New York Jets vs Pittsburgh Steelers: Five Players to Watch

The New York Jets will be facing the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in an important AFC showdown. Who are five players to watch in the game?

It has not been a good start to the season for the New York Jets. After losing their second straight game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4, the Jets are now 1-3 this season. The beginning part of their schedule was supposed to be difficult, and that is proving correct.

Due to the Jets having a 1-3 record, they can’t continue their losing ways if they want to turn their season around. As expected with the poor record, the Jets have issues on both sides of the ball.

On offense, the struggles of Ryan Fitzpatrick have been well-documented. Fitzpatrick has now thrown 10 interceptions in four games, but he still has the support of his head coach. On defense, the Jets are also having issues defending the pass, as their secondary has been torn apart.

Cornerback Darrelle Revis is questionable on Sunday and that timing is rather poor against the talented Steelers’ passing offense. After a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Steelers came out and made a statement against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.

Many believe that the Steelers are one of the best teams in the AFC, and they certainly looked like it against the Chiefs. With another tough game likely coming for the Jets, here are five players to watch in the game.

Oct 2, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) receives an unsportsman like conduct penalty for dancing after scoring a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

– Antonio Brown

The Jets are going to have their hands full trying to contain the talented Steelers’ offense. While the Steelers have multiple wide receivers that can hurt the Jets, the main target is Antonio Brown. In the past few years, Brown has become possibly the best wide receiver in the NFL, and that will be a problem for the Jets.

In Week 1, we saw what A.J. Green who is also an elite wide receiver could do against the Jets. Green’s damage also came against Darrelle Revis, who might not play on Sunday. Especially if Revis sits, Brown is going to have a field day against the Jets’ secondary.

This season, Brown has totaled 28 receptions, 369 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns. Ben Roethlisberger isn’t shy targeting Brown, as he has thrown the ball in his direction slightly over 10 times a game. In the blowout win against the Chiefs, Brown didn’t have to do much, as he only caught four passes. However, two of those catches were touchdowns.

The matchup against Brown looks like a disaster waiting to happen for the Jets’ defense in Week 5. Unless something drastically changes for the Jets’ passing defense this week, expect to see a big game from Brown on Sunday.

– Le’Veon Bell

In the Steelers’ blowout win against the Chiefs, they saw the return of running back Le’Veon Bell. In the first three games, Bell was suspended, but he wasted little time getting back involved in the offense.

Against the Chiefs, Bell totaled 144 rushing yards, five receptions, and 34 receiving yards. Bell is considered by many as the best overall back in football, and it was hard to argue with that after his performance against the Chiefs. The ease that the Steelers had against a talented Chiefs’ defense was rather startling.

The addition of Bell has really completed the Steelers’ offense, as he can be utilized in multiple positions in the offense. Due to DeAngelo Williams still be a very productive running back, Bell will line up as a wide receiver in addition to a running back on Sunday.

Defending Bell will be a challenging task for the Jets, who will likely use multiple defenders to try and stop him. Darron Lee will likely be used a good amount of the time to try and defend Bell with his speed as a linebacker. Stopping Bell will be a team effort for the Jets, unfortunately, he might not even be the best skill position player that the Steelers have.

Sep 15, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Jets running back Matt Forte (22) runs for a touchdown as Buffalo Bills strong safety Aaron Williams (23) pursues during the second half at New Era Field. The Jets beat the Bills 37-31. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

– Matt Forte

After two big games to start his time with the Jets, Matt Forte has come down to earth a bit. Forte pleasantly surprised many in Week 1 when he was a huge part of the offense for the Jets. In the close loss to the Bengals, Forte totaled 22 carries, 96 rushing yards, five receptions, and 59 receiving yards.

On the short week against the Bills, Forte carried the load even more for the Jets in their only win of the season thus far. In the win, Forte totaled 30 carries, 100 rushing yards, and three rushing touchdowns. It was a great sight to see Forte running the ball so well, but many were concerned about his workload.

Against two good defenses the last two weeks, Forte has seen his workload and his effectiveness decreased. The loss against the Seahawks will likely be a low point in the season for Forte, as he totaled just 27 rushing yards.

So far this season, the Steelers have allowed the fourth fewest rushing yards in the NFL. However, they are allowing four yards per carry which is 16th in the NFL. If the game is close, the Jets should be able to have some success against the Steelers on the ground.

Nov 9, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) is sacked by New York Jets outside linebacker Quinton Coples (98) and strong safety Dawan Landry (26) during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. The Jets defeated the Steelers 20-13. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

– Ben Roethlisberger

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is once again off to a great start this season. In four games, Roethlisberger has totaled 11 touchdown passes, four interceptions, and 1,116 passing yards. The talented Steelers’ offense led by Roethlisberger is rolling now, and he could be poised for one of his best games of the season.

So far, Roethlisberger has totaled at least 300 passing yards in two of the four games for the Steelers this season. In both of those games, the Steelers won easily against the Washington Redskins and the Chiefs. If Roethlisberger totals over 300 passing yards against the Jets, he will likely improve to 3-0 when doing so.

While the Steelers like to have a balanced attack on offense, there will be multiple matchups to exploit for Roethlisberger. The only real chance that the Jets have to disrupt Roethlisberger is if they are able to get a lot of pressure on him. If the Jets bring the heat on blitz’s, Roethlisberger has the talent around him to make simple passes to elite weapons who can make plays.

No matter what way you look at it, Roethlisberger is going to have a big day on Sunday. Hopefully, the Jets don’t allow five touchdown passes like he was able to total against the Chiefs.

Oct 2, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) makes a pass in the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

– Ryan Fitzpatrick

Week 5 will once again be an important game for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. He has been awful the past two weeks for the Jets, and fans are calling for his benching. Todd Bowles and Brandon Marshall have both come out in support of Fitzpatrick, but he clearly needs to play better.

The matchup against the Steelers is a bit of a favorable for Fitzpatrick to have a bounce back game, as the Steelers are ranked 30th in total passing yards allowed this season. In addition to allowing a lot of passing yards overall, the Steelers are also 30th in passing yards allowed per game.

A lot of the success against the Steelers’ passing defense has come by teams that are trailing this season, but Carson Wentz was able to have a big day against them in a win. The days of the dominant Steelers’ defense are over, but they are good at bending but not breaking in the red zone.

The red zone continues to be a struggle for the Jets, as a lot of Fitzpatrick’s mistakes have occurred there. The Jets desperately need a win, and they also need Fitzpatrick to bounce back. The Steelers’ defense is considerably worse than the Seahawks from last week, as this is a big opportunity for Fitzpatrick to bounce back.