RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - AUGUST 13: Drew Allar #16 of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks to pass during the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium on August 13, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After eight long months filled with major changes and shake ups, the Pittsburgh Steelers took the field for the first time of 2026 in what would end up being a 28-9 win over the Green Bay packers
The overarching story of the game for Pittsburgh, of course, was how their trio of quarterbacks would look in the first game action of the season. And while all three played well, it was rookie Drew Allar who stole the show when the dust settled.
On his first drive in the third quarter, Allar threw a strike to Kaden Wetjen on an in-breaker that saw the two-time Jet Award winner race 75 yards to the brink of the end zone. Two plays later. Mike McCarthy dialed up a read option and Allar took it in for a three-yard touchdown to put the Steelers on top 14-9.
The Packers’ ensuing drive totaled just nine yards on five plays, as safety Israel Mukuamu broke into the backfield for a sack. And after a quick first drive, Allar then led a 10-play, 89-yard march that saw him go 7-of-8 and finish off the drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Wetjen to extend the Steelers’ lead to 21-9.
Allar wasn’t done, though. Late in the fourth quarter, the Steelers’ rookie put together another long drive, going 60 yards on 10 plays with Allar tossing a touchdown to fellow rookie and Big Ten product, Riley Nowakowski for the game’s final touchdown.
Overall, Allar finished his night going 9-of-14 for 154 yards, two touchdown passes and an additional score on the ground to put a bow on a fantastic debut.
While the biggest talking point from Week 1 of the preseason will be the play of Allar, he wasn’t the only quarterback who had a nice night. With Aaron Rodgers not partaking in the preseason opener, it was Mason Rudolph who was the first signal-caller under center, and he looked superb. After Pittsburgh went three-and-out on its first drive, Rudolph led a 16-play, 84-yard drive that featured completions of 13, 19, and 25 yards. It looked as if the long drive would be capped with a Lew Nichols touchdown, but a Troy Fautanu holding call negated the score. The Steelers were held out of the end zone after a Rudolph connection to Bernard was ruled out of bounds and the ensuing completion to Pat Freiermuth came up short of the goal line. And while the drive stalled out, Rudolph finished the night going 10-of-11 for 95 yards to give himself a very strong start to the exhibition slate.
Several Steelers defenders made their presence known in between the first two offensive drives for Pittsburgh, as well. Asante Samuel Jr continued his dominance from training camp and forced two incompletions, one of which was a PBU on Jayden Reed. Doneiko Slaughter ran with the first-team at nickel and made a terrific play to force a fourth down, powering through a block by Christian Watson on a screen to tackle Marshawn Lloyd. Robert Spears-Jennings had a tackle for loss on the Packers’ third offensive drive, and Devan Boyki made a terrific series of plays, as well. He had a tackle for a two-yard loss to begin Green Bay’s fourth defensive drive, and then perfectly read a Kyle McCord pass and got his hands on it, nearly picking it off. Former first-round pick Jamin Davis also picked up a sack, and would add another later on in the night.
The Acrisure Stadium crowd let out a collective roar as Will Howard entered the game for the first time as a member of the Steelers, though his first drive didn’t go as planned. The Steelers went three-and-out, which was capped off by a rough rep for Broderick Jones, allowing pressure to come off the left side, leading to a Howard scramble for a short gain.
And while Howard’s first drive fizzled out quickly, he put together a masterful two-minute drill to close out the half. On fourth-and-inches, he hit Ben Skowronek for a first down, followed by a pair of big gains to Robert Tonyan to move the chains. Howard and Tonyan hooked up for a third time on the drive down the seam for what was originally ruled a touchdown, but overturned and ruled short. Howard sidestepped an interior rusher, stepped up, and fired a beautiful pass to the big tight end to set the Steelers up at the goal line. Lew Nichols ran the ball in on the next play to give the Steelers a 7-3 lead before Green Bay answered with a quick drive of their own and 57-yard Smack field goal to make it 7-6 at the half. Howard had one more drive that went six plays and ended with a punt. He finished the night going a very solid 7-of-9 for 86 yards.
There are certainly things that need cleaned up, most notably the 11 penalties an 143 penalty yards. Those are things you’d rather have to clean up in August, though, rather than September. Regardless of the result, the biggest talking point was always going to be centered around the quarterback position, and Pittsburgh’s trio had a hat trick of quality performances. It makes the job of McCarthy and his staff harder to narrow down who the three quarterbacks will be (or if they decide to keep four), but it’s a problem you can bet they are okay with having.
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