JETS DROP THE CURTA
GANG GREEN HOLD ON, HURT STEELERS’ PLAYOFF HOPES /
The Jets sent the MetLife Stadium fans home unhappy … and that was a good thing for once.
In front of a crowd filled with Steelers fans, the Jets upset Pittsburgh 16-10 and left the fans crying into their Terrible Towels.
It was not pretty, but the Jets (6-9) will take it. Sam Ficken kicked three field goals in the game and the defense stymied the Steelers offense and their two quarterbacks, hurting the Steelers’ chances of making the playoffs in the process.
It came down to a defensive stand in the final seconds before the Jets could exhale.
The Jets will be home for the playoffs for the ninth straight year, but they have played much better in the second half of the season and Sunday’s win was the latest example. They are now 5-2 in the second half of the season and finished the year 5-3 at home.
“Like I said weeks ago, we get a new program, new guys in, new faces, new coaches, injuries and things like that. When all of that happens, it’s going to take time to get the ship sailing in the right direction,” said running back Le’Veon Bell, who beat his former team. “Now, we’re starting to see the ship turn a little bit.”
The Jets will finish the season next week in Buffalo, against the playoff-bound Bills, with a chance to finish the season 7-9. They are already guaranteed their best record since 2015.
After taking a 16-10 lead with 3:15 left on a 42-yard Ficken field goal, the Jets needed two defensive stops to win the game. They held the Steelers (8-7) to three-and-out and then ran the ball on offense to get the Steelers to burn their timeouts.
Pittsburgh got the ball back with 1:27 left to play on its own 40 after a 28-yard punt from Lachlan Edwards. The Steelers moved the ball to the Jets’ 44 and you could not blame Jets fans, who have seen so many brutal losses, to expect the worst. On third-and-7, Steelers quarterback Devlin “Duck”
Hodges lofted a would-be touchdown pass to James Washington. The ball was in Washington’s hands in the end zone for a second when Jets safety Marcus Maye knocked it away and sealed the win.
“He balled, bro,” fellow safety Jamal Adams said. “I told him today, not even a pick, the best play he’s ever made that I’ve seen him make was that last one where he ripped it out. That’s a phenomenal play.”
The Jets players celebrated after Maye knocked the ball away and then forced an incompletion on fourth down to escape with the win.
“I looked back and I said, ‘Oh s- -t,’ and then I saw the ball come out and all I remember doing was like, ‘Yeah’ [holds his arms over his head],” linebacker Jordan Jenkins said. “I had some explicit words for some of the Steelers fans. They were talking trash during pregame warmups. I had a few words for them and a couple of gestures that aren’t pretty nice.”
The Jets knew it would be this type of game with the Steelers. Pittsburgh’s defense has not given up more than 17 points in its last four games. Jets coach Adam Gase emphasized limiting turnovers to not allow the scuffling Pittsburgh offense a short field and knew it would come down to the Jets defense getting after Hodges, who was benched in the second quarter, but then returned after his replacement, Mason Rudolph, injured his left shoulder.
The Steelers entered the game in control of their playoff lives and now will need help to get in.
“They had to play a team that was playing for a lot,” Gase said. “It’s hard to play these games sometimes when it’s that kind of situation because nobody wants to get knocked out of the playoffs. It’s a fight to the end. You’re going to get whatever anybody has. We knew we were playing a team that was desperate for a win.”
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin started the game with Hodges at quarterback, but pulled the rookie after Tarell Basham and Maye both intercepted him.
After taking a 10-0 lead, the Jets had a devastating sequence just before halftime as the Steelers tied the game, scoring 10 points in just over a minute. The tying-touchdown was a 29-yard pass from Rudolph to Diontae Johnson that was set up by a Sam Darnold fumble on a stripsack by T.J. Watt.
There was not much offense from either side in the second half. Ficken’s two field goals were the difference.
After the win, many Jets players said they are close to being a winner.
“It’s great to continue to win, because it gives confidence to the room,” Adams said. “We’re not that far away, man. I want people to understand that. We’re really not that far away. It might seem like it is, but we just gotta put our head down and keep grinding.”
Darnold, who was 16-of-26 passing for 183 yards and one touchdown, emphasized the offense needs to improve.
“I think we’re not too far away,” Darnold said. “We do need to play more consistent football, especially on offense. But there are definitely some bright spots that we can continue to work on this offseason.”