PITTSBURGH — Drew Allar ducked to avoid the pass rush and loaded up for one final heave. The last-second pass sailed down the field — and through the back of the end zone. The anticlimactic finish was a fitting last gasp to a sobering night at Acrisure Stadium.

The Steelers chose to play only their two young quarterbacks: Will Howard and Drew Allar. It ended with no points on Pittsburgh’s side of the scoreboard, a pair of turnovers and several questions in the quarterback room. If the first preseason game featured flashes of optimism that one of these two quarterbacks could be the Steelers’ future, Friday’s 17-0 loss to the Jets illuminated the reality that they’ll both need considerable development if either is going to be the long-term answer.

“We have to continue to make strides, and we didn’t really make any strides tonight,” Howard said. “I always go back to that quote: You’re either taking a step forward or you’re taking a step back. We definitely did not take a step forward tonight.”

In his first NFL start of any kind, Howard threw a pair of interceptions that largely overshadowed the positives. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 74 yards, took a sack and produced a QB rating of 38.6. Allar was responsible for one big highlight, rolling to his left and bombing it deep. However, repeated penalties, spotty pass protection and dropped passes often left the rookie behind the chains. Allar went three-and-out on three of his seven series, took three sacks and finished with a QB rating of 61.9.

Presented with a prime opportunity to shake up the depth chart, Howard and Allar settled only one thing: Mason Rudolph has to be Aaron Rodgers’ backup. Now in his ninth season, he has the experience and has been clearly ahead of both young quarterbacks throughout camp. Mike McCarthy acknowledged as much this week when the coach said he “saw everything he needed to see” from Rudolph in the preseason opener.

As for what happens behind Rodgers and Rudolph? That’s where the Steelers may need to consider some tough decisions.

Top Plays from Jets @ Steelers

Howard started and went three-and-out on his first series. It wasn’t all bad. He led a pair of double-digit play drives. On individual plays, there were things to like. The second-year pro stepped up in the pocket nicely and found Ben Skowronek over the middle on a drive that took the Steelers into the red zone. Later, he layered a pass over a defender to tight end Robert Tonyan, showing nice touch.

However, his two most promising drives ended in disappointment. On the first, the Jets were in man coverage near the red zone with one-high safety. The Steelers ran a mesh concept — with crossing patterns from either direction across the middle of the field. This created natural picks and an opportunity for receivers to run away from DBs. The DB covering Roman Wilson peeled off, leaving him momentarily open. The problem was the safety, Andre Cisco, was staring it down and jumped the route. While Wilson drifted a bit and could have run his route flatter, Howard didn’t look off or anticipate the safety.

“It’s just one mistake leads to two,” McCarthy said. “It happened on both plays.”

On the second interception, Howard again was looking for Wilson. And again, Wilson could have run a flatter route. Still, the arc of Howard’s ball was flat and the placement was behind the receiver, giving defensive back Samuel Womack III a chance to undercut it.

“One of the first things we talk about is protecting the football,” Howard said. “Just gotta be better and learn from it.”

Allar, meanwhile, showed his arm strength and mobility on his highlight. He escaped the pocket to his left, bought himself time and bombed the ball to tight end Lake McRee for a 38-yard gain. However, too many of Allar’s drives went the wrong direction because of things both in and out of his control. He faced:

• Third-and-11, pushed back by a holding penalty on first down
• Third-and-8
• Third-and-17, set back by a second-down sack
• Third-and-10, after a false start on first down
• Third-and-13, due to a first-down sack
• Third-and-10, on a drive that started with a drop

“I felt like I passed up a couple opportunities early in drives that set us back with an incompletion or a sack,” Allar said. “If I just take what’s there, even if it’s catch-tackle, we’re not in backed-up situations.”

Let’s acknowledge that both players’ careers are in their infancy. While everyone wants to know if the Steelers have the future of their franchise on their roster, Allar has thrown 36 preseason passes. Howard has thrown 24. Neither has attempted one in the regular season. They are the developmental quarterbacks. It’s going to take time, and plenty of growing pains, for either to reach their potential.

It’s way too early to make bold predictions or sweeping generalizations about where either quarterback’s career will end up. What the Steelers have to ask themselves is whether they can afford to keep two quarterbacks of this type on their 53-man roster.

More observations

• We’ve been waiting for Wilson to make some plays in a stadium to support what’s been happening at training camp. The wait continues. Targeted five times, he caught two passes for 16 yards. If his route details aren’t on point, Rodgers isn’t going to trust him. His camp has been excellent. His production in games has underwhelmed.

• Rayshawn Jenkins appears to be solidifying his spot on the depth chart as the third safety behind DeShon Elliott and Jaquan Brisker. He registered a tackle for loss early and also burst into the backfield for what would have been a sack had it not been for intentional grounding. Speaking of safety play, Elliott was back from injury and made his presence felt by ripping the ball loose. The only bad news: Jenkins made his play as a box safety, the area where Elliott and Brisker (who sat out with injury) fit best. It’s not that Elliott can’t play in the post; it’s just that playing him deep takes away his top-level run-stuffing and blitzing ability.

• After a quiet training camp, rookie returner Kaden Wetjen was a stock-up player in preseason Game 1. However, he had a couple of tough moments on Friday. He fumbled one punt and bobbled another. The Steelers were aggressive in using a fourth-round pick on a return man. Ball security is his first job responsibility.

• Defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio continues to exceed expectations. The 6-5, 321-pound sixth-round pick can play and is making a strong push for the 53-man roster.

• Elandon Roberts still has it. He looked like a grizzled vet in the second half against a bunch of Jets trying to make the team. On his first series, the bruising linebacker delivered a truck-stick tackle, blew up a play at the line of scrimmage and then tackled the running back in the flat on fourth down to force a turnover on downs. The next series, he made a third-down tackle to again get the defense off the field. He should be on the 53-man roster. Time will tell if he can challenge for the starting spot in the base defense.

• The offensive line has questions on many different levels. Right tackle Dylan Cook has been below the line for the most part, but Broderick Jones has been worse. The 2023 first-round pick was beaten wide for one sack and lost on a spin move for a second sack. Rookie Max Iheanachor missed another game with his ongoing injury.