Steelers vs. Packers: 6 Surprises in Pittsburgh’s Preseason Win

The Mike McCarthy era got off to a winning start Thursday night, as the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Green Bay Packers 28-9 in their 2026 preseason opener at Acrisure Stadium.

The final score won’t mean much once the regular season begins, but there was plenty to take away from Pittsburgh’s first live action of the summer.

With Aaron Rodgers and several other established starters sitting out, younger players and roster hopefuls were given an opportunity to make an impression. Some took full advantage, while one glaring issue gave McCarthy plenty to address when the team returns to Saint Vincent College.

Here are some surprises from the Steelers’ preseason-opening win over the Packers.

Kaden Wetjen shows he can contribute beyond special teams

The Steelers drafted Kaden Wetjen largely because of his special teams ability as a return specialist, but the rookie showed that he may have something to offer Pittsburgh’s offense too.

Wetjen delivered one of the biggest plays of the game when he turned a third-and-7 reception into a 74-yard gain. He later added a four-yard touchdown catch midway through the fourth quarter to extend Pittsburgh’s lead to 21-7.

His speed was already the calling card that helped get him drafted. Seeing Wetjen translate some of that explosiveness to the receiver position was a welcome development.

That’s especially important considering the competition taking place further down Pittsburgh’s wide receiver depth chart. Special teams ability may give Wetjen an advantage when final cuts arrive, but proving he can also provide something on offense would make his roster case considerably stronger.

Jamin Davis makes a strong first impression at edge

One of the more intriguing experiments at Steelers training camp has been Jamin Davis’ attempt to carve out a role as an edge defender: and his first preseason game couldn’t have gone much better.

Davis, who played the second-most snaps on defense (one fewer than second-year linebacker Carson Bruener) was involved in eight tackles while adding two sacks and three quarterback hits against Green Bay.

For a player competing for a roster spot at a position topped by T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig, it was exactly the type of performance needed to stand out.

Davis entered the NFL as a first-round pick of the Washington Commanders in 2021, but his career hasn’t followed the path typically expected of such a highly drafted player. Pittsburgh is giving him another opportunity in a different role, and if Thursday was any indication, the Steelers may have found an interesting piece for their defensive rotation.

With Jack Sawyer still in the mix, it’ll be interesting as to how many outside linebackers (3-4 edge rushers) the team retains.

Gabriel Rubio may not have been a “throwaway” pick

Finding room on Pittsburgh’s defensive line isn’t going to be easy with Cam Heyward, Derrick Harmon, Keeanu Benton, Yahya Black and Sebastian Joseph-Day having strong claims on roster spots. That leaves everyone else fighting over what could be one remaining opening.

Rookie Gabriel Rubio made sure his name remained in that conversation Thursday, who was involved in six tackles and continued finding his way around the football.

That’s notable for a sixth-round rookie competing in one of the deeper position groups on Pittsburgh’s roster. (Especially for his first action.)

The Steelers may ultimately have to decide whether carrying six defensive linemen is worth sacrificing a roster spot elsewhere. Rubio’s performance against the Packers gave the coaching staff another reason to consider it.

The secondary holds up despite Pittsburgh’s absences

Pittsburgh played without Joey Porter Jr., Jalen Ramsey, Brandin Echols, DeShon Elliott, Jaquan Brisker and Donte Kent, leaving the Steelers to dig deep into their secondary. But instead of collapsing, the remaining group held its own.

Veterans Asante Samuel Jr. and Rayshawn Jenkins were among those given opportunities, while rookies Daylen Everette and Robert Spears-Jennings received valuable extended playing time.

While Samuel and Everette have both stolen headlines during camp, it was “RSJ” who looked like a missile on the field, with three tackles (one for loss) while playing 60% of the game.

Samuel was tested early and often, looking like the solid pro he was prior to his neck injury two seasons ago.

Holy smokes the penalties

Perhaps the strangest part of Pittsburgh’s 28-9 victory was how comfortable the final score looked considering how often the Steelers hurt themselves.

Pittsburgh had 11 accepted penalties for 134 yards, including six unnecessary roughness calls.

Troy Fautanu had an especially difficult night with his first NFL action at left tackle. A false start wiped out a 25-yard completion from Mason Rudolph to rookie Germie Bernard, while a holding penalty later erased a six-yard Lew Nichols touchdown run.

The unnecessary roughness penalties were what appeared to bother McCarthy most afterward:

“When you ask your team to play with a high level of energy and play style, the discipline of that comes, and this was our first chance to play in a full-speed environment. I’d rather be too much than not enough, and we were definitely too much time and time again, particularly at the end of the play.”

Was it the quarterbacks or the coaching?

There is something encouraging buried beneath the mistakes: Pittsburgh still won by 19 points. That was behind a flurry of excellent quarterback play, despite Aaron Rodgers standing on the sidelines in street clothes.

Mason Rudolph was the starter, and got off to a shaky start after being sacked twice. He then ripped off throws of 13, 19, and 25 yards on his next three passes.

In fact, Rudolph wouldn’t have an incompletion in the game until his tenth pass attempt, a throw in the back of the endzone that rookie WR Germie Bernard snatched but couldn’t secure keeping his second foot inbounds. The would-be touchdown was Rudolph’s only incompletion, and a fourth down attempt to score by Pat Freiermuth was also stopped short one yard from the goal line, keeping the veteran passer from adding to his stat line for the night and ending a 16-play, 99-yard drive.

Rudolph would give way to second-year quarterback Will Howard, who appeared in his first preseason action as a pro. He would play a limited amount also, but went an impressive 7-of-9 for 86 yards.

Third round draft pick Drew Allar was next up and would close out the game, with an even more impressive 10-of-13 for 153 yards passing, with two touchdowns. He would add another touchdown on the ground, ending his night with a 154.8 quarterback rating.

While everyone looked good, one must ask: was it the quarterbacks or the coaching?

All three players finished the evening with a QB rating over 100, and all three sustained long drives too. Perhaps, and this is premature of course, the McCarthy hire may have been the right move for the Steelers to progress further in their post Ben Roethlisberger era.

Hidden receiving game gems?

I can’t close this article without mentioning the efforts of rookie WR Germie Bernard, who caught four passes for 51 yards, and TE Robert Tonyan, who was a security blanket all evening with four catches for 61 yards.

Wetjen’s big play stole the spotlight, both combined with the efforts of Bernard and Tonyan, Pittsburgh may have found several hidden gem receiving threats.