The New York Jets are on the board with an exhibition win in 2026.
The Jets won their second preseason contest of the summer in a 17-0 fashion on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday.
Despite not counting for much in the end, the Jets will be happy with their efforts in Pittsburgh. Not only did head coach Aaron Glenn's team pitch a shutout, a full-team effort, quarterback Geno Smith made his debut.
With that, here are Jets Wire's five takeaways from Week 2 of the preseason:
Geno's debut
No. 1 quarterback Geno Smith was a surprise, late scratch in Week 1 of the preseason against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He made his 2026 Jets debut against the Steelers in perfect fashion.
Smith and the Jets took the opening kickoff the length of the field and scored
to take a 7-0 lead. On the drive, Smith was a perfect 7-for-7 passing and eventually found tight end Jelani Woods on a 13-yard pass for the score.
New York will hope that's a sign of good things to come:
Geno Smith goes 7/7, 65 yards and a TD on the opening drive.#Jets lead the #Steelers 7-0. pic.twitter.com/ZoK4hrOFjW
— Badlands (@BadlandsTOJ) August 21, 2026
Multiple interceptions (seriously)
Speaking of a good sign... interceptions for the Jets? Better yet, make it double.
The Jets had two first-half picks in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers did not play any starters on offense, so the picks came against the likes of third-string quarterback Will Howard. But with the way the past year has gone for the Jets in this category? You take it.
Safety Andre Cisco and UDFA rookie Sam Womack had the other. Both can be found below:
OUR BALL
— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 21, 2026
📺: #NYJvsPIT on @NFLonCBS, @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/QieWSkBBxl
anotha one
— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 22, 2026
📺: #NYJvsPIT on @NFLonCBS, @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/xyK3izLvqL
Bailey's leaves first mark
David Bailey, the Jets' first draft pick in 2026, kept the "firsts" coming for the Jets in Pittsburgh. New York's top rookie recorded his first preseason sack. Bailey has played well throughout the entire summer, but he just did not manage a sack in his team's preseason opener last week.
Bailey notched that first sack, alongside two QB pressures, on 12 snaps played.
first of many for the No. 2 pick
— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 21, 2026
📺: #NYJvsPIT on @NFLonCBS, @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/P6yF0fjJZ5
Klubnik's go
While Smith will be the talk of this day for the Jets, let's check in on fourth-round rookie QB Cade Klubnik's effort.
Klubnik started against the Buccaneers and played well and followed that up with another decent effort in Pittsburgh.
Klubnik was 10-for-14 pass with 75 yards. He did not lead a scoring drive. Even so, Klubnik looks poised to be the Jets' second-string quarterback as he managed to move the ball a bit despite awful offensive line play in front of him. Klubnik needs some time to sharpen his game, but he looks the part as QB2 over Bailey Zappe.
Brady Cook had a 31-yard touchdown pass in garbage time to extend the lead to 17-0.
Another unknown steps up
Last week was the "Mory Bamba game" with his efforts as a UDFA rookie cornerback against the Bucs.
This Steelers matchup will be remembered as the "Nate Lynn game."
A former UDFA in 2024 himself, Lynn only signed in New York on Tuesday. The defensive lineman helped set the tone for the Jets defense in this one as he had two sacks despite only being on the roster a mere few days:
Last week it was Mo Bamba.
— Glenn Naughton (@JNRadio_Glenn) August 22, 2026
This week it's Nate Lynn.
The little-known defender who was added just days ago just picked up his second sack of the day.
Also looks like a Mazi Smith sighting as he gets in on the action. pic.twitter.com/BBdNU0DGaZ
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: 5 takeaways from the Jets' 17-0 preseason win vs. the Steelers
