We’ve arrived at week seven of the 2024 National Football League season. This week the Pittsburgh Steelers host the New York Jets. Here’s everything you need to know about the primetime contest.
What: New York Jets 2-4 at Pittsburgh Steelers 4-2
Where: Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA
When: Sunday October 20th 2024 820pmET
Weather: Clear and about 63 degrees at kickoff. Lights winds, if any.
Surface: Natural grass
Wagering Information: NY Jets -1.5 O/U 39
Last Week: The Jets are coming off a short week as they lost 23-20 at home to the Buffalo Bills on MNF. The Steelers meanwhile bounced back from a home loss to defeat the Raiders in Las Vegas 32-13.
TV: NBC Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analysis), Melissa Stark (field reporter)
TV Coverage in Your Area (courtesy 506sports.com): This is a nationally televised game.
Radio: Steelers Nation Radio/WDVE Rob King (play-by-play), Craig Wolfley (analysis)
Max Starks (field reporter) NOTE: This is the first game since the retirement of Bill Hillgrove.
Westwood One Radio:Ryan Radtke (play-by-play), Ross Tucker (analysis)
Head Official: Shawn Smith. Smith is a graduate of of Ferris State (MI) University and is in Finance. He’s in his seventh season as a head Official. His last Steelers’ game was in October of 2022. A home victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His crew called 13 accepted penalties that day. Smith is notorious for bias in favor of road teams. In the last three seasons, home teams only win at a rate of 40.8%.
Key Injuries/Game Status (courtesy steelers.com) PIT:No. 10 Roman Wilson (Hamstring) – Questionable, No. 51 LB Nick Herbig – Out, No. 54 C Zach Frazier (Ankle) – Out, No. 57 DT Montravius Adams (Knee) – Questionable, **No. 60 OT Dylan Cook (Foot) – Out, No. 84 RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson (Ankle) – Out NYJ: No. 30 CB Michael Carter II (Back) – Out, No. 83 TE Tyler Conklin (Hip) – Questionable, No. 4 CB D.J. Reed (Groin) – Questionable, No. 55 LB Chaz Surratt (Heel) – Questionable
Injury Notes: Cook is now in the 21-day window to return from IR… Both Wilson and Adams suffered injuries in practice during the week so their status bears watching… The Jets have one of the better secondary units in the NFL but two of those guys are out. That has to be something that Arthur Smith is paying attention to.
2024 NFL Ranks:
Total Offense: PIT 18th NYJ 20th Passing Offense: PIT 27th NYJ 12th Rushing Offense: PIT 7th NYJ 29th
Total Defense: PIT 4th NYJ 8th Passing Defense: PIT 17th NYJ 3rd Rushing Defense: PIT 6th NYJ 18th
AFC North Standings: Pittsburgh 4-2, Baltimore 4-2, Cincinnati 2-4, Cleveland 1-5
This Week in the AFC North: Cincinnati at Cleveland 1pmET, Baltimore at Tampa Bay (MON) 815pmET
What You Need to Know: The NY Jets have three of the last four games against the Steelers… Pittsburgh is 2-0 this season when scoring first… This will be the Steelers’ 168th primetime game. Only the Cowboys (190) have played more since 1970… Pittsburgh is 54-19 all-time in home primetime games. That’s the best record in the NFL… After winning six straight primetime affairs the Steelers have now dropped two straight.
Tomlin Time: Coach Tomlin is 3-5 all-time against the Jets… His winning percentage of .633 is second only to Andy Reid .646 among active coaches with 150 or more games… Coach T is 98-41-1 at home in his career. That’s the fifth best winning percentage (min. 50 games) since 2007.
New York Jets Names to Know: QB Aaron Rodgers, WR Davante Adams, WR Garrett Wilson, RB Breece Hall, WR Allen Lazard, CB Sauce Gardner, LB C.J. Moseley, K Greg Zuerlein
What’s at Stake: The Jets need a win to stay in the race in the AFC East. They trail the Bills by two and a half games. The Steelers need to win in order to keep even with Baltimore.
All-Time Series: Steelers lead 20-7
Last Meeting: October 2022 in Pittsburgh. NYJ 24 Steelers 20
Postseason History: Steelers lead 2-0
Steelers Game Highs vs NYJ: PASSING: 380 yards Ben Roethlisberger 10/09/2016 RUSHING: 190 yards Barry Foster 09/13/1992 RECEIVING: 146 yards Jeff Graham 09/13/1992 SACKS: 2.0 Tim Johnson 10/30/1988 INTERCEPTIONS: 2 Six games
Last: D.J. Johnson 09/13/1992
Check out the latest Steel City Blitz Steelers Podcast for more on the Steelers.
Three Things We Need to See for a Steelers’ Victory:
1. Mix It Up Teryl. The Pittsburgh Defense disguises its’ coverage worse than every team in the league except for Dallas. This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t be successful, but with a future Hall of Famer in Aaron Rodgers coming in, you damn well better do some things to slow him down. That doesn’t mean you have to increase or decrease blitzing, it just simply means that you have to give him something to think about when he comes to the line of scrimmage. If you don’t, he’s going to burn you.
2. The Cerebral Side. There has to be a reason that Mike Tomlin is going with Russell Wilson on Sunday night. While Justin Fields hasn’t been “great” he’s played football that’s good enough to win games. I tend to believe that Tomlin and Arthur Smith grew tired of seeing open receivers go unnoticed by Fields. I would also add that Wilson’s knowledge of defenses will give him a clearer picture at the line of scrimmage as well. If Wilson doesn’t do these things, then Tomlin has a serious problem on his hands.
3. Get the Mojo Back. The Steelers lost a bit of swagger in that home loss to Dallas but regained some of it in Las Vegas due to the enormous presence of Steeler Nation. The home crowd on Sunday Night needs to bring that kind of energy. It’s not going to rattle Aaron Rodgers as he’s dealt with this his entire career. What it will do however is bring energy back to the Steelers’ players who need it from the home crowd. Winning at home in primetime used to be automatic for the Steelers. It needs to be that way again.
The ‘X’ Factor: Each week I will select a player from each team who I believe will need to play above and beyond in order for his team to win.
X-Factor Steelers: Ryan McCollum. With Zach Frazier out until after the BYE week, McCollum has to prove he’s a capable backup. His strength is communication and that’s huge with a young offensive line. But he must also hold his own against a very good Jets’ defense.
X-Factor Jets: Allen Lazard. We all know that Rodgers loves ‘his’ guys. Lazard is one of those guys. But the difference here is that Davante Adams is now there and Garrett Wilson is there too. With the Steelers paying extra attention to them, don’t be surprised if Lazard has a big day.
Prediction: I think Mike Tomlin may have a problem on his hands. There’s a decent percentage of the locker room that thinks Justin Fields should still be the QB. The ONLY way for them to change their tune is for Russell Wilson to play well and for the team to win. That’s asking a lot to be honest. I think Wilson makes some plays but he won’t make enough and neither will the defense.
Jets 23 Steelers 17
Season Prediction Record: 4-2
