McCarthy’s QB School Showing Dividends
by Bo Marchionte
@bomarchionte | College2Pro.com
Published August 15, 2026, 3:41 PM
Latrobe, PA – Thursday night’s 28-9 win over Green Bay gave Mike McCarthy his first real look at Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar operating his offense under live fire. The numbers were impressive.
McCarthy mentioned after the game, he’d have to watch the film to get a better feel for how the unit looked after watching the tape.
After Saturday’s practice, McCarthy addressed the position with more detail and analysis.
The details behind them may have pleased McCarthy even more.
The trio combined to complete 27 of 33 passes for 332 yards, with Allar throwing two touchdowns. No interceptions. No quarterback looked overwhelmed.
More importantly, McCarthy saw three players who appeared to understand exactly what he wanted from the position.
“I thought all three quarterbacks commanded the huddle. They commanded the operation,” McCarthy said. “I thought our operation, we got off to a good start.”
That word.
Commanded.
Carries some weight.
McCarthy Gets First Real Look at Quarterbacks
Preseason quarterback evaluation can become a box-score beauty contest. McCarthy was looking deeper. Did they manage the clock? Did their eyes stay downfield when pressure arrived? Could they extend a play without abandoning it too early? What happened when the other 10 guys didn’t execute exactly as drawn?
“I thought they did a really good job of managing the game, playing the play, not getting outside themselves,” McCarthy said.
That last part matters.
A quarterback escaping the pocket can look great from the stands. A quarterback escaping a clean pocket because his internal clock is screaming too early can wreck an offense. McCarthy liked the patience he saw Thursday.
“I liked their time clock when they activated the scramble,” McCarthy said. “They didn’t come out too soon. They hung in there, tried to step up in the A and B gaps.”
Then came one of those little preseason moments coaches probably value more than everyone watching at home.
Howard had a play go suddenly off-script. Instead of freezing or forcing the football where it was originally supposed to go, Howard moved through the problem.
“Will had one, and I thought he did a good job getting on to the second receiver and trying to get to the checkout,” McCarthy said. “They’re all positive little things that, just through experience, you learn to see how they handle that too.”
There’s another layer developing here.
McCarthy’s QB School Showing Results
McCarthy and his staff have spent months rebuilding footwork, timing and quarterback mechanics. Thursday provided the first opportunity to see whether those lessons survived when quarterbacks stopped wearing practice jerseys and somebody on the other side was actually trying to bury them.
McCarthy also made sure Kaden Wetjen’s 74-yard catch-and-run wasn’t viewed simply as a receiver creating after the catch. The explosion started with Allar recognizing the opportunity and delivering the football on schedule.
“The throw and the timing of the decision was a big part of that success,” McCarthy said.
Asked about muscle memory and quarterbacks reverting to old habits, McCarthy pointed directly toward the tape.
“When they go through progression one, two and then maybe have big-gap pressure, they slid their feet,” McCarthy said. “You get to see them hopping… they teach them to hop, so they don’t slog their feet, cleats in the ground.”
It sounds microscopic.
It isn’t.
That is coaching showing up on film.
Three quarterbacks. Three different stages of their careers. One offense. And for one night, all three appeared to be speaking McCarthy’s language.
Rudolph provided the veteran steadiness. Howard showed he could solve a problem when the picture changed. Allar supplied the fireworks with two touchdown passes.
McCarthy ultimately returned to the currency that matters most in his quarterback room.
The football.
“Number one is the ball security,” McCarthy said. “That’s the first thing we always talk about.”
Pittsburgh scored 28 points.
Its quarterbacks completed nearly 82 percent of their passes.
They produced 332 yards through the air.
And not one of them gave the football away.
One preseason game isn’t deciding anything. But if Pittsburgh entered Thursday wondering what it really had behind Aaron Rodgers, McCarthy walked away with three quarterbacks giving him reasons to keep watching.
This quarterback concoction in Pittsburgh is starting to bubble.
And McCarthy just turned up the heat.
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com
