The Pittsburgh Steelers were shut out 17-0 by the New York Jets on Friday night at Acrisure Stadium, a flat result that turned Will Howard’s first career start into the loudest story of the night. Howard finished 10 of 15 for 74 yards and two interceptions, and both were easy snags for the defense.
The score mattered because it marked the first time the Steelers had been blanked in a preseason game since 2016, when they fell 17-0 to the Philadelphia Eagles by the same margin. That kind of result is rare enough to hang over a roster conversation, and it lands harder in the second preseason game of the 2026 season, when coaches are supposed to be sharpening roles rather than opening new questions.
Howard never found a rhythm. He drifted into safe throws, and when he tried to push the ball, the Jets were waiting. Roman Wilson, meanwhile, was often drifting downfield on those interception plays, a sign of how quickly a route can become a problem when the timing breaks down. That left Howard not just facing a bad stat line, but carrying the look of a quarterback who did not control the script of the offense.
The Steelers got better work elsewhere. Elandon Roberts stopped a run at the line of scrimmage and later made an open-field tackle on fourth-and-two to prevent a New York first down. Jenkins also logged a tackle for loss early. Johnston averaged 50.5 yards on six punts, giving the team one of its steadier performances. But the offense could not match that effort, and the line gave up four sacks, including one on Dylan Cook early in the game.
That is where the night starts to tilt beyond one poor quarterback line. Broderick Jones could not repeat his Week 1 preseason showing, Max Iheanachor remained sidelined with a neck/shoulder injury, and the absence of a clean pocket made the whole offense look brittle. Mason Rudolph did not take a single snap, yet he may have been one of the biggest winners anyway, because a quiet night from the veteran backup can look like stability when the other options are taking hits and turning the ball over.
The Steelers still have time to sort it out, but Friday’s shutout sharpened the backup quarterback race and exposed how much work remains up front. Howard’s first start did not close the door on him, but it did make the next evaluation harder to avoid.
