Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Delivers Surprising Will Howard Grade

The Pittsburgh Steelers saw Will Howard throw two interceptions during their 17-0 preseason loss to the New York Jets, creating an easy reason to label his first professional start a failure.

Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger refused to make that mistake. The two-time Super Bowl champion acknowledged that Howard's turnovers were costly, but his evaluation went much deeper than the box score and Pittsburgh's inability to score.

Roethlisberger came away encouraged by Howard's movement, downfield passing and willingness to challenge the middle of the field. After examining the full performance, he believes the young signal-caller showed far more positive traits than the reaction surrounding him suggests. During Roethlisberger's time speaking on his podcast on Tuesday, he constantly defended Howard's showing.

"I know he threw two interceptions, but I'm watching his game, and he moved in the pocket well," Roethlisberger said. "He made a lot of really good throws. What were his numbers? He had three incompletions, 10 of 15 and two picks, so three incompletions."

That mathematical breakdown sounds basic, but it exposes how completely the interceptions have controlled the conversation. Howard completed two-thirds of his attempts, and only three passes hit the ground without being caught by either side. Unfortunately, the two that landed in the Jets' hands ended Pittsburgh possessions near scoring territory.

Those giveaways cannot be dismissed. Protecting the football is among the most important responsibilities for any NFL quarterback, particularly for someone trying to prove he can be trusted behind Aaron Rodgers. Still, evaluating Howard exclusively through those mistakes would overlook several encouraging moments.

Roethlisberger appreciated that Howard was not padding his completion percentage with effortless throws around the line of scrimmage. He attacked deeper areas, navigated pressure and created passing lanes by adjusting his position inside the pocket.

"He threw the ball down the field," Roethlisberger said. "It wasn't like, of his 10 completions, he threw slants, right? He wasn't throwing little out routes, 'Let me throw a little screen.' He threw some big balls down the middle, slid in the pocket and made some plays. I actually liked what I saw from Will, okay?"

That assessment carries weight because Roethlisberger understands how misleading an interception total can become. He played quarterback in Pittsburgh for 18 seasons and experienced afternoons when aggressive decisions produced ugly numbers. His career included games with four interceptions, yet those performances never told the complete story of what happened on every snap.

Roethlisberger also pushed back against the idea that his support is driven by a personal attachment to Howard.

"I know people think I'm just this Will Howard homer, but I hate Ohio State, and I'm going to talk about Drew too," Roethlisberger said. "There were a lot of really good things he did. I know, turnovers, can't do it. I get it. He's going to learn from it. It's going to happen. I have thrown games with four interceptions before. It will happen."

Young passers need room to make errors without every setback becoming a final judgment. Howard must learn when a dangerous look requires him to move through his progression, throw the football away or accept that a promising drive will end without a touchdown. Those decisions separate developmental talent from reliable NFL quarterback play.

Steelers Legend Refuses To Bury Will Howard After Two Mistakes

Roethlisberger ultimately assigned Howard a C-minus because the interceptions were too damaging to ignore. Without those two turnovers, he said the exact same performance would have earned a B. That difference captures both sides of the evaluation better than declaring Howard either excellent or hopeless.

"What I saw as a quarterback, from quarterback to quarterback, was a lot more positives," Roethlisberger said. "I'm not giving this dude an F or a D. I may go C-minus strictly because of the interceptions. Say he went 10 of 15, no interceptions and everything else was the same, that's a B performance. I will not bury this guy because he threw two picks."

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