Tag: Steelers vs Jets

Snap management mysteriously disappears for Steelers WR George Pickens

George Pickens is suddenly able to play the whole game.

In reviewing the snap counts from the Pittsburgh Steelers 37-15 win over the New York Jets, several things stood out to me. But nothing was more shocking to me than the snap count for wide receiver George Pickens.

Just a week after head coach Mike Tomlin reiterated the point that Pickens’ reduced workload was merely snap management and done in an attempt to help maximize his production when he was on the field. No one believed that then and definitely no one believes it now.

Aside from the starting offensive line and quarterback Russell Wilson, who all played 100 percent of the snaps, Pickens had the highest snap count of any Steelers player on offense. Pickens was out there for 79 percent of the offensive snaps which worked out to 54 of 68 snaps.

Pickens finished the game with five catches for 111 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the season. Pickens didn’t seem like he needed any rest last week and played hard the entire game.

We are very happy to see Pickens on the field more but there’s no doubt Tomlin was holding him back when Justin Fields was at quarterback to keep his ego in line and avoid any on-field issues if he wasn’t getting the football.

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Steelers blow out Jets in all phases

The Steelers blew out the Jets 37-15 with Russell Wilson under center.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made a controversial decision this week to bench quarterback Justin Fields in favor or Russell Wilson to take on the New York Jets. After one game, the move looks brilliant as the Steelers rattle off 31 unanswered points to beat the Jets 37-15 and improve to 5-2 on the season.

Wilson looked rusty out of the gates but after a rough first quarter, Wilson and the rest of the Steelers settled down and took control of the game. Wilson took plenty of shots downfield resulting in 264 passing yards with 111 of those going to wide receiver George Pickens. The run game was on point as well with Najee Harris finishing with 108 rushing yards and both Pickens and Harris found the end zone.

The Steelers defense was not to be outdone. They held Jets running back Breece Hall to just 38 rushing yards. Jets QB Aaron Rodgers did throw for 276 yards but much of that came early and once the defense settled in they put the clamps on. Speaking of clamps, rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop finished with two interceptions. The first two of his young career.

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Steelers vs Jets: Inactives for both teams in Week 7

Here are the Steelers and Jets inactives for this week’s game.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets square off in the Sunday night prime-time matchup and it will be a battle of two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. The Jets are hoping the addition of wide receiver Davante Adams will aid Aaron Rodgers in getting some life in the passing game, while the Steelers have turned to Russell Wilson to do the same thing for the Steelers.

Here are the full lists of inactive players for both teams. For the Steelers, there are no big surprises here but it does mark the return of outside linebacker Alex Highsmith. The Steelers will also be without rookie Roman Wilson how suffered an injury in practice this week.

Steelers

QB Kyle Allen (Emergency QB)

WR Roman Wilson

S Damontae Kazee

RB Aaron Shampklin

OLB Nick Herbig

C Zach Frazier

RB Cordarrelle Patterson

Jets

CB D.J. Reed

WR Malachi Corley

RB Izzy Abanikanda

CB Michael Carter

OT Max Mitchell

OT Carter Warren

DL Braiden McGregor

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Steelers adding a new twist at QB vs the Jets

One report says the Steelers plan to use both of their quarterbacks on Sunday vs the Jets.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the New York Jets this week, it seems they will opt for Russell Wilson at quarterback as opposed to sticking with Justin Fields. This is despite the fact that Fields has led the Steelers to a 4-2 record this season.

But this isn’t the wrinkle in the offense we are talking about. According to NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport, the Steelers are going to start Wilson but Rapoport says the Steelers still plan to play Fields. Presumably, this means Fields would come in for some packages that utilize this athleticism on some RPO concepts.

Head coach Mike Tomlin is playing a dangerous game with the quarterback position. Fields hasn’t been great but he’s been good enough to win and a change like this could really throw off the team’s chemistry.

In addition, using Fields as a gadget quarterback could end up just a way for the Steelers to telegraph plays to the Jets. If this little experiment doesn’t work, Tomlin will need to answer for this.

George Pickens accidentally leaks Steelers starting quarterback

Sounds like we know who is starting at quarterback on Sunday.

When Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media on Friday, he said he had his starting quarterback for this week’s game against the New York Jets. However, Tomlin told reporters he planning to keep that decision in-house.

But wide receiver George Pickens didn’t get the memo. When Pickens talked to the media, he let it slip that this week’s Steelers quarterback was making his first start, which makes it clear Tomlin’s plan is to start Russell Wilson this week and bench Justin Fields.

When we heard that Tomlin wasn’t going to publicly announce the starter, we assumed it was Wilson. This would have left some mystery and forced the Jets to prepare for the possibility of Fields and his athleticism in the gameplan. But thanks to Pickens, the Jets now know it will be Wilson getting his first start of the season.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin has his starting QB vs the Jets

The Steelers starter will be a surprise for everyone.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has his starting quarterback for this week’s game against the New York Jets. But according to Steelers team reporter Teresa Varley, Tomlin is not going to share whether it’s going to be Justin Fields or Russell Wilson with the public.

Tomlin did note that both quarterbacks looked sharp this week in practice. Fields has started the first six games of the season and led the Steelers to a 4-2 record. But he lamented that he didn’t think he played well enough to keep the job. This combined with Wilson being healthy is why Tomlin opened the competition back up this week.

Keeping the name of the starter close to the vest is some excellent gamesmanship by Tomlin. It forces the Jets to gameplan for two very different types of quarterbacks and dedicates prep to account for Fields’ running ability just in case he starts.

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Steelers injury updates: Rookie added to Thursday report with hamstring injury

The Steelers got Alex Highsmith back at practice on Thursday.

Thursday marks the final big day of work for the Pittsburgh Steelers as they prepare to take on the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football. Friday will mark final roster decisions but Thursday is usually the most telling in terms of who is trending toward playing.

On Thursday we saw several prominent names on the report with new statuses. The headliner is edge Alex Highsmith who was a full participant. Highsmith has missed the last three games with a groin injury but his return cannot come soon enough after Nick Herbig injured his hamstring filling in for him.

Another surprise on the list was the new addition of wide receiver Roman Wilson. Wilson was back on the injury report and limited with a hamstring injury. Wilson has missed almost all of the season with this same injury but saw his first action last week.

No. 10 Roman Wilson (Hamstring) – Limited
No. 22 RB Najee Harris (Ribs) – Full
No. 23 S Damontae Kazee (Ankle) – Limited
No. 51 LB Nick Herbig (Hamstring) – DNP
No. 54 C Zach Frazier (Ankle) – DNP
No. 56 LB Alex Highsmith (Groin) – Full
No. 60 OT Dylan Cook (Foot) – Limited
No. 73 G Isaac Seumalo (NIR – Resting) – Full
No 81 TE MyCole Pruitt (Knee) – Full
No. 84 RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson (Ankle) – DNP
No. 90 LB T.J. Watt (NIR – Resting) – Full
No. 97 DT Cameron Heyward (NIR – Resting) – DNP
No. 99 DT Larry Ogunjobi (NIR – Resting) – Limited

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Somber Justin Fields addresses his pending demotion

Justin Fields said the Steelers haven’t officially demoted him but you can tell he thinks it is coming.

There’s been no official announcement but it really sounds like the Pittsburgh Steelers are planning to start Russell Wilson at quarterback this week against the New York Jets. This would mean Justin Fields, who led the team to a 4-2 record as a starter this season would be relegated to backup.

Fields was asked about the demotion and while he said there’s been nothing official, you could tell by his body language and tone he’s a man who is resigned to the fact he lost the starting job.

When asked, Fields talked like he didn’t do enough to keep the job and didn’t make enough plays. This has to be frustrating given he’s accounted for 10 total touchdowns in six games and added a spark to the offense with his legs.

https://twitter.com/C_AdamskiTrib/status/1846930748713861196

This whole plan by head coach Mike Tomlin will blow up in his face is Wilson struggles. He’s been sidelined almost all of the offseason and regular season with a calf strain, leaving Fields in charge of the offense.

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Sneaky reason the Steelers should start Russell Wilson vs the Jets

There might be a method to Mike Tomlin’s madness with starting Russell Wilson this week.

When Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addresses the media on Friday, we should have our answer as to whether it is Russell Wilson or Justin Fields starting versus the New York Jets this Sunday night. Tomlin said on Tuesday he was leaving the option open for Wilson now that he is 100 percent healthy.

It might seem insane for Tomlin to sit Fields down after going 4-2 as a starter and scoring 10 total touchdowns. But there might be a method to his madness. Just hear me out.

The Jets are a bad football team. They just fired their head coach last week after an awful start. Tomlin could view this game at home in prime time as a very winnable game and he can afford to play Wilson if the team is planning to trade one of their starting quarterbacks before the November 5 trade deadline.

If the team wants to trade Fields, why not start Wilson this week just to see what you have and be sure it’s safe to deal Fields. Or maybe the team wants to trade Wilson and wants to give him a game to show out and make an impression on a prospective team.

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