When Mike McCarthy announced that both Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph would be sitting for the team's Week 2 preseason contest against the New York Jets, we knew this was going to be a make-or-break game for quarterback Will Howard.
Howard was making his first Steelers start, and the 25-year-old was coming off an impressive debut performance against the Green Bay Packers. With the backup quarterback role supposedly up in the air, Howard's performance against the Jets could have either helped his case or hurt his status with the team.
Unfortunately, Howard could not have performed any worse in his second preseason game.
On Friday night, in his first Steelers start, Howard played the entire first half against the Jets at Acrisure Stadium. But despite his preparations for this moment, the second-year quarterback finished the game earning just 74 yards on 15 pass attempts (4.9 yards per attempt) while throwing for two costly interceptions.
In two quarters of play, Howard failed to lead his team to a scoring drive. In fact, the Steelers were ultimately shut out in a preseason game for the first time in a decade. Now we can be certain that the QB2 race has already been decided.
Will Howard lost his shot at the Steelers' QB2 job with just one bad performance in his first NFL start
Before this contest, most assumed that 31-year-old veteran Mason Rudolph was already in pole position for the QB2 role. Rudolph had close to a decade of experience under his belt, and he was coming off a strong training camp and a quality performance in the preseason opener against the Packers.
So in order for Howard to stay in the QB2 race, he needed a stellar showing. His performance against the Jets was anything but that.
Howard showed inconsistency from play to play, while questionable decision-making plagued his performance. He also struggled under pressure. Instead of stepping up into the pocket, Howard seemed to panic at times.
In a moment with everything on the line, Howard fell flat... and he simply couldn't afford to do that.
It's not that it was all his fault. The Steelers' wide receivers didn't do him any favors, while the offensive line struggled to hold up for more than a few seconds at a time. Still, this shaky performance was likely enough to bury him on the depth chart. Now his job security with the team is hardly a guarantee.
In 30 minutes of action, Howard went from a player looking like he could compete to be a backup quarterback (and perhaps even compete for a starting job in Pittsburgh next season) to a guy who might not even make the final roster. This was a brutal gut punch to the young QB.
We all hope that Howard can rebound in the team's preseason finale on the road against the Buffalo Bills next week. Sadly, it only took one start for Howard to remove his name from contention for the QB2 job in Pittsburgh, and he may never get that shot again.
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