The Pittsburgh Steelers lost a very tough, and very good game to the New York Jets. Despite the hype for this game, there really wasn't much on the line for the Steelers. They still clinched a playoff spot despite the loss and are still on pace to win the AFC North with two fairly easy games left on their schedule.
The game did mean a lot more for the Jets in terms of making the playoffs. The Jets came into Pittsburgh losing back to back games, including getting blown up by the New England Patriots. The Jets had also never won a game in Pittsburgh in their storied history.
Yet these were still two potential playoff teams playing in what felt like a playoff game in the regular season. It was also a game that featured two offenses that were struggling to score touchdowns. The Steelers had only scored one offensive touchdown in the last three games. The Jets have had similar offensive woes in their last couple of games also.
In the end the Jets were the better team today. That being said, this game could have easily been won by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Big plays, non-calls by the officials, and bad play-calling among other things were eventually too much to overcome by the black and gold.
Offense: The Good
The game did mean a lot more for the Jets in terms of making the playoffs. The Jets came into Pittsburgh losing back to back games, including getting blown up by the New England Patriots. The Jets had also never won a game in Pittsburgh in their storied history.
Yet these were still two potential playoff teams playing in what felt like a playoff game in the regular season. It was also a game that featured two offenses that were struggling to score touchdowns. The Steelers had only scored one offensive touchdown in the last three games. The Jets have had similar offensive woes in their last couple of games also.
In the end the Jets were the better team today. That being said, this game could have easily been won by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Big plays, non-calls by the officials, and bad play-calling among other things were eventually too much to overcome by the black and gold.
Offense: The Good
Ben Roethlisberger and the offense came in to the Jets' game facing a lot of criticism for not scoring touchdowns and not sustaining drives. That ended today as the Ben and the Steelers scored two touchdowns, Roethlisberger, who was 23 of 44, 264 yards orchestrated an impressive 96 yard drive starting from his own 4 yard line in the second quarter. The drive was a 16-play possession that took up more than half of the second quarter and was completed by a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Matt Speath was only the second touchdown by Pittsburgh's offense in 13 quarters.
They then added a 74-yard scoring drive to start the second half, which was capped by a Rashard Mendenhall 2-yard touchdown run. I was really impressed with the way Mendenhall ran the ball against a decent Jets' defense. Mendenhall ran the ball 17 times for 100 yards, including an impressive 21 yard gain.
Rookie wide-receiver Emmanuel Sanders had a big game, catching seven passes for 78 yards, including a including a 29 yard catch on a third-and 24 in the 4th quarter. Mike Wallace also had seven catches for 102 yards.
The offensive line had one of it's better games of the season, doing a good job in run blocking, and a decent job in pass-protection. They had a few miscues but gave Big Ben a clean pocket to throw from for most of the game.
The Steelers were also very good on third downs, converting 11 of 17 for the game. Ben was very impressive on third downs, as he converted a third-and-24, third-and-16, and a third-and-ten, all on one drive. Ben also ran twice for 25 yards, and got a first down on both attempts.
The Steelers also only had one offensive penalty and zero turnovers.
Offense: The Bad
Where was the pass-rush? One sack and only hitting Mark Sanchez twice is simply unacceptable. They still had all four of the starting linebackers in the lineup but it didn't seem to matter. The Jets offensive won the battle up front for almost the entire game and not just on passing plays.
The Jets as a team ran the ball for over a 100 yards. LaDainian Tomlinson was their leading rusher with just 49 yards, but as a team they 27 times for 103 yards, including a Mark Sanchez touchdown run. I saw the Steelers front seven getting pushed around by the Jets which is very alarming.
I thought the linebackers were average at best today. Timmons was fast but he and the rest of the defenders were always a step late on most plays.
Where was LaMar Woodley? Two tackles and that's it. The rest of the time he was practically invisible.
Once again we saw another mediocre quarterback play better than he usually does against the Steelers defense. Sanchez is prone to mistakes but didn't make any against the Steelers, as he completed 19 of his 29 passes for 170 yards.
Bryant McFadden continues to struggle in coverage no matter what type of route is ran on him. Braylon Edwards beat him on a 38 yard pass on him and McFadden gave up quite a few short passes as usual. Whenever you see McFadden have 7 tackles it usually means he didn't play well.
I thought Ryan Clark played a decent game but had a costly 15 yard personal foul called on him because he "launched" himself at a Jets receiver.
Special Teams:
They then added a 74-yard scoring drive to start the second half, which was capped by a Rashard Mendenhall 2-yard touchdown run. I was really impressed with the way Mendenhall ran the ball against a decent Jets' defense. Mendenhall ran the ball 17 times for 100 yards, including an impressive 21 yard gain.
Rookie wide-receiver Emmanuel Sanders had a big game, catching seven passes for 78 yards, including a including a 29 yard catch on a third-and 24 in the 4th quarter. Mike Wallace also had seven catches for 102 yards.
The offensive line had one of it's better games of the season, doing a good job in run blocking, and a decent job in pass-protection. They had a few miscues but gave Big Ben a clean pocket to throw from for most of the game.
The Steelers were also very good on third downs, converting 11 of 17 for the game. Ben was very impressive on third downs, as he converted a third-and-24, third-and-16, and a third-and-ten, all on one drive. Ben also ran twice for 25 yards, and got a first down on both attempts.
The Steelers also only had one offensive penalty and zero turnovers.
Offense: The Bad
Despite the offensive line playing well for most of the game, they still managed to have a few miscues. They are still having trouble picking up and identifying blitzers, as the Jets managed to get free pass-rushers in the backfield a few times.
Jonathan Scott continues to be the weak link of the line and possibly the team. He got beat a few times in pass-protection and had what might be the biggest miscue of the game. Scott missed his block on a draw play in the fourth quarter, which caused Mewelde Moore to get tackled in the endzone for a safety. Scott and guard Chris Kemoeatu both pulled on the play and Scott was supposed to block Jason Taylor. He completely missed allowing Taylor to make the play.
Which brings me to play-calling. Bruce Arians continues to hold this offense back. I will never understand why you would call a draw play out of a shotgun formation on your own one yard line. That call belongs in a discussion with the third and six quarterback draw against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs from 2007 for worst offensive play call in Steelers' history. A quarterback sneak or a quick throw would have been much better options.
I also didn't understand why Mewelde Moore was in the game at that point. I honestly hardly saw Mendenhall in the game in the fourth quarter.
The offense as a whole had a good came, winning the time of possession battle, and piling up 378 yards on a good defense. That being said the Steelers left a lot of plays out on the field. Dropped passes, two fumbles by Big Ben, and a bad personal foul penalty on Flozzell Adams helped derail drives.
Defense: The Good:
Defense: The Bad:
For a defense that only allowed 13 points and a 278 yards, I really wasn't impressed with their performance. Once again they showed that without Troy Polamalu in the lineup they can't make any plays. Zero turnovers forced and only one sack is not going to cut it for the vaunted Steelers defense.Jonathan Scott continues to be the weak link of the line and possibly the team. He got beat a few times in pass-protection and had what might be the biggest miscue of the game. Scott missed his block on a draw play in the fourth quarter, which caused Mewelde Moore to get tackled in the endzone for a safety. Scott and guard Chris Kemoeatu both pulled on the play and Scott was supposed to block Jason Taylor. He completely missed allowing Taylor to make the play.
Which brings me to play-calling. Bruce Arians continues to hold this offense back. I will never understand why you would call a draw play out of a shotgun formation on your own one yard line. That call belongs in a discussion with the third and six quarterback draw against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs from 2007 for worst offensive play call in Steelers' history. A quarterback sneak or a quick throw would have been much better options.
I also didn't understand why Mewelde Moore was in the game at that point. I honestly hardly saw Mendenhall in the game in the fourth quarter.
The offense as a whole had a good came, winning the time of possession battle, and piling up 378 yards on a good defense. That being said the Steelers left a lot of plays out on the field. Dropped passes, two fumbles by Big Ben, and a bad personal foul penalty on Flozzell Adams helped derail drives.
Defense: The Good:
The Pittsburgh Steelers as a whole played a decent game despite not having arguably their two most important players, Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith. They only allowed 276 total yards and 13 points on the day and gave their team a great chance to win the game.
I thought one of the most important keys to a win was to keep Santonio Holmes, former Steelers, in check. Holmes having a big game would have been bad in more ways than one. Ike Taylor was matched up on Holmes for most of the game and I thought he did a great job, holding Holmes to just 40 yards receiving.
The Steelers only allowed the Jets to convert six of thirteen third downs, including a huge third down that allowed the offense to get the ball back at the end of the game.
I thought Brett Keisel had a good game and also had a key play knocking down a pass early in the game.
Lawerence Timmons lead the team in tackles with 13, including 10 solo tackles. I wish they would blitz Timmons more to use his speed to get to the passer.
James Farrior had the Steelers only sack.
If anything the Steelers did a good job at keeping them in the game and not allowing big plays. Only one play over 30 yards by the Jets.
I thought one of the most important keys to a win was to keep Santonio Holmes, former Steelers, in check. Holmes having a big game would have been bad in more ways than one. Ike Taylor was matched up on Holmes for most of the game and I thought he did a great job, holding Holmes to just 40 yards receiving.
The Steelers only allowed the Jets to convert six of thirteen third downs, including a huge third down that allowed the offense to get the ball back at the end of the game.
I thought Brett Keisel had a good game and also had a key play knocking down a pass early in the game.
Lawerence Timmons lead the team in tackles with 13, including 10 solo tackles. I wish they would blitz Timmons more to use his speed to get to the passer.
James Farrior had the Steelers only sack.
If anything the Steelers did a good job at keeping them in the game and not allowing big plays. Only one play over 30 yards by the Jets.
Defense: The Bad:
Where was the pass-rush? One sack and only hitting Mark Sanchez twice is simply unacceptable. They still had all four of the starting linebackers in the lineup but it didn't seem to matter. The Jets offensive won the battle up front for almost the entire game and not just on passing plays.
The Jets as a team ran the ball for over a 100 yards. LaDainian Tomlinson was their leading rusher with just 49 yards, but as a team they 27 times for 103 yards, including a Mark Sanchez touchdown run. I saw the Steelers front seven getting pushed around by the Jets which is very alarming.
I thought the linebackers were average at best today. Timmons was fast but he and the rest of the defenders were always a step late on most plays.
Where was LaMar Woodley? Two tackles and that's it. The rest of the time he was practically invisible.
Once again we saw another mediocre quarterback play better than he usually does against the Steelers defense. Sanchez is prone to mistakes but didn't make any against the Steelers, as he completed 19 of his 29 passes for 170 yards.
Bryant McFadden continues to struggle in coverage no matter what type of route is ran on him. Braylon Edwards beat him on a 38 yard pass on him and McFadden gave up quite a few short passes as usual. Whenever you see McFadden have 7 tackles it usually means he didn't play well.
I thought Ryan Clark played a decent game but had a costly 15 yard personal foul called on him because he "launched" himself at a Jets receiver.
Special Teams:
Only word can describe the Steeelers' special teams against the Jets: awful. They started the game off with a bang allowing Brad Smith to take the opening kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown. They put the rest of the team behind the eight ball for the rest of the game. The alarming thing about the return was Smith really didn't have to make a move, he just ran straight to the endzone.
The Special teams continued to try their best to help the Jets win the game the rest of the day. Newly acquired punter Jeremy Kapinos had a mediocre game at best. He punted four times for 152 yards, averaging just 38 yards per punt. He also failed to land any of those punts inside the 20.
The same couldn't be the same for the Jets, as they managed to not only make the Steelers start from their own 20, they managed to pin them inside their own ten yard line three different times. I've been a big campaigner for Antonio Brown to return punts but he didn't do a very good job of judging punts against the Jets.
Field position is going to be huge in the playoffs and I just don't want to see the Steelers get eliminated because of poor special teams. However, that seems very possible.
Coaching:
The Special teams continued to try their best to help the Jets win the game the rest of the day. Newly acquired punter Jeremy Kapinos had a mediocre game at best. He punted four times for 152 yards, averaging just 38 yards per punt. He also failed to land any of those punts inside the 20.
The same couldn't be the same for the Jets, as they managed to not only make the Steelers start from their own 20, they managed to pin them inside their own ten yard line three different times. I've been a big campaigner for Antonio Brown to return punts but he didn't do a very good job of judging punts against the Jets.
Field position is going to be huge in the playoffs and I just don't want to see the Steelers get eliminated because of poor special teams. However, that seems very possible.
Coaching:
The Steelers didn't just get outplayed by the Jets, they got out-coached as well. The play-calling on the defensive side of the ball was bland and very predictable. Not sure if they just wanted to see if Sanchez could beat them or if they didn't trust the rest of the defense without Polamalu in the lineup. Either way it was frustrating to watch.
Mike Tomlin and the Steelers have to fix the special teams. It's not fair to the rest of the team to lose a close game because the special teams stinks.
Bruce Arians continues to do a horrible job at running the offense. The draw play from the shotgun formation from the 2 yard line cost them the game. Those two points made it a five point game which made the Steelers need a touchdown to win the game. If they avoid that safety they could have just kicked a field goal to send the game into overtime.
I though Dick LeBeau's defense was bland and uninspired. The Jets had no trouble picking up the blitzes and they never made Mark Sanchez feel uncomfortable.
Moving On:
Even though you never like to lose this loss really isn't the end of the world. The Steelers still control their own destiny in terms of winning the division and getting the bye week in the playoffs. The bye week will be crucial for this team so they can get their team and key players healthy.
If Troy Polamalu can not play in the playoffs the Steelers have no shot at winning a single game. That's how much he means to this defense and this team. He may be the most important defensive player in the league.
They also have to get the Speacial teams fixed. Starting from inside their own ten yard line is going to be hard to overcome against a good team in the playoffs. They also can not allow teams to have huge returns in the kicking game.
The penalties are also a concern of mine going into the playoffs. The Steelers took two more personal foul penalties against the Jets. That can't happen in the playoffs. Whether they are being targeted or simply just committing dumb penalties, it can't happen in the playoffs. 15 yards is way too much to give up against a good team.
Despite all their losses being to teams that are going to make the playoffs, I still think the Steelers can beat any team in the playoffs, with the exception of the New England Patriots. I think if the Steeelers are healthy they are the second best team in football.
The Steelers should win their next two games. They have a home game with the Carolin Panthers, arguably the worst team in the NFL. Then they finish the season with a game at Cleveland against the Browns. The Steelers win both of those games and they earn themselves the AFC North title and a bye in the playoffs.
Mike Tomlin and the Steelers have to fix the special teams. It's not fair to the rest of the team to lose a close game because the special teams stinks.
Bruce Arians continues to do a horrible job at running the offense. The draw play from the shotgun formation from the 2 yard line cost them the game. Those two points made it a five point game which made the Steelers need a touchdown to win the game. If they avoid that safety they could have just kicked a field goal to send the game into overtime.
I though Dick LeBeau's defense was bland and uninspired. The Jets had no trouble picking up the blitzes and they never made Mark Sanchez feel uncomfortable.
Moving On:
Even though you never like to lose this loss really isn't the end of the world. The Steelers still control their own destiny in terms of winning the division and getting the bye week in the playoffs. The bye week will be crucial for this team so they can get their team and key players healthy.
If Troy Polamalu can not play in the playoffs the Steelers have no shot at winning a single game. That's how much he means to this defense and this team. He may be the most important defensive player in the league.
They also have to get the Speacial teams fixed. Starting from inside their own ten yard line is going to be hard to overcome against a good team in the playoffs. They also can not allow teams to have huge returns in the kicking game.
The penalties are also a concern of mine going into the playoffs. The Steelers took two more personal foul penalties against the Jets. That can't happen in the playoffs. Whether they are being targeted or simply just committing dumb penalties, it can't happen in the playoffs. 15 yards is way too much to give up against a good team.
Despite all their losses being to teams that are going to make the playoffs, I still think the Steelers can beat any team in the playoffs, with the exception of the New England Patriots. I think if the Steeelers are healthy they are the second best team in football.
The Steelers should win their next two games. They have a home game with the Carolin Panthers, arguably the worst team in the NFL. Then they finish the season with a game at Cleveland against the Browns. The Steelers win both of those games and they earn themselves the AFC North title and a bye in the playoffs.
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