Drew Allar’s second preseason outing with the Pittsburgh Steelers looked nothing like his first, and he knew it.
In a 17-0 loss to the New York Jets in Week 2 of the preseason, the rookie third-round quarterback spent the entire second half on the field and finished 11 of 23 for 110 yards. After a game that never really found a rhythm for Pittsburgh, Allar didn’t try to dress up what went wrong.
“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.”
There were moments when he held the ball a touch too long and seemed to be searching for something deeper downfield. But there was also one throw that stood out above the rest: a rollout to his left, followed by a strike along the sideline to undrafted rookie tight end Lake McRee for 38 yards.
The box score doesn’t tell the whole story either. Of Allar’s 12 incompletions, seven came on drops by his receivers, leaving him with plenty of missed chances around a performance that still showed some growing pains.
Even with the rough night, the bigger picture remains encouraging. Allar has clearly made noticeable strides over the last few months, and he appears to understand exactly what needs cleaning up. With a full season ahead as the Steelers’ developmental quarterback, there’s still plenty for him to sharpen - and plenty of reason to stay interested in where this goes next.
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