For the second straight week, Will Howard will get the start for the Pittsburgh Steelers, per KDKA’s A.J. Ross. Howard started last week against New York after playing behind Mason Rudolph in the preseason opener against Green Bay. Now, Howard gets to start again in the Steelers’ third and final preseason game against Buffalo.

Speaking right before kickoff with Missi Matthews via KDKA, Howard talked about the quarterback plan for Thursday’s game.

“Kinda doing something similar to what we were doing last week,” he said. “Which for me is great, another opportunity to play the first half,” Howard said. “So I’m excited.”

Howard looked very good to open the preseason, leading an excellent touchdown drive before halftime. That game had plenty of good moments for the Steelers offensively, with Pittsburgh reaching the end zone four times. The second game against the New York Jets didn’t reach the same standard, for Howard included.

He made some nice throws, but his two interceptions were the story. Howard tried to find Roman Wilson on two crossing routes, and the route was jumped each time. The Steelers never found the end zone, and both of Howard’s interceptions came on drives where the Steelers were actually moving the ball well. He simply couldn’t capitalize.

On the Mike McCarthy Show, the Steelers’ head coach recapped Howard’s performance.

“Will had two tough plays, where things weren’t clean, that ended in turnovers, so I want to see him bounce back from that. Other than that, I’ve been real impressed,” McCarthy said.

Howard gets a chance to rectify that on Thursday night. McCarthy said earlier this week that he’d like to focus on Howard and Allar, so it’s not a huge surprise Howard gets the start. Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph have long proven what they are in this league, but these two haven’t had a chance. If anything, it might be a little surprising that Allar didn’t get a chance to start, with Howard getting those reps last week. With Allar’s roster status feeling safe, perhaps the Steelers want to give Howard more of a chance to prove himself over Rudolph.

If the Steelers aren’t set on keeping four quarterbacks yet, this game is obviously crucial for Howard. However, the idea of keeping four is one that seems to be growing. Before the New York game last week, Gerry Dulac reported the Steelers had already decided to keep all four quarterbacks.

Whatever decision the team ends up making, this is probably the last time Howard and Allar will take live snaps for awhile.