Black & Yellow | Pittsburgh Steelers M26

[JohnStJohn1987]

All eyes on Minshew!

[Soapy]

brother, that's james harrison

[Captain Canada]

Going from MVP-caliber AR15 to either Gardner Minshew or Will Howard is a shotgun shell to the knee

[redsox907]

DEEBO!

da goat

All eyes on Minshew!

we might need to hand out complimentary acid for our eyes if our fans are forced to watch Minshew after the preseason he put together

brother, that's james harrison

generic Latrobe pic

Going from MVP-caliber AR15 to either Gardner Minshew or Will Howard is a shotgun shell to the knee

sometimes you have to knock down a few 2s to appreciate a 10

[redsox907]

Pittsburgh Steelers 2028 Preseason Results


Will Howard throws an interception in the 3rd game of the preseason...an ominous finish for the Steelers preseason.

Game 1

	3	0	7	0	10
	7	0	0	3	10

Notable Steelers Performances
QB Will Howard (1st Team) | 7/10, 68 Yds, TD
QB Gardner Minshew II (2nd Team) | 3/11, 42 Yds
TE Gabe Gomez | 2 Rec, 48 Yds
SS Jermaine Ward | 3 Tkl, Sack

Game 2

	3	14	0	6	23
	0	0	0	7	7

Notable Steelers Performances
QB Gardner Minshew II (1st Team) | 10/27, 208 Yds, 2 TD, INT
QB Will Howard (2nd Team) | 13/28, 89 Yds, INT
TE Gabe Gomez | 4 Rec, 18 Yds
FS Alohia GIlman | 7 Tkl
SS Jermaine Ward | 4 Tkl, TFL

Game 3

	0	3	7	6	16
	0	3	7	6	16

Notable Steelers Performances
QB Will Howard (1st Team) | 19/39, 195 Yds, INT
SS Jermaine Ward | 7 TKl
FS Alohi Gilman | 2 Tkl

[redsox907]

Growing Pains Expected - Pittsburgh Steelers 2028 Season Preview

Pittsburgh, PA. - What a difference one offseason makes.

Seven months ago the Pittsburgh Steelers were a win away from back-to-back Super Bowl championships. They fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LXII, but the future felt bright, the roster was intact, and the expectation heading into 2028 was simple — get back and finish the job.

Then the hits came.

Mike Tomlin's retirement was the first domino, a move that was anticipated by those close to the organization but still marked the end of an era in Pittsburgh. The Steelers responded by hiring Nathan Scheelhaase, a first-year head coach in the mold of the franchise's long and successful history of identifying and developing rookie head coaches into cornerstones of the sport. The hire was met with cautious optimism. The roster still had championship DNA. Cooper DeJean was added in free agency to shore up the secondary. The draft addressed depth across multiple positions while preserving future capital through a trade back with Seattle. Super Bowl aspirations remained firmly intact.

Then Anthony Richardson was arrested on multiple felony charges in Indianapolis on July 14th, and everything changed overnight.

Suddenly a franchise with championship-or-bust expectations had traded in the two-time MVP for a quarterback competition between Will Howard and Gardner Minshew II — a competition that, if we're being honest, neither man convincingly won.

"Life comes at you fast," one Ravens fan tweeted following the Steelers' uninspiring 1-0-2 preseason record, and it was hard to entirely disagree with the sentiment.

All three quarterbacks — Minshew, Howard, and Alonza Barnett III — flashed at moments throughout the preseason. All three also looked the part of backups at others, each committing costly turnovers and struggling with the kind of consistency that separates starters from reserves at the NFL level. Scheelhaase ultimately named Howard his Week 1 starter, citing the former Ohio State Buckeye's poise and accuracy in short-yardage situations, but the decision was not without its detractors inside the building.

"Howard didn't make plays — he was schemed plays," one source close to the organization told ESPN. "Quick outs, screen passes, RPOs where he could bail if he didn't trust his eyes. Minshew didn't outshine him, but he generated explosive plays. Maybe not as consistently as you'd like, but beggars can't be choosers."

The source pointed to Minshew's 78-yard touchdown connection with Ryan Williams in the second preseason game against the New York Giants as evidence — though critics were quick to note that Williams did the heavy lifting after the catch, turning a routine slant into a highlight reel run through the Giants secondary.

The divide inside the organization is real, and it raises an uncomfortable question heading into the regular season — how long a leash does Howard have?

The saving grace, at least for now, is that the offense is only half the equation.

While the quarterback situation has dominated headlines, Pittsburgh's defense has looked every bit like a championship caliber unit. The front seven has not missed a beat despite the departure of Alex Highsmith, and newly hired defensive coordinator Brian Flores has wasted no time finding creative ways to deploy his most versatile weapon in the secondary — Cooper DeJean.

"We can move him to counter whatever the offense tries to do," Flores said after the preseason concluded. "We've got the benefit of Jalen and Joey on the outside, which means we can use Cooper as a deep safety, covering the slot, covering halfbacks, or as a blitzer. The opportunities are endless."

The general expectation around the league is that until the Steelers resolve their quarterback situation — one way or another — Pittsburgh is going to be playing old-school Steelers football. Grind out the clock. Limit turnovers. Lean on the defense to generate points and keep games close. It is a formula that has worked in Pittsburgh before, though it tested the patience of Steelers fans in the post-Ben Roethlisberger years, and it figures to test them again in 2028.

"They have the talent of a 13, 14-win squad — except at quarterback," Ryan Clark said on First Take earlier this week. "This is really going to be a year where we find out what Nathan Scheelhaase is made of. You're the offensive genius. Make it work."

Clark was careful to add context. "I'm not saying it's fair. He took this job dreaming of working with a dynamic talent like Anthony Richardson. But like it or not, he's the offensive guru. It's time to guru some stuff."

The schedule does the Steelers no favors. Pittsburgh opens the 2028 season on Thursday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles — a Super Bowl rematch — before navigating a brutal slate that includes their full conference schedule, the top seeds from each AFC division, and a crossover with both the AFC and NFC East.

It is, as one analyst put it, the hardest team in football to predict right now — a roster with championship talent at nearly every position, and a question mark under center that could undermine all of it.

The 2028 Pittsburgh Steelers are a fascinating, complicated, and genuinely unpredictable football team. And they wouldn't have it any other way.


Steelers 2028 Schedule

Week	Opponent	2027 Record	Venue
1		11-6	Lincoln Financial Field
2		11-6	Mile High Stadium
3		5-12	Hunting ton Bank Field
4		12-5	Acrisure Stadium
5		5-12	Acrisure Stadium
6		17-0	Acrisure Stadium
7	BYE	N/A	Acrisure Stadium
8		7-10	Hard Rock Stadium
9		5-12	Paycor Stadium
10		12-5	M&T Bank Stadium
11		9-8	Acrisure Stadium
12		9-8	Acrisure Stadium
13		12-5	Acrisure Stadium
14		12-5	Acrisure Stadium
15		6-11	Northwest Stadium
16		9-8	Acrisure Stadium
17		5-12	Acrisure Stadium
18		9-8	Highmark Stadium

Pittsburgh Steelers 2028 Roster
(SS) - Indicates Superstar Dev Trait
(X) - Indicates X-Factor Dev Trait
(R) - Indicates rookie
(?) - Indicates Hidden Dev Trait

QB
Will Howard | 73
Gardner Minshew II | 69
Alonza Barnett III | 63

HB
Quinshon Judkins | 87
Keaton Mitchell | 84
Rueben Owens | 76
Jerrick Gibson | 75

WR
(X) Dk Metcalf | 94
(X) Ryan Williams | 89
Zachariah Branch | 86
Deebo Samuel Jr | 80
Kendrick Law | 70

TE
Pat Friermuth | 86
Darnell Washington | 77
(?) Gabe Gomez (R) | 74

LT
Troy Fautanu | 89
Carter Warren | 79

LG
Cayden Green | 89
Isaiah Wynn | 76

C
(SS) Zach Frazier | 93
Zach Rice | 79

RG
Patrick Mekari | 81
(?) Cam Gray (R) | 77

RT
Kevlin Banks JR | 91
Ethan Onianwa | 75

LEDGE
(X) TJ Watt | 94
Da'Shawn Womack | 72

REDGE
Kayvon Thibodeaux | 82
Jack Sawyer | 81

DT
Derrick Harmon | 88
Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy | 84
Yahya Black | 75

MLB
Patrick Queen | 86
(?) Jason Verdon (R) | 77
Damone Clark | 76

WILL
(X) Payton Wilson | 86
(SS) Harold Perkins Jr | 84

CB
(X) Jalen Ramsey | 90
(SS) Cooper DeJean | 90
(X) Joey Porter Jr | 89
Jaylen Watson | 80
Zamari Stevenson | 79
Donte Kent | 77
King Mack | 73
Jermaine Matthews Jr | 73

FS
Alohi Gilman | 81
Terry Moore | 77
Mac Kopp (R) | 75

SS
Ji'Ayir Brown | 82
(?) Jermaine Ward (R) | 81
Isaiah Simmons | 75

K/P
(SS) K Brandon Aubrey | 91
(SS) P Jimmy Langford (R) | 77

[Captain Canada]

Impoverished QB room. Hopefully Will Howard can survive the season. Minshew looked horrific.

[JohnStJohn1987]

Is it too early to just throw in the towel yet?

[Caesar]

Time for some segregation era football

[redsox907]

Impoverished QB room. Hopefully Will Howard can survive the season. Minshew looked horrific.

yeah...maybe Richardson is going to hire Johnny Cochran and get acquitted at this point

Is it too early to just throw in the towel yet?

at least we have our own first round pick?

Time for some segregation era football

we gonna run it until the wheels fall off, then keep running it