Jets at Steelers: 5 things to watch for during preseason Week 2 game

The New York Jets will continue their exhibition on Friday with their second preseason contest on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It is another opportunity for head coach Aaron Glenn and his staff to assess his roster before cutting down to 53 players at the end of the summer. On the flip side, it gets those same players and opportunity to impress.

With that, here are Jets Wire's five things to watch for against the Steelers in Week 2 of the preseason:

After being a late scratch because of an ankle injury, Geno Smith will make his first start with the 2026 Jets. Naturally because he is No. 1 quarterback on the depth chart, Smith's play will be the top item everyone in New York will look for in this one.

It's unlikely fourth-round rookie quarterback Cade Klubnik somehow takes the Week 1 starting job away from Smith. Even so, Klubnik was pretty impressive when he played with the starters last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It'd be a underdog story to root for, too.

Klubnik is expected to be the second QB that will play against the Steelers.

The Jets have a top three in their running back room: Breece Hall, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis.

Heading to Pittsburgh, Hall (groin) and Davis (knee) are injured. Will Glenn and the Jets coaching staff decide to protect Allen against the Steelers because of that? We could see a lot of depth players taking handoffs.

Will McDonald started the day for the Jets defense with an early sack against the Bucs last week. Then the entire New York defense went silent, including top draft pick David Bailey. Can the Jets' front seven make some more noise against the Steelers?

UDFA Mory Bamba stole the show against Tampa with four pass breakups in the Jets' secondary. Unfortunately, the training camp darling is now injury too. Is there someone else that can shine in the defensive backfield in Pittsburgh?

This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Jets at Steelers: 5 things to watch for during preseason Week 2 game