For the first time since Dec. 30, 2012, the Pittsburgh Steelers put up a tally in the win column. And that includes the preseason. Visiting the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, the site of Super Bowl XLVIII in February, the Steelers improved to 1-4 with a physical 19-6 victory. Losses by Baltimore and Cleveland left them at 3-3, so the Steelers are remarkably just one loss behind two division rivals in the standings after Week 6. Cincinnati won in overtime at Buffalo and now leads the division at 4-2.
The Steelers put together five scoring drives, but settled for four Shaun Suisham field goals. The lone touchdown was scored by Emmanuel Sanders on a 55-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger early in the third quarter to take a 16-6 lead at the time. Perhaps most importantly, the offense did not turn the football over and the defense had its first two takeaways of the season on interceptions of rookie Geno Smith, by Ryan Clark and Lawrence Timmons. The Steelers showed a physical nature that they have lacked for most of the season to date. That was highlighted by an impactful hit on WR Stephen Hill by safety Troy Polamalu, who seemingly flew in right as Hill made a catch. Hill was shaken up on the play and the hit appeared to fire up the Steelers defense, even though it had just allowed a first down.
Jets QB Geno Smith struggled to find any sort of rhythm on offense, going 19-34 for 201 yards and the two interceptions. His offense only managed two field goals, one of which came on a last-minute drive to end the first half. They had little success running the football, managing only 83 yards, but that was still more than Pittsburgh had, as the running game and offensive line continued to work through growing pains. Pittsburgh was led by rookie Le’Veon Bell, who had just 34 yards on 16 carries. The team finished overall with 73 yards on 26 carries, likely continuing a trend of owning the 32nd-ranked rushing offense in the NFL.
Pittsburgh went three and out on the first two offensive drives, and was losing the battle of field position early, but the Jets could only manage a field goal and a 3-0 lead after one quarter. The second quarter found the Steelers moving the football more efficiently, despite a number of penalties, sacks allowed, and failed play calls. Three scoring drives led to a 9-3 lead before the Jets kicked the field goal right before halftime to send the teams to the locker room with Pittsburgh up 9-6, their first halftime or second half lead of the season.
After a three-and-out for the Jets to open the second half, Roethlisberger ran a play action on 3rd and 1 and found Sanders deep down the middle of the field and hit him in stride. Sanders had separated himself from single coverage by ten yards and freely ran and somersaulted into the end zone for a 16-6 lead. Smith was intercepted on the next Jets drive, Suisham added a field goal later in the fourth, and the black and gold notched their first win since Week 17 last season home against Cleveland, ending an eight-game streak including the preseason. Pittsburgh hosts Baltimore (3-3) next Sunday at Heinz Field at 4:25, looking to build on a much-needed victory Sunday at the Meadowlands.
