Pittsburgh Steelers Vs New York Jets: Matchups To Watch

Over the past two weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers have pulled off upset wins against the Indianapolis Colts and the Baltimore Ravens. Both were teams at the top of their divisions and in the playoff hunt.

In Week 10 the Steelers travel to the 1-8 New York Jets who will take the field with little to no chance of even sniffing the playoffs. The Jets are similar to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in that they have nothing to lose…and are another potential trap game for Steelers.

The Steelers are riding on the high of 12 Ben Roethlisberger touchdowns and a defense that has reclaimed their dominance. With Brett Keisel and James Harrison demonstrating why players should appreciate playing for one of the greatest franchises in NFL, these Steelers are literally fighting for one another each week. (Watch the video of Shaun Suisham and Brad Wing mixing it up as Ben Roethlisberger cracks up on the sidelines)

The camaraderie isn’t divided amongst defense and offense, or special teams. If the defense gets a big play, the offense follows up with a thank you.

When the kickoff team got tired from their impromptu dance-off and allowed a 108-yard touchdown return, Roethlisberger responded. He clipped the Ravens momentum with his fifth touchdown of the night.

The Jets don’t care about the Steelers performance in the past nine weeks. And neither should the Steelers if they want to win on Sunday.

ANTONIO BROWN vs ???

The Jets wish they had the Steelers “problems” at cornerback. The Jets have gone from one of the best corner tandems (Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie) to starting a safety, Antonio Allen, and CB Josh Thomas, who was unemployed until October of this year. Last week in Kansas City, rookie Marcus Williams got his first start.

This motley crew will be the ones trying to stop the hottest offense in the NFL right now—headlined by the NFLs best wide receiver. Antonio Brown has caught eight touchdowns already this season which is the exact same number as the entire Jets passing offense (No. 27 PPG). Brown has three TDs and has caught 30 for 367 yards in the past three weeks.

More from Ben Roethlisberger

• Without Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers Season is on the Brink of Disaster
• Pittsburgh Steelers: Grades for week 6 win over Kansas City
• Pittsburgh Steelers: Fantasy breakdown for Week 6 game at Kansas City
• Pittsburgh Steelers: Is Antonio Brown tantrum a distraction?
• Steelers: Quarterback Breakdown, Grades

Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson vs Steelers guards David Decastro and Ramon Foster

If there is one thing the Jets can rightfully brag about this year, it’s their pass rush. They are fifth in sacks (25 total). They are led by defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson (4.5 sacks) and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson (3.5 sacks). The play of DeCastro and Foster will be vital in keeping Roethlisberger clean and healthy. The angry Jets defensive front knows they give their team their best chance to win.

Wilkerson may have amped this battle when he referred to Ben as a QB who has “ball security issues”. Ben does handle the ball loosely at times; however, the No. 2 QB in passing yards seemingly knows how to hold on to the ball as well.

Given the Jets QBs are Geno Smith and Marcus Vick, you would think Wilkerson would know all about ball security issues. After all, the Jets are the worst team in the league in turnover differential (-15).

PREDICTION

The scrambling Michael Vick will be a good test for the Steelers’ rejuvenated defense. He presents a problem given that the Steelers are a little banged up in the middle with Ryan Shazier and Troy Polamalu out. I would guess Coach Lebeau will go with the better tackler at ILB, Vince Williams, who like Lawrence Timmons, is a big hitter.

The best way to beat Vick and the Jets is to score more points and ruin the Jets running gameplan. I say the Jets get their ninth straight loss in front of their home crowd Sunday.

27-13 Pittsburgh Steelers