Steelers Preview-The Rodgers/Adams Show Comes to Town

After all the talk about ex-Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams heading to a few teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers, the choice of where to be traded came down to his quarterback of yesteryear, Aaron Rodgers. Wildly enough, Rodgers, Adams, and the Jets come to Pittsburgh this Sunday for a national television showdown.

The game is important for both teams as they continue to drive towards a playoff appearance. Pittsburgh is tied with the Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC North although as of now Baltimore has a slight advantage because they have one divisional win on the books. As for the Jets, they certainly do not want to fall too far behind the first place Buffalo Bills in the East. New York comes to town with a 2-4 record, but many believe the acquisition of Adams will be the missing piece to put them over the top.

Pittsburgh certainly could have used the skills of a Davante Adams and now the All-Pro receiver will get a first hand look at who his teammates could have been. It is the hope of Steelers Nation that he will receive a rude awakening come Sunday. The same can be said for Aaron Rodgers who will absolutely see plenty of pressure from the likes of T.J. Watt and crew. 

The Jets do not have too many significant injuries heading into the weekend, but they do have questionables. Tight end Tyler Conklin is nursing a bum hip. Rodgers himself tweaked an ankle and skipped practice this past Wednesday. Newcomer Adams is coming off a hamstring injury that sidelined him for several games but he says he is a go. 

The Steelers may be in worse shape. Rookie Roman Wilson has yet to make his debut with a play and is listed again this week as questionable. Cordarrelle Patterson is still sidelined with an ankle injury. Rookie center Zach Frazier injured an ankle in Las Vegas last Sunday and has been ruled out for this next game. Nick Herbig joins him on the sidelines with a hamstring pull. DeMarvin Leal has been placed on IR with a neck injury as was Cory Trice and rookie Troy Fautanu who is out for the rest of the 2024 season. 

Mike Tomlin will have to shift some players around on his offensive line so whomever is taking the snaps behind center come Sunday night might be doing a lot of scrambling. If that is Justin Fields, he can run around as we’ve seen. But this week Russell Wilson took first team snaps in practice and the word is he will be named starter. There are many anxious fans who want to see that Russ brings to the table and I’m one of them. 

When the Jets signed Aaron Rodgers, they thought he was their best chance to get back the team back in a Super Bowl, but it has been 55 years since New York reached the promised land their one and only appearance in the NFL title game famously known for Joe Namath’s guaranteed win. When it comes to head-to-head games between the Steelers and the Jets, it’s Pittsburgh domination. 

The Steelers have won an incredible 74% of the 27 games played between the two including two postseason games. The very first meeting came on November 8, 1970, and that was the first of nine straight victories by the Black and Gold until the Jets finally grasped a victory in 1988. The streak for New York was short lived as Pittsburgh then reeled off another five straight wins.

In that very first meeting Terry Bradshaw was a rookie, so Terry Hanratty was calling the signals. He did not have a good day completing just seven passes on 21 attempts for 223 yards. Al Woodall and Bob Davis shared quarterback duties for New York throwing the ball 43 times and completing only 15. That year Hall of Famer Joe Namath was limited due to injuries.

Twice the Steelers and Jets met in the playoffs and both games were in Pittsburgh both victories by the home team. 2005 saw Pittsburgh winning 20-17. In 2001 it was the Steelers 24-19. 2005 was a divisional playoff and the 2011 game for the AFC title. 

The last meeting between New York and Pittsburgh came in 2022 on October 2 at Acrisure Stadium when the Steelers lost 24-20. The Jets are on a two-game winning streak also having won on their turf in 2019 16-10. There have been two shutouts on the series, the first by the Steelers in 1989 winning 13-0. The Jets returned the favor in 2003 winning by a low score of 6-0. 

The highest score against the Jets by Pittsburgh came in 1986 when they won on December 13 45-24. They scored another 38 in 1981, winning 38-10 and then 34-7 in 1983. The Jets have never scored more than 24 points on the Steelers hitting 24 points on three separate occasions (1986, 1988, 2022) with two of those victories for the Green and White.

Offense vs. Offense

In team scoring the Jets and Steelers are close. Pittsburgh is averaging 20.7 per game and the Jets 18.8. Aaron Rodgers is not having a typical M.V.P. Rodgers kind of year. Through six games he has 1,387 yards passing about 231 per game. He has thrown just nine touchdowns and has five interceptions. In running the ball New York’s leading runner is Breece Hall who has just 310 yards on the ground in 2024 and only two touchdowns. His yards per carry is at 3.7. 

For Pittsburgh, Najee Harris is not too far ahead with 376 yards and a 3.9 average. However, the word is that Russell Wilson gets his first start on Sunday night dressed in a Steelers jersey. Mike Tomlin has not made it official, but Wilson did practice with the first team this week. That signals he is starting. Justin Fields won four of six games and while he had great moments, as indicated by new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, the Steelers in 2024 would be a ground and pound offense. That is all well and good, but the offense must prove they can throw the ball downfield and with success on a consistent basis. That hasn’t been the case so it appears the time has come for Russ Wilson to prove he can do a better job of that than did Fields. Fields has better legs no doubt but Wilson has the game savvy and experience to his credit.

Defense vs. Defense

After two straight losses and the defense playing subpar, Pittsburgh’s squad came alive in Las Vegas and T.J. Watt was back to his old tricks. The Jets bring a stout defense to Pittsburgh so if the Steelers can’t generate much offense we may be seeing a low scoring game.

Intangibles

Playing on Sunday Night Football, in front of their fans, coming off a convincing Raiders victory, momentum is certainly in the Steelers’ favor.



Prediction: Steelers 30 Jets 20.