D’von Booth sits in the shadow of a 17-0 result that gave the Steelers their first preseason shutout since 2016. On Friday night at Acrisure Stadium, the Steelers were blanked by the Jets in their second preseason game of 2026, and the scoreboard turned the night into a roster audit.
Will Howard took the biggest hit. In his first career start, he completed 10 of 15 passes for 74 yards and threw two interceptions, the kind of line that pushes a backup competition into sharper focus fast.
Acrisure Stadium turns cold
The Steelers last suffered a preseason shutout in 2016, when the Philadelphia Eagles beat them 17-0 by the same score. This version came with the added weight of being the second preseason game of 2026, which means the staff is already sorting out who can handle more than exhibition reps.
Elandon Roberts helped limit damage with a tackle at the line of scrimmage and another open-field stop on fourth-and-two. Those are the snaps that keep a defense from unraveling when the offense cannot answer, and they mattered because the Jets kept putting the game in short-field, high-leverage situations.
Howard and the line
Dylan Cook gave up a sack early, and the Steelers offensive line surrendered four sacks in all. With new starters and moving pieces in front of Howard, that is the cleanest explanation for why the night kept tilting toward pressure instead of rhythm.
Roman Wilson did not help the timing picture, drifting downfield instead of flattening routes on plays involving Howard. Johnston, meanwhile, averaged 50.5 yards on six punts, one of the few numbers that came out cleanly for Pittsburgh.
Mason Rudolph waits
Mason Rudolph may have been one of the biggest winners from the game even though he did not take a single snap. Howard’s first start came with two interceptions, the line allowed four sacks, and Max Iheanachor remained sidelined with a neck and shoulder injury after looking like he could have had a serious shot at the starting right tackle job as early as Week 1.
That leaves the Steelers with a straightforward read: Howard still has work to do, the front five is not settled, and the backup picture is not being decided by reputation. D’von Booth remains outside the documented game story, and the names that moved the needle on Friday night were the ones who either protected the pocket or broke it.
