Drew Allar gives brutally honest assessment of his performance vs. Jets

PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 21: Drew Allar #16 of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks to pass against the New York Jets in the second half of a preseason game at Acrisure Stadium on August 21, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) | Getty Images

It was a truly disastrous performance all around from the Pittsburgh Steelers in their 17-0 loss to the New York Jets in Week 2 of the preseason. After accounting for three total touchdowns in the Steelers first preseason game, rookie third-round quarterback Drew Allar was unable to light up the stat sheet in the way he did last week against the Jets.

Allar played the entire second half and finished the game going 11/23 passing for 110 yards. After the game, Allar addressed the media and seemed to know exactly what he didn't do a good job of in the contest.

For me, I think it kind of started early," Allar said. I just needed to do a better job, especially, you know, early in drives, taking what's given. I felt like I passed a couple opportunities early in drives that either set us back with an incompletion or a sack. But if I just take what's there, even if it's catch tackle, we're not in a backed-up situation."

Drew Allar, assessing his performance tonight: pic.twitter.com/aZesy7xLK4

- Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) August 22, 2026

It did appear that Allar was looking downfield for a bit longer than he should have at points last night. However, Allar did make the throw of the night, in which he rolled out to his left and dropped a dime along the sideline to undrafted rookie tight end Lake McRee for a gain of 38.

Of the rookie quarterback's 12 incompletions on the night, seven were drops by the receivers. Although Allar has admitted he could have taken some easy yardage in spots, he was let down by his receivers.

Tallied up six drops on Drew Allar passes that cost the Steelers ~ 70 yards.

Had all of those passes been caught, Allar's statline would have been 17-of-23 for 180 yards. pic.twitter.com/SgFMAP5gVZ

- Jarrett Bailey (@JBaileyNFL) August 22, 2026

All things considered, I am blown away by the growth we have seen from Allar over the last few months. The rookie is still very much a work in progress, but seems to be aware of what he needs to fix, and will have a full season to do so as the teams developmental quarterback. Even after a bit of a sloppy performance, there are plenty of reasons to come away from the preseason excited for the future of the Steelers' young gunslinger.

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