PITTSBURGH — Drew Allar ducked to avoid the pass rush and loaded up for one final heave. The last-second pass sailed down the field — and through the back of the end zone. The anticlimactic finish was a fitting last gasp to a sobering night at Acrisure Stadium.The Steelers chose to play only their two young quarterbacks: Will Howard and Drew Allar. It ended with no points on Pittsburgh’s side of the scoreboard, a pair of turnovers and several questions in the quarterback room. If the first preseason game featured flashes of optimism that one of these two quarterbacks could be the Steelers’ future, Friday’s 17-0 loss to the Jets illuminated the reality that they’ll both need considerable development if either is going to be the long-term answer.“We have to continue to make strides, and we didn’t really make any strides tonight,” Howard said. “I always go back to that quote: You’re either taking a step forward or you’re taking a step back. We definitely did not take a step forward tonight.”In his first NFL start of any kind, Howard threw a pair of interceptions that largely overshadowed the positives. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 74 yards, took a sack and produced QB rating of 38.6. Allar was responsible for one big highlight, rolling to his left and bombing it deep. However, repeated penalties, spotty pass protection and dropped passes often left the rookie behind the chains. Allar went three-and-out on three of his seven series, took three sacks and finished with a QB rating of 61.9.Presented with a prime opportunity to shake up the depth chart, Howard and Allar settled only one thing: Mason Rudolph has to be Aaron Rodgers’ backup. Now in his ninth season, he has the experience and has been clearly ahead of both young quarterbacks throughout camp. Mike McCarthy acknowledged as much this week when the coach said he “saw everything he needed to see” from Rudolph in the preseason opener.As for what happens behind Rodgers and Rudolph? That’s where the Steelers may need to consider some tough decisions.Top Plays from Jets @ SteelersHoward started and went three-and-out on his first series. It wasn’t all bad. He he led a pair of double-digit play drives. On individual plays, there were things to like. The second-year pro stepped up in the pocket nicely and found Ben Skowronek over the middle on a drive that took the Steelers into the red zone. Later, he layered a pass over a defender to tight end Robert Tonyan, showing nice touch.However, those moments were largely overshadowed by the turnovers. On the first, the Jets were in man coverage near the red zone with one-high safety. The Steelers ran a mesh concept — with crossing patterns from either direction across the middle of the field to create natural picks and the opportunity for receivers to run away from DBs. The DB covering Roman Wilson peeled off, leaving him momentarily open. The problem was the safety safety Andre Cisco was staring it down and jumped the route. While Wilson drifted a bit and could have run his route flatter, Howard didn’t look off or anticipate the safety.“It’s just one mistake leads to two,” McCarty said. “It happened on both plays.”On the second interception, Howard again was looking for Wilson. And again, Wilson could have run a flatter route. Still, the arc of Howard’s ball was flat and the placement was behind the receiver, giving defensive back Samuel Womack III a chance to undercut it.