PITTSBURGH — OK Woody, now what?
Jets owner Woody Johnson has taken dramatic actions after the Jets' past two losses, but nothing has worked. The Jets lost 37-15 to the Steelers on Sunday night at Acresure Stadium, snapping their fourth straight loss.
With this loss, the Jets fell to 2 wins and 5 losses, and a desperate time has arrived for the Jets before Halloween. In a year where they entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations, they are now clinging to a slim hope of making the playoffs.
This comes after Johnson fired manager Robert Saleh two weeks ago following a loss to the Vikings in London, and the Jets traded for wide receiver Davante Adams following a loss to the Bills. It took place a week later.
Perhaps Johnson can persuade Joe Namath to come out of retirement this week.
Adams' arrival didn't have much of an impact on Aaron Rodgers and the Jets in the first game. Adams had three catches for 30 yards on nine targets in the game. Rodgers threw two interceptions in the game, and the Steelers converted both of them into touchdowns. Rodgers completed 24 of 39 passes for 276 yards and one touchdown.
Russell Wilson made his first start for the Steelers and after a rough start, he improved and the Steelers scored 31 unanswered points to win and improve the Steelers to 5-2. Wilson completed 16 of 29 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns.
It looked like the Jets would control the game with the way they played in the first half. They took a 7-3 lead on their second possession of the game. They put together a nine-play, 82-yard drive. Rodgers went 6-for-6 on the drive, and the Jets moved down the field with ease. Breece Hall scored a 13-yard touchdown with 2:27 left in the first quarter.
The Steelers struggled to move the ball, making only two Chris Boswell field goals in their first six possessions.
After the first touchdown, the Jets had two three-and-out possessions of their own. Rodgers then found Hole on a short checkdown pass when it looked like he had nowhere to go. Hall ran 57 yards between Steelers defenders and was pushed by Minkah Fitzpatrick at the 3-yard line. Rodgers then completed a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Conklin. Little play happened as interim coach Jeff Ulbrich threw a red challenge flag, but he was ruled to have thrown the flag after the ball broke off.
At the point after the try, Fitzpatrick was penalized for shoving a Jets player and blocking a kick. Fitzpatrick only touched a Jets player, not pushed him away, so it didn't appear to be a penalty. After the penalty, the Jets scored two points and Rodgers connected with Garrett Wilson for the conversion to take a 15-6 lead.
It felt like Russell Wilson and the Steelers were struggling to move the ball and the Jets were in complete control. But Rodgers gave Pittsburgh momentum just before halftime. He tried to get Garrett Wilson over the middle, but Steelers rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. instead intercepted the pass beautifully, and the Steelers took over at their own 46.
Wilson took advantage of the turnover and threw a deep ball to George Pickens, giving Sauce Gardner a pass interference penalty and moving the ball 29 yards to the Jets' 11. Two plays later, Wilson hit Pickens for a touchdown from behind Brandin Echols. He scored in the corner of the end zone and the score went to halftime, 15-13.
The Jets had the ball to start the second half, but four plays later they punted. The Steelers drove down the field with a 37-yard pass to Pickens and a 21-yard pass to tight end Pat Freiermuth. The Steelers got to three points but then stalled, and Boswell kicked a 21-yard field goal to give the Steelers a 16-15 lead with 7:49 left in the third quarter.
Rodgers then threw his second interception of the game, which wasn't actually his fault. The ball bounced off Garrett Wilson's chest and into Bishop's arms again. He ran to the 1-yard line, where Adams tackled him from behind.
On the first play, the Steelers scored a touchdown on Russell Wilson's 1-yard sneak with 7:22 left in the third quarter.
The Jets had a chance to score late in the third quarter, moving the ball all the way to the Pittsburgh 18 on a drive that included a fourth-and-1 conversion. However, Greg Zuerlein's 35-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Dean Lowry.
The Steelers took over and gained 75 yards in 11 plays. Najee Harris gashes the Jets for a 34-yard gain to the Jets' own 16-yard line. The Jets' defense looked tired and the secondary was well down on the bench due to injuries. With 12:09 left in the game, Wilson completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Van Jefferson, giving the Steelers a 30-15 lead.
The Jets threatened again with a nine-play drive that reached the Steelers' 25-yard line. A fourth-and-5 pass from Rodgers to Adams was brought down by Steelers defensive tackle Keanu Benton, and the Steelers got the ball back with 7:53 remaining for a 15-point lead.
