The New York Jets’ Week 2 preseason matchup couldn’t have gone much better on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Not only did New York pull away with a 17-0 win, but nearly everything the team hoped to accomplish went according to plan.
Gang Green got the party started early as Geno Smith led the team to a flawless drive, completing all seven of his passing attempts for 65 yards before finishing things off with a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jelani Woods.
Following the scoring drive, the Jets pulled Smith out of the game and turned to fourth-round rookie Cade Klubnik.
Smith did everything the Jets could have asked for, completing all seven of his passes while looking confident and spraying the ball out to six different pass catchers.
Klubnik’s first drive, on the other hand, wasn’t as smooth and resulted in a three-and-out.
After two failed rushing attempts with Kene Nwangwu, he faced pressure on third down and tried to complete a pass to Isaiah Williams near the sideline, but it fell through his hands.
The Jets’ defense held strong, though, forcing Pittsburgh to punt once again. The series also featured a third-down sack by the No. 2 overall pick, David Bailey, beating former first-round pick Broderick Jones on the play.
It marked Bailey’s first sack of the preseason after he had a pressure during last week’s opener on just seven pass-rushing snaps.
The Jets also generated not one, but two interceptions, their first interceptions since Malachi Moore’s during the team’s final preseason game last year (Aug. 22, 2025), almost a year ago to the day.
As Pittsburgh was marching downfield and had entered the red zone, safety Andre Cisco jumped a route and picked off Will Howard for their first one of the half.
The second one followed after the two-minute warning as cornerback Samuel Womack came down with the INT and gave the Jets an opportunity to tack onto their lead before heading into halftime.
Throughout the two-minute drill, Klubnik made a few nice passes to keep the offense on schedule, including completions to undrafted rookie Malik McClain and first-round pick Omar Cooper Jr.
After a sack, though, the Jets were forced to attempt a 59-yard field goal, which Cade York had enough leg on but missed the kick just right.
The team entered the break with a 7-0 lead before finishing it off in the second half.
The Jets’ defense continued to control the game to open the second half, forcing a turnover on downs after Drew Allar replaced Howard at quarterback for Pittsburgh.
Gang Green took over possession near midfield but struggled to capitalize. Similar to Pittsburgh, the team went for it on fourth down as Klubnik dumped it off to UDFA running back Sam Scott, who didn’t get to the sticks on fourth-and-two.
Klubnik played for an extended period before exiting midway through the third quarter. He ultimately finished the night with 75 yards after completing 10 of his 14 passes (71.4%) with no touchdowns or interceptions.
While it was a larger sample size and he played with the team’s backups, unlike last week, the fourth-round rookie didn’t particularly impress after a solid start to the preseason against Tampa Bay.
Not all of the struggles fell on Klubnik, though. He was put in rough situations after strong punts from the Steelers, and the team’s backup offensive line was far from ideal.
Bailey Zappe replaced Klubnik, and his outing was much smoother than last week, when he tossed two interceptions.
Zappe completed six of eight passes for 68 yards and led the Jets on a scoring drive, capped by a 39-yard Jason Sanders field goal to extend their lead to 10-0.
Nate Lynn, who signed with the Jets earlier this week, also made a strong impression. The 24-year-old edge rusher generated three pressures and recorded two second-half sacks.
Brady Cook then took over at quarterback and put the game away, dropping a perfectly placed 31-yard touchdown pass into the hands of Quincy Skinner Jr. to extend the Jets’ lead to 17-0.
While it may only be the preseason, Friday night’s victory gave the Jets plenty to feel good about.
