The Pittsburgh Steelers just got absolutely clobbered by the New York Jets, suffering a brutal 17-0 shutout loss on Friday, and let me tell you, backup QB Will Howard’s stat line is already causing some serious chatter. Look, we all know Aaron Rodgers is the guy, the MVP-winning starter for the Steelers this season, no doubt. But you always need a reliable backup, someone who can step in and keep things rolling if the unthinkable happens. Howard’s performance? It was far from ideal. He completed just 10 of 15 passes for 74 yards, but man, those two awful interceptions absolutely gutted them, stopping drives that seriously looked like they had real potential to put points on the board. Oof.
Howard Takes the Blame After a Rough Outing
You gotta give Howard credit for this, though: he’s holding himself fully accountable. After a game where the Steelers looked pretty rough, head coach Mike McCarthy tried to put a positive spin on it, telling reporters that Pittsburgh actually took a “step forward” despite the “brutal loss.” Seriously? A 17-0 shutout is a “step forward?” But Howard wasn’t buying that rose-tinted view, not one bit. He immediately, and I mean immediately, took responsibility for the performance. He knows what’s up.
ESPN reporter Brooke Pryor dropped the goods on X, sharing exactly what Howard said after the game, and he didn’t sugarcoat anything. “We can’t let this trip us up going forward. We have to continue to make strides. And we didn’t really make any strides tonight,” he declared. That’s a stark, refreshing contrast to his coach’s assessment, showing Howard has a clear, honest view of where they stand. He was crystal clear: his “performance wasn’t up to par.” You hear that, Pittsburgh? Your backup knows the score.
The “Little Details” That Sank Promising Drives
Howard got real about what exactly went wrong out there, pointing directly to “just the little details” as the reason for the team’s struggles. You could feel his frustration, man, when he said, “It’s a shame because those were both good drives.” Seriously, imagine the momentum just vanishing into thin air, when you’re moving the ball so well and then BAM, an untimely pick kills everything. He genuinely felt like they were making progress, emphasizing, “I felt like we were moving the ball really well.”
But let’s be real, when you’re talking NFL football, especially in August, protecting the football is the absolute golden rule. Howard made sure to hammer that home, too. “One of the first things we talk about is protecting the football. Got to be better and learn from it,” he added. Coach McCarthy, to his credit, echoed that sentiment, highlighting a noticeable drop in execution from their first preseason game. “If I’m looking for one clean way to explain the production of going down from eight days ago to today, the details and the execution wasn’t as high.” Yeah, it was a brutal showing, plain and simple, from top to bottom.
So, yeah, that was a tough one to watch, no doubt about it. But here’s the crucial part: Howard knows he has to improve, and even better, he seems to know exactly *how* to do it. That’s literally half the battle right there, isn’t it? They gotta clean this mess up fast, truly learn from those critical details, and get locked in for the next challenge. Protecting that football, man, it’s everything for any backup QB looking to secure his spot and prove his worth when Rodgers isn’t leading the charge. They need to turn this entire situation around, and they need to do it pronto.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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