The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the New York Jets in their second NFL preseason game Friday, Aug. 21 at Acrisure Stadium.
The matchup will be an important next look at young players who shined in their NFL debuts against the Green Bay Packers, from QBs Drew Allar and Will Howard to receivers Germie Bernard and Kaden Wetjen.
Some less heralded names are worth keeping an eye on as well. Here’s your guide for what to watch for as the game kicks off.
New pressure for Howard and Allar?
Coach Mike McCarthy will start Howard in this game after saying this week that he’d seen all he needed to from Mason Rudolph, the veteran quarterback who’s currently No. 2 on the depth chart behind
starter Aaron Rodgers. On paper, that expression of confidence should mean Howard and Allar are competing for one remaining spot on the 53-man roster. Of course, there are caveats to that. McCarthy could be throwing a head fake to drive up Rudolph’s value to a potential trade partner should he elect to keep Howard and Allar behind Rodgers. It’s also possible that the team will try to keep all four players for 2026, with an eye toward competition to replace the retiring Rodgers for 2027. It would be a rare move, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility. Regardless, neither young QB appears to have much room for a stinker, so it will be interesting to see how they respond to this nudge from their coach.
Will the tackles play better?
Starters Dylan Cook and Troy Fautanu each allowed a sack against the Packers. Worse than that, Fautanu was penalized twice on the second drive of the game. The second of the two flags, a holding penalty, took a touchdown off the board for running back Lew Nichols. Broderick Jones, the team’s 2023 first-round pick, did not fare dramatically better in his return from a neck injury that cost him the end of last season and much of the offseason. He allowed a sack and pressure, according to Pro Football Focus data. All this as rookie and 2026 first-round pick Max Iheanachor was sitting out because of a training camp injury. The Steelers need their tackle group to be solid as 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers becomes increasingly immobile behind them. They’ve invested three first-round picks in the group in the past four drafts, so it’s important to see improvement, whether or not Iheanachor plays.
Will the Asante Samuel Jr. hype continue?
Joey Porter Jr. has been out for all of training camp. The stated reason is an injury, but the team’s top corner also has yet to finish a contract extension past 2026. So there may be some hold-in tactics going on there as well. Samuel has received a lot of starting reps in his place, and the reviews from Latrobe have been glowing. He backed that praise up by allowing just one catch for seven yards on four targets against the Packers. On one of the forced incompletions, he batted a ball away for a third-down stop that led to Green Bay’s first field goal. Samuel signed with the team midseason in 2025 after spinal fusion surgery last April. No one knew quite what to expect from the former second-round draft pick and son of former All-Pro corner Asante Samuel Sr. If he keeps this up, however, he could be a legitimate part of the team’s plans moving forward. He signed a one-year, $4 million deal to return in March.
Can the running game build some momentum?
The offense did not get much going on the ground against the Packers, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Steelers backs got 28 carries in the game, but they turned them into a total of just 72 yards of production. That came out to an inefficient average of 2.8 per carry. Nichols had a decent night of 10 carries for 36 yards and a touchdown, but no one else averaged better than 2.3. Granted, the passing game is expected to be a much bigger focus as McCarthy takes over for Mike Tomlin’s regime. Nevertheless, the running game needs to be a credible threat for the passing game to hit top gear. So this is another facet where you’d like to see the offensive line show a little more life for the runners behind them. As a team, the Steelers received a 55.8 run blocking score from Pro Football Focus.
Can Gabriel Rubio continue to surprise people?
The team’s sixth-round pick was active against the Packers. He notched four tackles and three stops, which PFF defines as plays that result in failure for opposing offenses. Only linebacker Jamin Davis had more in the latter category. And he did all of it in just 21 snaps for the evening. Not bad for a player most expect to go undrafted entirely. Rubio was a surprise pick for many late on Day 3 because he did not produce much at Notre Dame. Across five full seasons, he totaled just 27 solo tackles and 1.5 sacks. And in 2025, he had just 13 total tackles. For that reason, many ranking services had him off their Day 3 radar entirely. The Steelers nevertheless used a choice on him that appears to be paying early dividends. McCarthy said he has been “real impressed” with Rubio since pads went on a couple of weeks ago during training camp.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 5 Steelers storylines to watch in NFL preseason matchup with New York Jets
