Tag: Steelers vs Jets

Injuries and ineptitude plague Steelers in loss to Jets

The Steelers offense continues to get worse.

The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive woes continued on Sunday and their inability to generate any sort of offensive consistency led to their second straight loss, this time to the New York Jets. Pittsburgh fell to 8-7 on the season with their 16-10 loss to the Jets.

This week’s storylines were once again injuries and the offenses complete ineptitude. Pittsburgh quarterback Devlin Hodges was benched in the first half after two ugly interceptions and replaced by Mason Rudolph. You know, the guy Hodges replaced after Rudolph threw a bunch of interceptions.

But the return of Rudolph was short-lived as he suffered an injury in the third quarter and Hodges had to get back off the bench and try to rally the team he let down in the first half. It didn’t work.

Defensively the Steleers played well but over the last two weeks we’ve seen fewer splash plays on that side of the football. Jets running back Le’Veon Bell rushed for 72 yards on his old team and that included a 13-yard loss on one carry. The Jets wanted to come out and establish the run and they did just that.

Pittsburgh wanted to do the same but thanks to yet another injury by running back James Conner and an injury to center Maurkice Pouncey it never got going.

Believe it or not, even after this the Steelers are still in a position to make the playoffs. The Steelers wrap up the regular season on the road against the Baltimore Ravens.

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Duck Hodges back in for Steelers after Mason Rudolph injury

The Steelers have made another change at quarterback.

The revolving door at quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers continues. Late in the first half after Devlin Hodges threw his second interception, he found himself on the bench and Mason Rudolph replaced him. Now, with Rudolph dealing with some sort of injury, Hodges now has to gather himself and go back in and try to get the Steelers a win.

At this point, with the Steelers injuries piling up it might take a miracle for Pittsburgh to sneak past the New York Jets. Pittsburgh has already lost running back James Conner and center Maurkice Pouncey on offense.

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Steelers C Maurkice Pouncey goes down with knee injury

The Steelers see another offensive starter go down with injury.

We don’t know the extent of the injury suffered by Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey but it didn’t look good. Pouncey went down late in the third quarter in obvious pain. After the training staff checked on him, Pouncey tried to go off on his own power. But after just a few steps you see something give in his knee and has to be helped to the blue medical tent.

Now it will be B.J. Finney to come in and replace Pouncey. Finney is a talented and experienced reserve. The Steelers currently trail the New York Jets 13-10 late in the third quarter. We will keep you updated on the status of Pouncey when information becomes available.

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Steelers RB James Conner questionable to return with injury

Here come the injuries for the Steelers.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have reported Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner has suffered a thigh injury against the New York Jets and is questionable to return. Conner was finally looking healthy from a shoulder injury that has kept him out of five of the last six games. But now we find Conner on the exercise bike on the sidelines while his offense struggles.

With Conner sidelined it will cone again be Benny Snell Jr. and Jaylen Samuels trying to help out Mason Rudolph as he comes in for a struggling Devlin Hodges.

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Steelers vs Jets inactives: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster is active

The Steelers inactives don’t have WR JuJu Smith-Schuster.

According to the inactives, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster back in the lineup when they take on the New York Jets today. Smith-Schuster had missed the previous four games with a knee injury but with the season on the line, the team’s best wide receiver is back.

The only surprise on this week’s list is listing safety Marcus Allen as inactive. Allen was promoted from the practice squad this week to replace Kam Kelly who was released this week after an arrest. With Allen inactive it looks like Jordan Dangerfield will be the primary reserve safety. Also, don’t be shocked to see some Cam Sutton in sub-packages as a third safety.

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Steelers vs Jets: Pittsburgh’s 4 big keys to victory

Run the ball and stop the run and the Steelers are halfway there.

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

This week the Pittsburgh Steelers have a golden opportunity to create some distance going into the final week of the season and take steps toward a spot in the playoffs. But if the Steelers want to keep their narrow playoff hopes alive, they have to get past the New York Jets first.

Here are our keys to victory.

Force the Jets to throw the football

The top priority for the Steelers defense this week will be to stuff the run and make the Jets one dimensional. Running back Le’Veon Bell is a talented football player but far from unstoppable. This is especially true for a team that knows him well. He and the Jets run game has to be the focus, then when Jets quarterback Sam Darnold is forced to throw, the Steelers pass rush can take over.

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JuJu Smith-Schuster sounds like a guy planning to play on Sunday

It is looking good for JuJu Smith-Schuster to play on Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers listed no players on their weekly injury report headed into their Week 16 game with the New York Jets. However, when wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster spoke to the media after practice on Friday and despite having practiced fully, would still be a game-time decision to play.

But on Saturday night, Smith-Schuster made the Instagram post above which really gives the impression Smith-Schuster is playing. And his return cannot come at a better time. The offense is in a funk and unable to score points. Smith-Schuster is the team’s best receiver and his a significant impact on how defenses attempt to defend the Steelers.

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Steelers vs Jets official prediction poll

Who will win this week between the Jets and the Steelers?

It is time to see if the Pittsburgh Steelers can go on the road this week and bounce back from an embarrassing home loss to the Buffalo Bills. The New York Jets might not be a playoff team but with former Steeler running back Le’Veon Bell on the team and a stout defense it won’t be an easy game for Pittsburgh.

Will the Steelers solve the mystery of their struggling offense and get the win?

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I just can’t see the Steelers letting this one slip away. It the Steelers lose, the odds of making the playoffs falls significantly. Head coach Mike Tomlin has done a masterful job getting this team ready to play this season and we expect no less this week. The Steelers defense scores at least one touchdown and Pittsburgh guts out a close win.

Steelers 17, Jets 13

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Steelers vs Jets: 5 ways to give the offense a boost

The Steelers offense has to step it up this week.

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Last week a confluence of horrible coaching and just as horrible execution crippled the Pittsburgh Steelers offense. Between the questionable playcalling by offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and the four interceptions by quarterback Devlin Hodges, the Steelers offense just shot themselves in the foot too many times against the Buffalo Bills.

But this week we are banking on a bounce-back effort by the offense so they can get a win over the New York Jets. Here are five ways to boost the Steelers offense this week.

Keep James Conner on the field

Last week, Fichtner tried to justify not playing his best back more because he had missed some practice reps. But he didn’t bother to play the running backs who had been there all week either. This time around, with a full week under his belt, James Conner must be the focus of the run game with the other backs serving more specific roles.

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Steelers WR Diontae Johnson admits to hitting the rookie wall

Most rookies run out of gas late in their rookie seasons.

It is an all-too-common to hear about NFL rookies hitting the rookie wall. It’s a product of multiple factors. Most college players play a shorter season and don’t play the quality of opponent week in and week out. Additionally, if you track the timeline of most rookies, they go straight from their final season of college straight into draft prep then once they are on a team are almost immediately thrust into training camps and OTAs. It can turn into a full two years of football with very little downtime.

This sounds like what rookie wide receiver Diontae Johnson is dealing with. He admitted he’s hitting the rookie wall but says some of his veteran teammates are helping him work through it.

Johnson currently leads the Steelers in receptions (47), receiving yards (545( and receiving touchdowns (4). Johnson is also the team’s primary punt and kick returner and has one punt return touchdown.

Unfortunately, while the Steelers coaches have been able to adjust the workload of linebacker Devin Bush to help him deal with the rookie wall, injuries as wide receiver has meant Johnson cannot be afforded that luxury. Hopefully a return of JuJu Smith-Schuster this week will give Johnson an opportunity to lower his reps somewhat.

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