It wasn’t pretty, but it worked.
The Jets didn’t look great on offense or defense, but both units were effective enough to pull off a16-10 upset win over the Steelers on Sunday.
Sam Darnold didn’t do much after a sensational opening drive capped off by a perfect touchdown pass to Robby Anderson but he put the Jets in multiple positions to kick field goals, which kept the Steelers at bay throughout the game. The defense, meanwhile, held off a Steelers offense that cycled between Devlin Hodges and Mason Rudolph at quarterback lost James Conner to injury.
Game Balls:
- Jamal Adams: No sacks for the safety, but Adams finished with a game-high six solo tackles and eight combined on the day. He also had two tackles for a loss and played a huge role in limiting the Steelers to only 75 combined rushing yards. Adams hasn’t been as effective since his injury, but he remains the Jets’ best overall defender and the leader of the defense.
- Sam Ficken: Ficken converted all four of his kick attempts (three field goals and one extra point). He also nailed a 54-yarder early in the second quarter. It will be very interesting to see what the Jets do with Ficken this offseason given the team’s recent kicker struggles.
Quick Thoughts:
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- Adam Gase is still struggling with orchestrating sustained drives after the Jets’ first series of either half. The Jets stormed down the field on an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the game and then couldn’t do anything the rest of the game. New York averaged 4.1 plays for 15.3 yards in their next 12 drives and only mustered nine points. Mid-game adjustments have plagued Gase throughout his tenure with the Jets and it continued against the Steelers.
- Robby Anderson wants his money. The wide receiver made another ridiculous touchdown catch on a perfectly-placed ball by Darnold on the Jets’ opening drive in his attempt to prove to the Jets – or anyone that will pay him – that he’s worth a long-term contract. Anderson only finished the game with two receptions for 32 yards (his touchdown went for 23), but he now has a score in four of the past six games and should see a nice offer from someone this offseason. Whether it comes from the Jets remains to be seen.
I’m lookin’ for a diiiiime, that’s top of the liiiiine.#PITvsNYJ | #TakeFlight pic.twitter.com/xGGWr9lHBb
— New York Jets (@nyjets) December 22, 2019
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- Sam Darnold is still making some careless mistakes. He only had one turnover (a sack-fumble), but he almost threw another bad interception on a deep pass to Vyncint Smith. It was a miracle Joe Haden didn’t come down with the ball. Darnold only finished with 16 completions for 186 yards and the Jets failed to build many long drives. This has been a trend of both Darnold and the play-calling by Gase all season, and it needs to be corrected this summer.
- New York’s defense employed a bend-but-don’t-break mentality when it came to facing the Steelers. Pittsburgh had a few nice drives that could have turned into more than just 10 points, but the Jets were able to thwart a couple of efforts. Devlin Hodges threw interceptions on his first two drives, including one to safety Marcus Maye in the end zone. Quinnen Williams also had a sack late in the game to knock the Steelers out of field goal range. The defense played well enough to keep the Steelers off the scoreboard, though they did give up a big score to Dontae Johnson at the end of the half in an obvious Hail Mary situation for the Steelers.