Will Howard
Will Howard
The Pittsburgh Steelers rode some strong quarterback play to a 28-9 win over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday. Will Howard, who was the second quarterback on the field after Mason Rudolph, was a significant part of that.
Howard didn’t get a ton of time, but he made some impressive plays in his NFL debut. Most of them came late in the second quarter when Howard led the Steelers down the field on an excellent drive to close out the half. However, former Steeler Chris Hoke thinks there’s still some things for Howard to improve on.
“These three quarterbacks were very impressive,” Hoke said on the KDKA Nightly Sports Call. “Will Howard had that nice two-minute drive, [but] I want to see more because you saw the Packers defense, they were playing off, giving a cushion. They were giving those throws [and] his balls were a little high, so I want to see some more from Will Howard.”
It was a big moment for Howard, who hadn’t taken snaps in a live game since his final season at Ohio State. There surely were some nerves for him, and the first drive didn’t go according to plan. He faced a lot of pressure, and the offense quickly went three and out.
With the Steelers racing against time during his next drive, things calmed down a bit. Howard had some big completions, one to Ben Skowronek and three to Robert Tonyan to get down near the goal line before the Steelers were able to punch it in. Howard started the second half but didn’t carry the same momentum and the offense eventually stalled before he was replaced by Drew Allar.
All things considered, it was a solid day for Howard. He threw the least passes of any quarterback, just nine of them. But he completed seven for 86 yards and was inches short of a touchdown pass.
Hoke has some concerns about his passes being a little high. Which is fair. Howard did have a few of them sail, but his receivers were able to bring them down. He also floated this pass over the middle of the field to end his night, which was a bad decision.
Dangerous decision by Howard on 3rd #Steelers pic.twitter.com/LhsYylBNQ9
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) August 14, 2026
It’s only one preseason game, and it’s been a long time since Will Howard took meaningful snaps. But he handled the situation well and earned the support of his head coach in the process. Hoke will be looking for a little more from him when the Steelers take the field again next week.