Pittsburgh Steelers fans waited more than a year to see Will Howard take an NFL snap. Howard, who will be 25 next month, spent his rookie season nursing a fractured thumb.
Howard finally made that debut against the Green Bay Packers on the same night as rookie Drew Allar. Allar supplied the flash with three total touchdowns, while Howard’s night was quieter and plenty encouraging.
Howard completed 7 of 9 passes for 86 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, took one sack, and added two yards on one carry. He didn't make any "wow" throws or lead multiple scoring drives, but he finally got his feet wet in the NFL. Ironically, it was a negative play that really got him into a rhythm.
Will Howard’s first NFL hit helped settle his Pittsburgh Steelers debut
Howard’s welcome-to-the-NFL moment arrived when Green Bay brought the Will linebacker, both A-gap threats and a nickel off the edge. With the protection lost, Howard scrambled toward the sideline and absorbed a hit quarterbacks generally prefer to avoid.
“Getting tackled again and being in a football setting again, it just felt more real,” Howard said in his first postgame presser as a Steeler. “I always have said [after] the first hit, then you settle down. It was good.”
Only a quarterback could describe a free rusher and a sideline tackle as "good." Howard also owned his part in the protection bust, saying he needed to get the offense into a better answer, a preseason correction the coaching staff can take back to the meeting room.
Howard responded by looking composed in the two-minute drill. He directed an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive before halftime, moving the offense without forcing a throw and setting up Lew Nichols’ 1-yard score.
“Grateful is the only word that I can think of,” Howard said. “It hurts not being able to go out there and do what you love.”
Allar will steal the headlines, but it was clear the missed rookie season changed Howard, and he didn't waste his debut. Mason Rudolph remains a large part of the Aaron Rodgers-backup race, but the second-year player now has an 80-yard touchdown drive on his preseason tape.
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