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Prior to falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in the opening round of the playoffs in 2021, the Steelers finished the regular season with a record of 9-7-1. After the retirement of their future Hall of Fame quarterback and 2004 First Round Draft choice Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers now enter a new era this season.
In their 32-25 preseason victory over the Seahawks last week, Mitch Trubisky started, but all three quarterbacks performed admirably as the Steelers gained 409 total yards. Trubisky completed 4 out of 7 passes for 63 yards and a score while avoiding being sacked. Mason Rudolph completed 9 of his 15 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown, and rookie Kenny Pickett completed 13 of his 15 passes for 95 yards and a score. He was sacked twice but still managed to gain 16 yards on the ground. The Steelers gained 185 yards and 6.9 yards per run as a unit. For a club-best 56 yards on seven carries, Anthony McFarland led the squad.
Now the Pittsburgh Steelers are getting ready for their second preseason contest. They will meet the Jacksonville Jaguars in Florida on Saturday night.
Here are some bold predictions for the Steelers as they take on the Jaguars in Week 2 of the preseason.
Steelers Preseason Week 2 Predictions
4. Devin Bush fallout
Inside linebacker Devin Bush made his first public remarks since the start of training camp earlier this week. It happened the day after head coach Mike Tomlin announced that the Steelers' inside linebackers needed to play better, especially in coverage. Bush struggled in general in 2021 as he made his comeback from an ACL tear he sustained early in the 2020 season. He performed poorly in that area against the Seahawks.
Will Bush show he's the player the Steelers moved up to acquire with the No. 10 overall pick only a few years ago? Bush's default personality mode comes across as uninterested or satisfied. With his career possibly on the line, however, he needs to have a good play or two against the Jaguars.
Bush looked to have taken more first-team repetitions this past week than he had over the previous 2 weeks of camp. He competed with Robert Spillane to be the second starter at ILB behind Myles Jack. It's possible that more than anything Bush has done, coaches were upset with Spillane's performance against Seattle. In any case, Bush should have a good opportunity on Saturday to make plays against the Jaguars.
3. More Jaylen Warren
The Steelers have listed Benny Snell as the No. 2 running back behind workhorse Najee Harris. Jaylen Warren, however, looks to make a run for his spot.
For undrafted Steelers rookie Jaylen Warren, taking the long road to success is nothing new https://t.co/SZz44dyafI via @PittsburghPG
— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) August 18, 2022
Warren, an undrafted rookie out of Oklahoma State, was effective in college. He has also demonstrated throughout the Steelers' training camp that he is a powerful runner with decent hands for grabbing the ball out of the backfield.
It's still hard to figure out if Warren will indeed supplant Snell as RB2, especially since Snell and other running backs have lost time during camp due to injuries. Warren, though, could surpass Snell on the depth chart should the former have a big game against Jacksonville.
Last week against Seattle, Warren got 10 touches for 64 yards and a TD in Snell's absence. Warren did fumble the ball a bit. Still, if he addresses that issue, he stands a decent chance of making the active roster for the start of the season.
2. Kenny Picket gets more reps
Kenny Pickett played the entire second half of last week's game. He excelled despite playing mostly with the third unit. This week, fans hope to see Pickett enter the game earlier and more often.
He should have that chance against the Jaguars. Mitch Trubisky will start again, but Kenny Pickett should replace Mason Rudolph as the Steelers' primary backup QB. Tomlin stated he wants to see how Pickett plays against more starter-level opposition this week.
This is different from the sequence of play employed in the preseason opener last week against the Seattle Seahawks. Tomlin claimed that the adjustment was a reward for Pickett's game-winning performance. It was not really a criticism of Rudolph's performance in camp, which has been consistent.
Fans will undoubtedly be happy to see more of their local favorite Pickett this week. That's because he was selected in the first round and was already a well-liked figure in Pittsburgh.
Kenny Pickett will follow Mitch Trubisky in Steelers' QB rotation Saturdayhttps://t.co/VgxnfEtcr6 pic.twitter.com/oZPVlmyF2j
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) August 18, 2022
1. More Starters come out
The Steelers benched several starters last week, either on purpose or as a result of injuries. This week, fans want to see more starters in action. They also want to have a greater understanding of this team's potential, particularly on offense.
Tomlin usually allots major preseason minutes for his starters in the Steelers' penultimate preseason fixture. For 2022, however, Tomlin will oversee a preseason schedule with only three games. Take note that in years past, there have always been four or more preseason games.
As a result, there was considerable speculation that Tomlin could hold off on letting his star players play until the third (and currently last) preseason game. After all, the new 17-game NFL regular season still kicks off the weekend following Labor Day. This gives participants in the third preseason game a two-week window to heal from minor injuries.
Tomlin stated on Thursday, though, that he will have “an inclusive approach” on Saturday, the second preseason game, when using his stars. That implies that this may be the only time in the preseason when fans will see players like T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Diontae Johnson, and other studs in game action on the field.
![Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) walks along the sideline with a head set during the first half of the first preseason game where the Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday Aug. 9, 2025, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]](https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Rodgers-during-preseason.jpg)
