Jets Shut Out Steelers in Second Preseason Game

By Daniel Feuerstein| Pittsburgh, PA | August 21st, 2026

The New York Jets traveled across Pennsylvania to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in their second preseason game to make adjustments, improve their tackling and game plan, and allow some players to make their case for the 53-man roster or a spot on the practice squad. From the first play of scrimmage to the last, the Jets had solid moments and kept their hosts from scoring, either in the end zone or through the uprights, as they shut out the Steelers 17-0.

Geno Smith had a solid cameo

Geno Smith didn’t play in the last game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to an ankle injury and has been a bit gimpy throughout training camp. But he finally got himself on the field and looked great. He was under center and moved the ball on the Jets’ opening drive and his only possession of the game. He made several big throws to earn first downs, finding Adonai Mitchell twice. An eight-yard catch down the middle and then a 21-yard passing play at the far side. He also found Mason Taylor for a 10-yard grab and Garrett Wilson along the near side of the field for a 10-yard sliding catch.

But he threw a touchdown to Jelani Woods at the far side for a 13-yard catch and run into the end zone. After faking the handoff to Braelon Allen, Smith kept the ball and turned to his left, saw two defenders coming after him, and threw the ball to a wide-open Woods as he ran to the end zone to put the Jets ahead. Smith completed all seven of his passes for 65 yards and looked good doing it. Not once was he touched for a sack as his offensive line did the job.

“Very efficient. I mean, I think he had two third-down completions within that. He threw to five different receivers. receivers within that drive. He looked very comfortable, exactly what we were looking for. You know, so– but again, we still have some things we got to work on because our run game wasn’t where it needs to be. You know, so we’re going to take a good hard look at that and make sure we clean that up,” said Aaron Glenn.

Cade Klubnik was pressured, but still looked poised

While it looks like Cade Klubnik has locked up the Quarterback two position, it was his turn to go out on the field and add to what he did last week against the Buccaneers, but this time he had the twos and threes with him on the field. While he was consistently pressured and took two sacks, he was able to throw the ball confidently and converted 10 out of 14 passes for 75 yards. Klubnik had a 1st down as he ran the ball himself for 16 yards. He played the majority of the first half and just inside the start of the third quarter before Bailey Zappe took over.

“It’s always good offensively and defensively to get a chance to experience that in the pre-season. I think last week we actually had a really good drive and actually ended up kicking a field goal that was at the end of half, right, to execute a two-minute drive, and then again Cade had one; you always want, you know, quarterbacks coming from college to be able to. I’m playing in the first half. Now get a chance to come out after any type of adjustment and play in that second half. So that was by design for the most part. So, listen, he’s going to grow any chance he’s on the field, and that’s for any of our young guys. Any chance on the field to get a chance to grow. And it’s good for me, you know, as a play call on defense, to get a chance to be able to make those calls in a two-minute situation, also to get myself back going,” said Aaron Glenn.

The Jets front seven had a sack fest

When you need to have a multi-sack game, and it comes in the preseason to set the tone for the regular season, the Jets had to put the quarterback down. Now, unfortunately, it wasn’t Aaron Rodgers behind the center as he continues not to perform during the preseason. Still, you need to see some improvement, and you need to see if the new players you drafted and signed as free agents can get the job done. The Jets first round pick, David Bailey, finally got his moment when he came through the middle and took down the quarterback for an 11-yard loss.

“Obviously, we know what he can do as far as a pass rusher. But I already see in my head there’s a couple of things that he has to improve on that showed up in the game. And he will. He will. He’s a. He’s very conscientious when it comes to that. He’s a hard worker. I mean, he’s there early every day working on his body and doing things like that. So I know for a fact that he’s going to improve on some of those mistakes that he has,” said Aaron Glenn on David Bailey.

The rest of the sacks came in the second half as Chase Wilson got to the quarterback for a nine-yard loss, and Nate Lynn, who came over from the Tennessee Titans, showed why he wanted to be on this team as he earned a pair of sacks and forced a loss of 20 yards. With the edge rushers room of Will McDonald, David Bailey, and now Nate Lynn, maybe there’s improvement already here before the season starts in Nashville. But that was fun to see.

Interception alert: a pair of them

The Jets know having a bagel in the Interception column last year was not great. In fact, it was embarrassing as they couldn’t pick the ball off in the air to get the job done last season. But something might be changing, because out of nowhere the secondary made two interceptions, and that’s the hope for improvement when the regular season kicks off in September. Both came in the second quarter when the Steelers were attempting to get into the end zone, and Andre Cisco sniffed the play out and picked it off. The second interception came from Samuel Womack as he just cut inside the wide receiver and took the ball away. Preseason picks can help the team earn real ones to help get them into a positive trend.

A great job forcing a turnover, but couldn’t hold on

As the Jets were trying to get a second touchdown, the Steelers defense made a stop and forced them to punt it away as Austin McNamara delivered a long punt from his own seven-yard line, as the ball floated into the air and was caught by the Steelers punt returner Kaden Wetjen at his own 17-yard line. Trying to make a big run from the middle of the field towards the near side, but it was Jeremy Ruckert who caught him as he grabbed Wetjen by his right jersey sleeve and forced a turnover. Malik McCalin grabbed the ball in the air and held on, but after replay, he couldn’t stay in bounds as one foot was in and the other was out, but a heck of a play to force a turnover.

Jets defense was relentless and tackled well

The Jets defense’s biggest concern has been their tackling, and starting this season, Aaron Glenn will take over as the Defensive Coordinator while being the head coach at the same time. In this preseason game, their tackling looked good, with their two’s and three’s also improving their wrap-ups from start to end. When you thought Glenn taking over Defensive play calls was not a good idea, maybe this was the right thing to do after all. Still, we need to see what happens in the regular season. But this was a great thing to see as the defense pitched a shutout and stopped the Steelers all night long.

“This is the second week in a row where I thought our defense played fairly well, and they were stout. But again. You know, there are some things as far as our coverage that we’ve got to get better at. And I don’t want to get too much into that. But I know for a fact that we’ve got to get better at some of those things. And that’s what training camp’s for. You know, you look at this tape. You try to clean up some of those things, and that’s one thing that I like, I’m really proud of this coaching staff is man once we see an issue man we’re attacking head-on we try to get it fixed right then and there so that’s what we do you know but again we’re right in camp mode and we’re on to the next one,” said Aaron Glenn

The negatives

While there wasn’t a glaring negative during this game, we can say that Cade York failed to convert on a 59-yard field goal at the end of the first half. While it had plenty of distance, the ball was curling wide left, as it looks like Jason Sanders has been perfect with two extra points and converting a field goal himself. While Bailey Zappe had a better performance taking over for Klubnik before Brady Cook took over, the feeling is that Zappe is still the odd man out, and the Jets should look for another veteran quarterback to be behind both Smith and Klubnik while Brady Cook goes to the practice squad.

A solid game from top to bottom, and the Jets return to MetLife Stadium for their annual Snoopy Bowl as they take on the New York Giants to finish off the 2026 preseason and get ready to start the new season at the Tennessee Titans.

The New York Jets shut out the Pittsburgh Steelers in their 2nd Preseason Game in Western Pennsylvania

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