterback group fits into the 53-man roster with the regular season set to begin on Sunday, Sept. 13 against Atlanta.
For readers tracking the quarterback competition, the game leaves the clearest question on Howard’s handling of the two interceptions and how McCarthy judges that performance against the players who did not take the field. The shutout was the headline, but the roster decision-making behind it is what will shape the next move.
