Nobody in this Jets-Steelers preseason game is playing for a playoff spot. They're playing for a roster spot, and that changes everything about how you should look at this total. Aaron Rodgers watches from the sideline. Mason Rudolph sits too. What's left on the Pittsburgh side is an open competition at backup quarterback, the kind of camp battle that decides who's on the depth chart in September, playing out live in front of anyone willing to watch a meaningless August game.
That's exactly what makes the number interesting. A total built around starters has history to lean on. A total built around a quarterback competition has almost nothing. Guys auditioning for a job play differently than guys settling into one. They force throws. They also occasionally look sharper than anyone expected, because this is their one shot to make a case.
The Jets bring their own uncertainty to the other sideline, which only adds to how little anyone actually knows about how this one plays out. So here's the number in front of you: 36.5. Whichever quarterbacks take the reps, you're deciding whether this game clears it or falls short.