- Defense was hugely, awesomely clutch. They looked pretty average against a strong Bengals offense in the first game, but the stepped up big time last Sunday, outscoring the offense.
- Which reminds me... the offense sucked. They moved the ball, they looked solid at times, Randle-El made a huge catch, but they were 0-for-2 in goal to go and 0-for-3 in the red zone. That's no good and it will definitely murder them in the future when they start playing better teams. Hey, they play a better team on Sunday. How about that?
- Kampinos might be OK. He's still a downgrade from Vulva, but he's a MAJOR upgrade over Bitch Merger. I was nervous on the first punt because I didn't know what to expect, but I became less nervous as the game wore on and he continued to punt in a serviceable manner.
- Weidman actually read the preview for last week's game and told me that "wordsmith" is one word, not two. So there you go.
I actually thought three weeks ago -- when the Jets were 9-2 and on top of the world, before they got crushed by the Patriots and lost a snoozer to the Dolphins -- that the Steelers could beat this team. What kept jumping out at me is that the Jets' offense is based off running the ball and that no one can run the ball against the Steelers. When they've faced a run-oriented team that needs the run to set up the pass, they've beaten that team.
I've also been thinking about the fact that the Steelers have a crappy offensive line and allow too many hits and sacks on Ben Roethlisberger. The Bengals and Bills don't really have a pass rush, but they looked like they were running the 46 defense against the Steelers. The Jets pressure the quarterback really, really well and head coach Rex Ryan has been hailed as a defensive genius. Given those facts, the Jets should finish Sunday with 15 sacks, right?
My issue with that logic is that the hated Ravens are running the same defense and "only" had three sacks a couple weeks ago. Sure, they hit Roethlisberger a lot and Terrell Suggs flexed a lot, but they ultimately didn't have the kind of overwhelming pressure performance that would have totally shut the Steelers down. If a team comes to blitz, the Steelers will be ready for them, crappy offensive line or no crappy offensive line. The lone exception to this rule is the game against the Saints, where everyone on the offensive coaching staff apparently forgot to read this blog and seemed surprised that a Gregg Williams defense was blitzing a lot.
Because Roethlisberger is hurting, he will throw the ball away more. He will try to get out of the pocket and "make something happen" less. This will ultimately help the team.
The problem is that I don't think the Steelers will be able to run the ball, either.
So, you've got two teams that like to stop the run and run the ball and that will essentially lead to a bunch of pads popping and awesomely violent futility.
Which means that it will come down to the quarterbacks. Which means that the Steelers have the edge. They usually do in that situation, which is one of the reasons that they're currently 10-3. But, that's not the whole story.
If this turns into a passing fest, then the outcome most definitely favors the Steelers. Mark Sanchez cannot be trusted to go a full game without screwing something up.
The other side of that coin is that Sanchez does not screw up very often with the game on the line. He tends to rise to the occasion. Ben Roethlisberger also tends to rise to the occasion, but there's one, big difference.
Sanchez has Santonio Holmes and Roethlisberger does not. Holmes plays his best football in pressure situations. He has made big plays in big games and has made little plays into big plays in big games, or in little games at big moments. As much as he might claim that he doesn't have anything against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he has something against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This is why this game can't come down to who has the ball last. I don't care if it's 10-6 with two minutes left or 17-13 or 24-20 or 31-27. I think Santonio and Sanchez will find a way to come through and Holmes will find a way to settle the score.
So, the plan should be to not make it that close, which I think the Steelers can do.
Prediction:
Steelers 20, Jets 10
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