Steelers Preseason Week 1 Winners and Losers: Quarterbacks steal the show despite sloppy execution and penalty issues vs. Packers
The Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the Green Bay Packers in their preseason opener, with all three quarterbacks putting on a show, including the two young guns. But it wasn’t all good in Pittsburgh. Here is your full list of winners and losers.
The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up their first preseason game Thursday night, and there was plenty to unpack from the exhibition opener. From breakout performances by rookies to discipline issues that plagued the first half, the Steelers provided a mixed bag that deserves a closer look. Here are the winners and losers from Week 1 of Pittsburgh’s preseason slate.
Steelers 2026 preseason schedule
All start times 7:oo pm EST.
- Week 1 vs. Green Bay Packers (Thursday, August 13).
- Week 2 vs. New York Jets (Friday, August 21).
- Week 3 at Buffalo Bills (Thursday, August 27).
Winners
WR Germie Bernard
Germie Bernard looked exactly like he did at the University of Alabama. He was running people over, making plays with the ball in his hands. You get him the football, you watch him go to work, and he’s going to get first downs. That’s what he does. Bernard’s physicality and after-the-catch ability jumped off the screen, and if he keeps this up, his roster spot should be secure well before final cuts.
CB Asante Samuel Jr.
Samuel continued his hot start to training camp and carried it over to the preseason. He had a phenomenal showing early in the game with multiple pass breakups all over the field. Pittsburgh brought Samuel in to bolster its secondary, and through training camp and now his first preseason action, he’s done nothing but validate that decision.
QB Will Howard
After Mason Rudolph handled the early reps (and played well, for what it’s worth), Howard made his preseason debut and looked poised and confident. He continues to attack tight ends up the seam and delivered a strong throw on a bender route to Robert Tynion, who also earned a spot on the winners list for his performance Thursday night.
QB Drew Allar and WR Kaden Wetjen
The fourth quarter belonged to Drew Allar and Kaden Wetjen. Allar came in and led back-to-back touchdown drives. The fireworks started with a 75-yard bomb to Wetjen, who was tackled just short of the goal line before Allar ran it in himself on the next play. On the following drive, Allar brought the offense back down the field, rolled out to his left, threw off-platform and off-balance, and found a receiver in the end zone for a touchdown.
By far, that was the best set of football we have seen from Allar as a Steeler, whether in person at Latrobe, on clips, or anywhere else. Thursday night was a significant step for the rookie quarterback’s development.
Now the question becomes, who is the odd man out? It’s starting to become more and more likely that the Steelers carry four quarterbacks on their roster, especially if all three backups play the way they did on Thursday. Whether it’s cutting one of them, or someone else, the Steelers will have a tough decision to make.
Losers
OT Troy Fautanu
Fautanu is transitioning back to left tackle, the position he played at the University of Washington, and he struggled on those first couple of drives. He committed a false start, drew a holding penalty, and gave up a sack. I’m going to chalk it up to first-game jitters and the process of relearning a position he hasn’t played in a while. I’m not going to overreact to one preseason game, but it wasn’t the debut Pittsburgh was hoping for.
Team discipline
The Steelers had nearly 100 yards in penalties in the first half alone. I understand it’s preseason and the starters aren’t out there for extended stretches, but you have to be better. You have to be more buttoned up than that, especially for a Steelers team that is going to live and die on the margins. The special teams unit alone committed six penalties, which is way too many. Coach Mike McCarthy had talked about the team being sloppy and disorganized, and that carried over onto the field Thursday night. The offensive execution was poor early on and picked up in the second half, but the miscommunication and undisciplined play simply were not good enough.
RB Kaleb Johnson
The bottom line is I don’t know what the story is with Kaleb Johnson. We saw him running borderline with the ones at specific times during training camp, but on Thursday, Lew Nichols, Travis Homer, and Eli Heidenreich all played just as much, if not more. Whether the Steelers are trying to protect Johnson, whether they already feel confident about his roster spot, or whether this spells trouble for the second-year back remains unclear. It’s a situation worth monitoring as the preseason continues.
The Steelers have work to do before their next preseason game, but the flashes from Allar, Bernard, and Samuel provided reasons for optimism in what was otherwise a sloppy, yet dominant night of football in Pittsburgh.
