The Jets beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-0 on Friday night in Pittsburgh, and the two things worth taking from it are that Geno Smith is healthy and that the defense did not allow a point. Smith went 7-of-7 for 65 yards and a touchdown on his only series. Pittsburgh never reached the end zone against any Jets unit. Preseason record: 1-1.
For the rest of the summer’s coverage, start with our Jets games hub, and for what we expected going in, the Friday preview of Smith’s preseason debut.
What decided the game?
Pittsburgh’s quarterbacks did. Will Howard finished 10-of-15 for 74 yards with two interceptions, both of them in Jets territory, and Drew Allar was sacked three times in relief while completing 11 of 23 throws for 110 yards. That is a night in which the Steelers moved the ball in stretches and then handed it back at exactly the moments a scoreless game turns into a shutout. Per Pittsburgh’s own recap at Steelers.com, the home side also took four second-half penalties for 30 yards. Head coach Mike McCarthy put it plainly afterward: “the detail and execution wasn’t as high” as in the previous week’s win over Green Bay.
The Jets, for their part, did not do anything spectacular. They scored on their opening drive, sat on it for two and a half quarters, and then tacked on points late against reserves. In a regular-season game that script would read as a squandered afternoon. In the third week of August it reads as a first unit that executed and a second and third unit that did not give the night away, which is roughly what a coaching staff wants to see nine days before cutdowns.
How did Geno Smith look in his preseason debut?
Efficient and, more to the point, available. Smith sat out the opener against Tampa Bay with ankle soreness, practiced through the week without a designation, and then took the field for one series and completed every pass on it — seven throws, 65 yards, capped by a 13-yard touchdown to tight end Jelani Woods. He did not take a hit worth worrying about and did not come back out, which was always the plan.
Head coach Aaron Glenn was direct about it: “Very, very efficient. He looked very comfortable, exactly what we were looking for.” That is a lower bar than it sounds. The question hanging over Smith’s August was never arm talent, it was whether the ankle would let him operate normally in a live setting before Week 1 at Tennessee on September 13. It did. For the longer view on what the Jets are actually buying with him, see our look at the quarterback room built around Smith.
What does the box score say?
Four Jets quarterbacks played and all four completed at least 70 percent of their throws. Combined, they went 24-of-31 for 236 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions — a meaningful correction after Bailey Zappe threw two picks in the opener.
| Player | Line | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Geno Smith, QB | 7-7, 65 yds, TD | One series, perfect, no visible ankle issue |
| Cade Klubnik, QB | 10-14, 75 yds; 16 rush yds | Second straight steady outing; the rookie is not the problem |
| Bailey Zappe, QB | 6-8, 65 yds | Clean night after a two-interception opener |
| Brady Cook, QB | 1-2, 31 yds, TD | One throw, one score; the QB3 argument stays alive |
| Jelani Woods, TE | 13-yd TD catch | Only red-zone target the starters needed |
| Andre Cisco, S | 1 INT | Killed a Steelers drive in Jets territory |
| Samuel Womack III, CB | 1 INT | Undercut the route; second takeaway off Howard |
| David Bailey, EDGE | 1 sack | First of the summer for the No. 2 overall pick |
Scoring was simple: Smith to Woods from 13 yards out in the first quarter, then a 38-yard Jason Sanders field goal and a 31-yard touchdown pass from Brady Cook to Quincy Skinner Jr. inside the final nine minutes. Pittsburgh’s run game was the one thing that worked, 98 yards on 26 carries with Kaleb Johnson leading at 39 yards on 10 attempts. Against Jets reserves, that is not the number that will keep anyone up at night.
Who helped themselves on the roster bubble?
David Bailey got his first sack of the preseason, part of a four-sack night for the defense. That matters less as a statistic than as evidence — the No. 2 overall pick has been the loudest player in camp since the first week, and the tape now has a finished rush on it. Our earlier report on Bailey’s fast start holds up.
In the secondary, Andre Cisco and Samuel Womack III both intercepted Howard, and Womack’s came from a corner spot where the Jets have been openly searching for a fourth body. Cade Klubnik put together his second consecutive functional outing — 10-of-14 with 16 yards on the ground — which is the quiet story of this camp: the rookie taken to develop behind Smith has not looked out of place in either game. Junior Bergen’s 44-yard catch on a fourth-quarter screen was the kind of play that gets a returner-slash-receiver a longer look in the final week.
What does this mean for the season?
Very little, and that is the honest read. Preseason shutouts are not predictive; the Jets were the team that lost 24-16 to Tampa Bay two weeks ago with a similar cast. What Friday produced was information, which is the only currency August pays in. The starting quarterback is healthy and moved the offense on his one drive. The pass rush generated pressure without the full first unit on the field for most of it. The backup quarterback picture is clearer than it was, and nobody of consequence got hurt.
The rest of the depth chart gets one more audition. The preseason finale is against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Friday, August 28, at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the 53-man cutdown follows on August 30. Expect Smith to be in a baseball cap for that one. For where the roster actually stands going in, our 2026 roster tracker has every move since March. Full official details on Friday’s game are in the team recap at NewYorkJets.com.
FAQs
What was the final score of Jets vs. Steelers?
The Jets won 17-0 at Pittsburgh on Friday, August 21, 2026. It was the Jets’ second preseason game and moved them to 1-1 for the summer.
How did Geno Smith play against the Steelers?
Smith completed all seven of his passes for 65 yards and a 13-yard touchdown to Jelani Woods on his only series, then sat. He had missed the preseason opener with ankle soreness.
When is the Jets’ next game?
The preseason finale against the New York Giants is Friday, August 28, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. ET at MetLife Stadium. The regular season opens September 13 at Tennessee.