The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback room is taking a very different shape Friday night against the New York Jets.

Aaron Rodgers is sitting. Mason Rudolph is sitting. And that means the spotlight shifts almost entirely to Will Howard and Drew Allar, two young quarterbacks who suddenly have a massive preseason opportunity in front of them.

Head coach Mike McCarthy made the plan clear Wednesday: Howard will start, and Allar will follow.

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The logic is pretty simple.

“I think you understand, they’re young,” McCarthy said. “Will didn’t get to play last year. Drew’s a first-year player.”

That’s exactly why this game matters.

Pittsburgh already knows what it has in Rodgers. McCarthy also sounds comfortable with Rudolph after watching him operate efficiently against Green Bay. Rudolph completed 10 of 11 passes for 93 yards in just 19 snaps last week, which was apparently enough to convince the coaching staff it didn’t need another preseason evaluation.

Howard also played 19 snaps and was sharp, finishing 7 of 9 for 86 yards.

Then Allar made the loudest statement of the night.

The rookie completed 10 of 13 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns across 30 snaps, giving Pittsburgh a much more interesting developmental quarterback conversation than it had even a week ago.

McCarthy clearly wants more of that.

“Have two veterans I feel really good about, obviously, with Aaron and Mason,” he said. “Saw what I needed to see from Mason last week.”

That opens the door for Howard and Allar to get something young quarterbacks almost never receive enough of in August: extended game reps.

And that could be huge.

Howard needs live work after essentially losing a developmental year. Allar, meanwhile, gets a chance to prove last week wasn’t just a preseason flash. His arm talent was obvious, but Friday offers another test against a different defense and another chance to show he can process quickly when the structure starts breaking down.

McCarthy said he wants to “max out the opportunities for both Will and Drew.”

That’s exactly what Pittsburgh should be doing.

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There’s no reason to risk Rodgers in a meaningless preseason game, and Rudolph doesn’t need to prove he can function as a veteran backup. The real value now is finding out whether one of these younger quarterbacks can become something more than a camp arm.

Friday night won’t decide the future of the Steelers quarterback room.

But it might tell us which young quarterback is actually starting to force his way into it.