Steelers' Will Howard Showed 1 Important Development Despite Rough Preseason Start

The Pittsburgh Steelers' 17-0 home loss in their second preseason game of the year has been receiving a lot of reaction. There was not much good that came of the contest, as the team failed to find the end zone. Head Coach Mike McCarthy and his staff have plenty of things to clean up for the entire collective as the NFL regular season continues to get closer. Both young quarterbacks in Will Howard and Drew Allar had a rough go of it despite having great first preseason performances. However, there was one encouraging aspect in the matchup that should not be overlooked from the loss.

The one thing that absolutely is going to happen when you have projects at the quarterback position with young guys is that they will go through growing pains. The narrative Friday night in the shutout loss was exactly that. Neither of them played as well as they showed in the first preseason outing, but it was not all bad from them.

On an episode of Locked on Steelers following the game, Christopher Carter discussed his thoughts on the good and the bad from it. The one thing that he did elude to was how Howard was able to read the New York Jets. Despite a brutal game in which he threw two interceptions, this development in his game is encouraging. 

“Listen, again, I’m not discouraged from Will Howard as far as a developmental project,” Carter said. “Because one thing I did like about what Will Howard did was the structural things. Because one thing he did was he was able to identify the New York Jets. They were sending some blitzes here and there and they weren't super exotic, but he was able to call out the blitzes, pick them up.”

Both young quarterbacks will get one final look in the last preseason game of 2026 against the Buffalo Bills. One important thing for the growth and development of both is to quickly turn the page and improve on things that did not go their way on Friday night. 

Carter wasn't the only one to pick up on this development coming from Howard. Offensive Coordinator Brian Angelichio also was extremely impressed with this aspect of the evening.

For Howard, the ability to read defenses is something that you like to see from a second year player that missed their entire rookie season due to injury. Despite the two turnovers, being able to read blitzes is key in a quarterback so there was some good that came with the bad.

Steelers Have To Show Patience As Young Quarterbacks Grow

One big issue within the organization has been the Black and Gold's inability to find a long-term franchise quarterback since the legendary Ben Roethlisberger retired. The good news for both young quarterbacks is that on Friday night, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the organization plans to keep both of them. 

With that in mind, Howard especially needs to put the Friday night performance behind him and continue to grow while also using this ability to read defenses to his advantage. The report from Dulac comes as great news, especially given how much work was needed for both young quarterbacks. The two will have 2026 to sit behind veteran starter Aaron Rodgers as he plays his final NFL season. 

That kind of experience can help pay dividends for the growth and development of a player looking to take over a storied franchise like Pittsburgh. Howard has shown his ability to win in the past given the way he led the Ohio State Buckeyes to a National Championship in his final collegiate season.

The former Buckeye will get his final chance to show this new coaching staff what he can do against Buffalo before Rodgers takes the reins. If he is able to continue to pick up blitzes from defenses, that will help his chances heading into the 2027 season as the Black and Gold need to find its next franchise quarterback. While Friday came with a lot of bad, there were some positives that should not go unnoticed.

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