Will Howard's first preseason start gave Pittsburgh Steelers fans confident throws, two long drives, and two interceptions that erased nearly everything good. The box score looked ugly, but the possessions left more room for discussion. Head coach Mike McCarthy viewed both picks as messy, multi-player execution mistakes that shouldn't be pinned solely on Howard.
Howard finished 10-of-15 for 74 yards in Friday's 17-0 loss to the New York Jets, with both picks targeting Roman Wilson on third down. Each turnover ended a drive in Jets territory, allowing two costly breakdowns to overshadow the progress Howard made between them.
The 24-year-old didn't take a snap as a rookie after breaking his throwing hand during training camp and missing the entire season. With so little NFL tape available, Pittsburgh must decide how much those interceptions should affect Howard's place in the quarterback room before the Aug. 30 cutdown deadline.
Mike McCarthy explains Will Howard's Pittsburgh Steelers interceptions
McCarthy pushed back when TribLive's Tim Benz asked whether Wilson ran the correct route on each pick. "There's always plays that are cleaner than others, and those two plays were not clean," McCarthy said.
Draw your own conclusions from this answer. But my take is Roman Wilson screwed up on both those Will Howard interceptions. Based on how Mike McCarthy sounds here. pic.twitter.com/JB6TaPi2EP
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) August 22, 2026
McCarthy's answer didn't absolve Howard. Both throws became turnovers, and a quarterback competing for a roster spot owns his decisions. The coach also wasn't dumping two busted snaps entirely on Howard. A small disconnect between the receiver's route and the quarterback's timing can wreck an otherwise productive drive.
"Well, it's just one mistake leads to two, and it happened on both plays," McCarthy said. He saw a chain of execution errors on both turnovers, even if he declined to pin it on Wilson. It explains why McCarthy's review sounded gentler than Howard's 38.6 passer rating.
Howard showed he could recover from trouble in the opener, something McCarthy noted. His second interception against New York came on the next possession, though, leaving Howard with work to do on limiting consecutive mistakes.
McCarthy sounded more annoyed by what the interceptions erased than what they caused. He called the longer possession "a hell of a drive" and said a different finish would leave everyone feeling better about Howard's performance. Moving the offense gave McCarthy something positive to review, even if the two interceptions left Howard without points to show for it.
Howard gets another shot Thursday against the Buffalo Bills. McCarthy has said Howard and rookie Drew Allar will handle the remaining preseason work, leaving Howard with a final opportunity to turn sustained drives into points.
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