The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense faced fourth down in the two-minute drill as rookie quarterback Drew Allar came to the line. After taking the snap, Allar saw he had a one-on-one matchup downfield, launching a pass to A.T. Perry. The fans in attendance at St. Vincent College on Saturday came to life when a perfectly thrown back-shoulder pass was hauled in for a gain of nearly 40 yards to set the offense up inside the 10 yard-line. The same way they came unglued at the sight of a Will Howard 60-yard
touchdown toss to Kaden Wetjen earlier in the week.
The two young signal-callers knew all eyes were on them this week, and they delivered in what was as impeccable a start to training camp that the pair of Big Ten products – as well as the entire organization – could have asked for.
The Steelers won’t take the practice field on Sunday, as they’ll have a day off ahead of putting the pads on for the first time on Monday. But in this day of reflection, it’s hard to imagine a better start for Pittsburgh in the acclamation period.
On top of Allar and Howard playing a friendly game of “Anything you can do, I can do better,” their four-time MVP quarterback and star wide receiver are completely in sync. Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf have dominated in team drills, connecting on several completions at all levels of the field, highlighted by the Pro Bowl wideout giving rookie Daylen Everette a welcome to the NFL moment by going up and over him for a touchdown grab. Rodgers has also reminded everyone why he is considered by many to have the best pure arm in NFL history, threading the needle on multiple occasions, including a 25-yard strike to Pat Freiermuth in the end zone on Saturday.
It hasn’t just been the offense having all the fun. Cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. has been the best player on the field on either side of the ball, breaking up several passes, two of which came against Metcalf. In the absence of both Joey Porter Jr. and Jalen Ramsey, Samuel has shown he is not just capable of playing a bigger role in the defense, but that he needs to have more reps on Sundays. And while if would be preferable to have both Porter and Ramsey on the field, seeing a potential star make his mark in their collective absence is a nice consolation prize.
Now, this is the part where the perpetual pessimist scowls and practically races to scream something along the lines of, “YOU CAN’T LEARN ANYTHING FROM FOOTBALL IN SHORTS,” with about eight exclamation points to really drive the point home. And sure, we will learn more when the pads are on – especially as it pertains to the offensive and defensive lines. To say there can be nothing taken away from the first week of practices, though, is foolish.
If everything had looked like a jumbled mess, those same pessimists would say the sky is falling. Had Howard and Allar looked lost, Mike McCarthy is a terrible hire and the Steelers may as well just not play the 2026 season. It’s okay to acknowledge when things are going well. And so far for the Steelers, everything is going as close to perfect as they could have asked for.
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