Some say that maintaining balance and not getting too high or low is key to having a healthy outlook on life. And perhaps in no other area is it more applicable than in preseason football. The Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans are putting that mentality to the test for two weeks. The relative jubilation over the near-perfect debut of their two young quarterbacks during a 28-9 victory against the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 13 was followed eight days later by a shutout loss to the New York Jets on Friday. Will Howard and Drew Allar aren’t as good as their combined 142.1 passer rating in the previous outing suggests, and they’re not as bad as the 46.4 aggregate rating they posted in the encore. The same goes for the rest of the team. Here are some individuals and units that had especially positive or negative performances in Friday’s 17-0 loss: SUPPLY Mason Rudolph In his absence, Rudolph arguably had the best night of any Steelers player looking to secure a spot on the season-opening active roster. The Steelers were always going to make a mistake by keeping Rudolph as their No. 2 quarterback. His nine years in the NFL give the coaching staff comfort that they could step in if something were to happen to 42-year-old starter Aaron Rodgers, as attested to by Rudolph’s 8-5-1 career record for the Steelers. But there was always the looming possibility, however remote, that the Steelers’ two young quarterbacks would shine enough that the Steelers would be forced to move on from Rudolph. That Howard and Allar combined to play a complete game in which the Steelers were scored zero points couldn’t do more than shake Mike McCarthy & Co. back into the security blanket that is Rudolph, if they ever considered parting ways, that is. Dynamic Debuts The 2024 Steelers were partly anchored in the middle of their defense by Elandon Roberts and DeShon Elliott. After those two, for different reasons, combined to play just five games for the 2025 Steelers, neither of them, again for different reasons, were part of a full 2026 training camp practice until this week. However, on Friday everyone had the joy of playing a game for the Steelers for the first time after a long wait. And each one had an impact. Finally fully recovered after knee surgery last fall, Elliott was cleared for full practice on Sunday and started and played one quarter on Friday. The safety had a forced fumble and four total tackles with three solo tackles. The only player on either team on Friday with more overall or solo tackles was Roberts, who had four solo and five total despite not entering the game until the third quarter. Roberts, 32, signed with the Steelers on Aug. 13 after spending last season with the Las Vegas Raiders. Roberts made the stop on his first play of the preseason. Three plays later, he made the tackle on a Jets fourth-down attempt. He had four tackles on his first eight defensive snaps from scrimmage. Second-team defense Although New York scored touchdowns on its first and last offensive possession of the game, over the intervening nine drives, the Jets managed a total of just five first downs and 143 yards. The “second team” designation is vague. The lines are blurred between who is part of which first-, second-, or third-team unit at any point during camp, but in this case it’s a given that the “starting” defensive group was on the field for the Jets’ first two drives. On the other hand, with Cam Heyward. TJ Watt, Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr., Jaquan Brisker and Brandin Echols didn’t play, Friday’s “first” unit was half of the “second” team anyway. The so-called “third teams” also got into action before the Jets’ final score. However you define it, though, overall the Steelers defense did some good things on Friday; at least, they did after allowing Geno Smith and the Jets’ starting offense to march down the field and score after taking the opening kickoff. STOCK DOWN Offensive Line For the second straight game, the Steelers’ linemen failed to impress in either creating holes for running backs or protecting the team’s quarterbacks. The raw numbers weren’t great: The Jets had four sacks and five QB hits, and the Steelers averaged 3.8 yards per rushing attempt with no carries of 8 or more yards. Only one rushing attempt gained as much as 7 yards. The eye exam could have been worse. It seemed as if the Jets’ offensive tackles and defensive tackles set up shop too often in the Steelers’ backfield. Tackles Broderick Jones and Dylan Cook looked particularly victimized. There has to be some level of concern about the offensive line being shaky in both preseason games. Kaden Wetjen Wetjen had a 74-yard reception and a touchdown in his pro debut during last week’s preseason game. But McCarthy repeatedly – at least publicly – was unimpressed. Wetjen was drafted primarily not for his play as a wide receiver but to be an elite returner. And 10 return yards on two punts and none of the three kickoff returns gaining more than 25 yards (Wetjen’s numbers against Green Bay) won’t be enough to be a fourth-round pick who is a return specialist. On Friday, the gross numbers improved… slightly. A 15-yard punt return gave him a 7.3 average on four of those attempts. (Although his only kickoff return went for 22 yards.) But what trumps it all is that Wetjen fumbled a punt return in the first quarter. The Steelers retained possession, and it was an unorthodox play and a nifty fumble by the Jets’ Jeremy Ruckert, but that doesn’t change the reality that nothing breaks coaches’ trust more than a lack of ball security. Laith Marjan The impotent offense deprived Marjan, an undrafted rookie kicker, of opportunities to kick in what might have been the only full-game audition of his life for an NFL gig. And the only opportunity Marjan had she missed. Marjan’s 44-yard field goal attempt midway through the third quarter went wide left. Signed after the draft out of Kansas, Marjan was never going to beat out Chris Boswell to be the Steelers’ kicker this season. But he might have recorded something notable for when some team, maybe even the Steelers, at some point in the future, needs a kicker.
