Steelers get shut out by Jets in second preseason game

Pittsburgh will wrap up the preseason on the road against the Buffalo Bills.

PITTSBURGH —

Coming off an impressive win in their preseason opener, the Pittsburgh Steelers were held scoreless by the New York Jets in a 17-0 loss Friday night at Acrisure Stadium.

Will Howard started and played the first half for Pittsburgh. The second-year quarterback from Ohio State was 10-of-15 for just 74 yards, with two interceptions.

“It’s a shame because those were both good drives and I felt like we were moving the ball really well. One of the first things we talk about is protecting the football. Got to be better and learn from it,” Howard said about the turnovers.

His most impressive moment came on a 15-yard third-down connection with Ben Skowronek in which he stepped up in the pocket to avoid pressure before finding Skowronek over the middle.

“We can’t let this trip us up going forward,” Howard said. “We have to continue to make strides. And we didn’t really make any strides tonight.”

Rookie Drew Allar took over for Howard in the second half. The third-round pick from Penn State was 11-of-23 for 110 yards and was sacked three times. His best moment came on a 39-yard connection with Lake McCree in which Allar went through his progressions before floating the ball to an open McCree down the sideline.

“I needed to do a better job, especially early in drives, taking what’s given,” Allar said. “I passed up a couple of opportunities that either set us back with an incompletion or a sack. If I just take what’s there, even if it’s catch, tackle, we’re not in backed-up situations.”

As the passing game struggled, Pittsburgh couldn’t get much going on the ground either. Kaleb Johnson led the Steelers in rushing with 39 yards on 10 carries.

The Jets scored an early touchdown with Jets quarterback Geno Smith hitting Jelani Woods on a 13-yard scoring pass in the first quarter. New York added a fourth-quarter field goal and a late TD on a 31-yard pass from Brady Cook to Quincy Skinner Jr.

The Steelers will wrap up the preseason Thursday night on the road against the Buffalo Bills.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.