A game that began as a back-and-forth battle turned into a decisive win for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who scored 31 unanswered points en route to a 37-15 win over the visiting New York Jets on "Sunday Night Football."
On a night where they honored their first Super Bowl team, the Steelers (5-2) looked like a championship-caliber squad. A big reason why was the play of Russell Wilson, who recorded three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in his Pittsburgh debut. Conversely, the Jets (2-5) continued to underwhelm in what has been a disappointing season for Aaron Rodgers and Co.
The Jets started strong and took a 15-6 on the strength of Rodgers and running back Breece Hall. But the first of two interceptions of Rodgers by rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. late in the first half shifted the game's momentum. The pick set up the first of five unanswered scores by the Steelers that included two touchdown passes and a touchdown run from Wilson, who threw for 264 yards on 16 of 29 passing. Not surprisingly, Wilson's favorite target was George Pickens, who pulled down five passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.
While Wilson's debut was a success, the same couldn't be said for Davante Adams, who caught just 3 of 9 targets for 30 yards in his Jets debut and did not record a catch in the second half. Adams' struggles were a reflection of the kind of night it was for Rodgers, who threw two picks that the Steelers turned into 14 points.
Here's a closer look at how Pittsburgh pulled off the "upset" (the Steelers were underdogs entering the game).
After a slow start, the Steelers strung together a series of big plays, starting with Bishop's first pick that set up Wilson's 11-yard touchdown pass to Pickens that cut Pittsburgh's halftime deficit to two points.
On Pittsburgh's first drive of the second half, Wilson hit Pickens for 37 yards before throwing a dime to tight end Pat Freiermuth that went for 21 yards. Those completions set up Chris Boswell's go-ahead field goal. The Steelers' next score occurred less than a minute later after Bishop's second pick of the night set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Wilson, as Pittsburgh extended its lead to 23-15.
The Jets moved the ball on their next drive, but they came away with nothing after Dean Lowry blocked Greg Zuerlein's field goal attempt. With the Jets reeling at this point, the Steelers took advantage by orchestrating an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a Wilson touchdown pass to Van Jefferson, increasing the lead to 30-15.
The big plays were key, but another obvious main reason for Pittsburgh's win was the play of Wilson, who started slow before finding his rhythm after hitting Pickens for a 44-yard strike early in the second quarter after the Steelers had three consecutive three-and-outs. Wilson received stellar protection all night and was complemented by a ground game that gained 149 yards, with Najee Harris recording his second straight 100-yard game.
The following sentence will be a sobering one to read if you're a Jets fan. New York simply isn't a good team, despite having future Hall of Famers in Rodgers and Adams and promising young players in Hall, Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner.
The Jets have top-end talent, but they have too many obvious weaknesses. Their subpar offensive line was manhandled by Cam Heyward and the rest of the Steelers defensive front, as the Jets rushed for just 54 yards on 15 carries. Rodgers continues to take far too mush punishment, and that punishment on Sunday led to a nasty gash on his left hand that required medial treatment in-game.
On defense, injuries to the secondary hindered that unit's effectiveness. Their struggles contributed to an already pedestrian run defense getting overpowered by Harris, who ended the game with a 10-yard touchdown run that served as the proverbial knockout punch.
Along with all of this, the Jets continue to make too many mistakes that good teams just don't make. An example of this was Wilson's drop of Rodgers' pass that led to Bishop's second pick with the Jets trailing by a point midway through the third quarter. The drop set up another Steelers touchdown.
Wilson's first deep completion to Pickens was big, as was Bishop's second interception that extended the Steelers' lead. But the clear choice here is Bishop's first pick that set up Pittsburgh's first touchdown just before halftime.
After the game, Bishop said that he was hoping to have Rodgers sign one of his intercepted balls. It'll be interesting to see if Rodgers obliged.
On a night where Hall of Fame wideouts Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were in the building, it's fitting that Pickens made several balletic catches that conjured up memories of the Steelers' great wideouts of yesteryear. Arguably his best catch of the night was his contested grab early in the third quarter that helped set up the Steelers go-ahead score.
"We know how he liked to attack us. Whenever he sees the middle of the field open, he likes to throw those types of passes. I just happened to be right there and play what I saw. On the second one ... that was a route they've been running, even in Green Bay. I played it right, the ball tipped up in the air and I tried to house call it." -- Bishop, during his postgame interview with NBC Sports, breaking down his first two career interceptions
"I also want to give credit to Justin, how he got us in this position, what a great player he is. Just this whole team. I really love it, love being here." -- Wilson giving praise to teammate Justin Fields, who led the Steelers to a 4-2 start when Wilson was out with a calf injury
The Steelers will play another prime-time game at home when they welcome the 2-5 Giants to town next Monday night. The Jets will face the 1-6 Patriots in New England next Sunday.
Pittsburgh is, amazingly, going to improve to 5-2 with this win. The Steelers finish up their primetime series with the New York teams next week, when they play the Giants on Monday Night Football.
The Jets, meanwhile, are now 2-5, and 0-2 since firing Robert Saleh. They play the division rival Patriots next week in a game they absolutely cannot afford to lose.
The Jets again drove into Steelers territory, and they again came away with zero points. This time they turned the ball over on downs, with Keeanu Benton playing a major role in stopping them. He blew up a screen pass and then knocked Rodgers' fourth-down pass out of the air before it ever had a chance to reach its intended target. Pittsburgh is up 15 points with just south of 8 minutes left.
After the Najee run, the Steelers got themselves down to the goal line. And from there, Wilson looked to his right and found a wide-open Van Jefferson in the front of the end zone and hit him for the score. Pittsburgh is now up two touchdowns, with Jefferson scoring the TD in front of his father, former NFL wideout Shawn Jefferson, who is the Jets' wide receiver coach.
What an open-field move by Najee Harris to rip off a 34-yard gain and get the Steelers that much closer to making this a two-score lead.
After Pittsburgh extended its lead to 8 points, the Jets drove back down the field and got into scoring position. But once they got inside the red zone, things stalled out as Rodgers misfired on passes intended for Garrett Wilson, Davante Adams and Mike Williams. The Jets thought they were getting a field goal to cut into the lead, but for the second time tonight, Pittsburgh blocked a kick. (And this time, it counted.)
Newman has been declared out with a neck injury but has movement in his limbs, per the broadcast.
Jets offensive lineman Xavier Newman was placed on a spine board and carted off the field following the Bishop interception return. He has been filling in for Alijah Vera-Tucker, who left with an injury earlier in the game. The NBC broadcast reported that Newman had not yet moved at the time he was placed on the board. He will be taken to a nearby trauma center for further evaluation and care.
Beanie Bishop's second pick of the night was not Aaron Rodgers' fault. The throw hit Garrett Wilson right in the shoulder pad. Alas, it bounced up in the air and Bishop came down with it, then took it all the way down to the goal line to set the Steelers up with as good of field position as you can possibly have. What a night for the undrafted rookie.
After another drive deep into Jets territory, the Steelers once again ended up settling for a field goal. Wilson connected with Pickens on the ridiculous grab below, then had his best throw of the night on a similar lofted toss to Pat Freiermuth. But both of his goal-to-go passes fell short and Pittsburgh kicked to take a 1-point lead, 16-15.
Pickens is absolutely out of his mind tonight, folks. Just... look at this:
Davante Adams only has 3 catches for 30 yards on his 6 targets so far tonight. Rodgers had him wide open on a short crosser on third-and-2 on the opening drive of the second half, but he got hit as he was throwing and the ball fell incomplete. For some reason, the Jets then decided to punt on fourth-and-2 from the 49-yard line. After a return, Pittsburgh already has it back at the 21.
You saw the contested-catch skills from Pickens earlier in the game. Here they are again. This time, he goes up and snags it over the top of Brandon Echols in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown, bringing the Steelers back within one score.
Aaron Rodgers tried to force a pass into a crowd of Steelers defenders, and he paid the price. There was a little bit of a window for him to hit Garrett Wilson in between all of those guys, and usually that type of throw gets completed despite being thrown into a crowd -- but Beanie Bishop closed that window with a spectacular one-handed catch while spinning around. Sheesh.
Russell Wilson did a terrific job getting rid of this ball and getting it into Pat Freiermuth's hands. He came under quick pressure off the play-action fake and just slung it out there like he was turning a double play. And then Freiermuth went to work, breaking a bunch of tackles and dragging defenders for a ride to pick up 30 yards. Really nice play on both ends.
The Jets nearly scored on second-and-goal from the 3-yard line, with Hall getting stopped inches short of the goal line. Interim Jets coach Jeff Ulbrich wanted to challenge the play... but he dropped the red flag while trying to throw it onto the field. (Seriously. That happened.) Before he could pick it back up, the Jets snapped the ball and Rodgers found tight end Tyler Conklin for six. After a penalty negated a blocked extra point, the Jets went for two and converted. What a wild sequence.
Under heavy pressure, Rodgers found his checkdown just beyond the line of scrimmage. And then Breece went to work. He slalomed his way through the Pittsburgh secondary, breaking tackles left and right and zooming past defensive backs. He ripped off a 57-yard gain to set the Jets up on the goal line. He has 4 grabs for 92 yards already tonight, leading all players. (The NFL tweet says 56 yards but the official play-by-play says 57.)
Naturally, the Steelers almost immediately stalled out once they got to the red zone, and kicked another field goal. It's 7-6 Jets. This doesn't deserve its own headline because it's so predictable.
We got a classic Russell Wilson moon-ball deeeeeeep shot up the left sideline, and Pickens used his body to shield the defender away from the ball and reeled it in. That is Wilson's best skill, and it's Pickens' best skill, too. They combined to pick up 44 yards on this one. What a ridiculous grab.
The momentum shifted after Calvin Austin III's drop to end Pittsburgh's second drive and Larry Ogunjobi's penalty at the start of the Jets' ensuing drive. The Jets scored on that drive to take a 7-3 lead, and Pittsburgh's offense was booed after they went three-and-out on their next drive.
Steelers have the ball to open the second quarter. They picked up just two first downs and were 0 of 3 on third down. Fortunately for the Steelers, Rodgers has a been a little off the mark early on, or the deficit could be larger.
The Steelers drove down for a field goal on their opening possession, but they have now gone three-and-out on each of their last two trips. Russell Wilson is now 2 of 6 for 19 yards and other than one Najee Harris run on the first drive, the Steelers have gotten nothing going on the ground, either.
The Jets' first drive went nowhere. Their second drive visited the end zone. Rodgers connected with five different receivers, going 6 of 6 for 58 yards. Breece Hall was on the receiving end of 2 of those passes, but he scored on the ground with a 13-yard scamper to give New York the lead late in the first quarter.
Aaron Rodgers fired his first pass of the night to Davante Adams, but it fell incomplete. On third down, he tried to buy some time against the Steelers pass rush, but was enveloped by Larry Ogunjobi before he had a chance to get off a throw. Three-and-out for New York.
The Steelers moved quickly down the field on their opening drive, with Najee Harris breaking a nice run and Darnell Washington catching a pass in the flat and gaining some YAC. But things stalled out just inside the Jets' 30-yard line and Pittsburgh settled for a Chris Boswell kick to take a 3-0 lead.
Pittsburgh is without Nick Herbig opposite T.J. Watt, and also without Zach Frazier in the middle of the offensive line. Those could be important absences against a Jets offensive line that has struggled, and against Quinnen Williams in the middle of the defensive line, respectively.
No surprises here but two important absences for New York in D.J. Reed and Michael Carter II. The Steelers haven't had much of a passing game this year but have a better chance to get going against a team missing two of its starting corners.
