Now Or Never For Jets On Sunday Night Football

Jets vs. Steelers, 8:20 ET

Jets vs. Steelers, 8:20 ET

Last week we had what I consider the worst Sunday Night Football game of the season. I understand the desire of the NFL to have at least one primetime game for every team – some get seemingly nothing but primetime games, but other teams look like they only get one or two on their schedule. Still, the Bengals and Giants will have a few on their schedule, but their game, playing each other, was so boring. We need a good one here as the Jets take on the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

Last week, the Jets fired their head coach. Now this week, the team stayed in the news by acquiring stud Wide Receiver, Davante Adams, from the Raiders. At the time of this writing it is uncertain if Adams will be able to play in the game. I personally think unless he is 100% or as close as possible, they should hold him out. Sure, the Steelers have a good defense, but if you can’t beat them without him in this game, the Jets probably shouldn’t have even made the trade. For the season, the Jets need to get a win here. They are just 2-4 with 11 games remaining. It isn’t too late for them to make a run and get into the Wild Card race. There were some really good things from the Jets in their last game on Monday Night Football against the Bills, and there were some really bad things. The kicking for this team is atrocious. Greg Zuerlein is just 8-for-12 on field goals and has missed three of four from 40+ yards. Greg the leg is no more. Breece Hall finally got going against a bad Bills rush defense, getting 113 yards on 18 carries. That was a third of his season total yardage. They will need him to remain involved and productive if they want success this season. Unfortunately, the Steelers have the fourth best rush defense in the league. With, or without Adams, the Jets passing game will need to be sharp. The Steelers are a top-half team in pass defense. Garrett Wilson is going to be heavily targeted once again – he has about 25% of the team’s total targets this season. Aaron Rodgers will need to be better with his completions, and reduce the interceptions – he is roughly 2:1 touchdowns to interceptions this season. 

Oct 13, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (2) runs off the field after the Steelers defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 32-13 at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The Steelers continue to find ways to be a productive team year in and year out. Maybe it is Mike Tomlin, or perhaps it is a culture thing for the Steelers. Whatever the case may be, they are once again putting together a good year. Their offense is still not a productive one, but it is probably better than it was last year. Justin Fields has been good under center for them with a 66% completion percentage and five touchdowns. He has done a good job of not turning the ball over, but he is averaging just 184.3 passing yards per game which isn’t all that impressive. He has done a good job of keeping plays alive with his legs, which he is more known for. He has fumbled the ball four times, but hasn’t lost any of them. Najee Harris got his first touchdown of the season in the last game, the best the Steelers offense has looked. The Jets have the second best passing defense in football, and with a quarterback that can’t really throw the ball I think there is a clear edge there. They are fairly average against the run, so the expectation is that the Steelers will likely run the ball as much as possible. The best case for Pittsburgh in this one is to make a lot of 3rd and short situations, then they have the option for both passing and running the ball.

It is very rare for me to take a game under the total in the 30s, but this has the makings of nothing but a rock fight. The problem is, last week’s game between the Bills and Jets felt like it should’ve cashed both the over and under. There were 14 points scored in the final 30 seconds of the first half, but there were also a number of missed kicks. This could have a similar situation. I don’t like backing teams on the road in Pittsburgh, but I think at some point the Jets have to get it together, I think it happens tonight and I’ll take the Jets moneyline. 

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