Can Hodges get his mojo back?
MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENT
Steelers 13, Jets 0
Dec. 10, 1989 at Giants Stadium
The Jets were 4-9 when they hosted the 6-7 Steelers聽— quarterbacked by No. 6, Bubby Brister聽— as the Steelers continued to recover from a disastrous 0-2 start and make a run at a playoff berth. Tim Worley scored the game’s only touchdown in the first quarter on a 35-yard run and Gary Anderson added a pair of field goals for the Steelers. The defense, led by Greg Lloyd’s sack and interception, held former first-round QB Ken O’Brien and the Jets off the scoreboard, and the Steelers went on to win their final three games, upset Houston in the first round of the playoffs and take Denver to the final minute before losing by a point in the second round. Joe Walton’s final season as coach of the Jets ended after two more losses, but he moved on to become Chuck Noll’s offensive coordinator with the Steelers. Walton’s confusing new offense elicited the infamous Brister quote, “I’m about fixin’ to come unglued” the following season.
TALE OF THE TAPE
“Lev Bell does not impress me anymore. As a matter of fact, Bilal Powell looks better than him. They’ve been rotating the running backs more the last few games with Ty Montgomery, Bilal Powell and Lev Bell. Sam Darnold’s got a great arm. He’s very streaky, though. When he gets on a roll, he’s good. And when he doesn’t, he’s bad. It’s like the little girl with the curl.” — Steelers Radio analyst Tunch Ilkin.
TOP QUESTION
Can Duck Hodges get his mojo back?
Well, he’s got his JuJu back. JuJu Smith-Schuster will play for the first time since spraining his left posterior cruciate ligament at Cleveland five games ago. The only time Hodges, Smith-Schuster, James Washington, Diontae Johnson, Vance McDonald and James Conner played together was against Baltimore, when Hodges replaced Mason Rudolph and led the Steelers to 10 points in three series. Hodges was driving for the apparent game-winner in OT when Smith-Schuster fumbled and the Steelers suffered a narrow loss to the 12-2 Ravens. Hodges improved steadily until his best game two weeks ago, but then he had his worst game last week. Will JuJu help Duck get his mojo back? Stay tuned.
THREE QUESTIONS: With ILB TYLER MATAKEVICH
Q: You led the fan vote for the Pro Bowl, and your 15 tackles on special teams are tied for the NFL lead. Do you feel you were cheated after not being selected?
TM: “Awww, man. Should’ve made it. I mean, it is what it is. Nothing you can do. The only thing you can do is go out there and make as many plays as you can and try to help the team out.”
Q: What should Steelers fans fear this week from the Jets’ special teams?
TM: “Their return game, especially kickoff return. They’re very good and they’ve got some good schemes. They really got after Baltimore, return-wise. They have a very good return team. But, shoot, you turn on the film and watch any game. That just happened to be the game I was watching a lot. Shoot, we definitely have our hands full every week, whether it’s a big-time name or maybe a name people don’t know. If they’re back there, they’re capable of bringing it back to the house.”
Q: You’re the special-teams captain. To whom would you give a shout-out at this point? Anyone on your mind?
TM: “Shoot, you know our core group of guys: me, Dangerfield, Rosie, Chick. But I’m going to say (Robert) Spillane. He just got here and just came in right away. Coach always talks about being productive, and how when you get your opportunity you’ve got to make the best of it. And to me, he just came in and made an impact.”
GAME BREAKDOWN
What to look for from the Steelers today at MetLife Stadium
ON OFFENSE:
The Steelers will be healthy and facing one of the best run defenses, statistically, in the NFL. But the Jets would certainly be better with C.J. Mosley and Avery Williamson playing inside linebacker instead of James Burgess and Neville Hewitt. Steve McLendon is the Jets’ best run-stopper. They did allow 218 on the ground against the Ravens last Thursday, and in the last five games they’ve allowed 4.0 per carry, much worse than the 3.3 they’ve allowed per carry all season to lead the NFL. Their best pass-rusher is strong safety Jamal Adams (6.5 sacks). It’s an overachieving unit built on aggressiveness by long-time DC foe Gregg Williams. But with their healhty skill players, the Steelers could expose some of the Jets’ replacement parts.
ON DEFENSE:
The Steelers should exploit a Jets offensive line that’s led by LT Kelvin Beachum, the former Steeler who gets by more on technique but can still be bull-rushed. The Jets’ offensive line is further weakened by the doubtful status of right guard Tom Compton. The Jets have allowed 48 sacks this season, with last year’s No. 1 draft pick, QB Darnold, absorbing 29 in 11 games. Robby Anderson is the Jets’ deep threat and Jamison Croder is the possession receiver out of the slot. No. 3 receiver Demaryius Thomas is doubtful.
PREDICTION
The Jets have played a bit weaker of a schedule these last five games than the Steelers, but the Steelers show a clear edge at the line of scrimmage. That wasn’t the case with the Bills, in spite of what the NFL statistical rankings implied. The Bills also had a much stronger pass defense against significantly better competition in the five games leading up the playing the Steelers. As the Bills game was tight, so will this one, except the Steelers should be more attuned to the mistakes they made against the Bills and in that regard were laser-focused this week at practice. Yes, the Jets have been playing well, but they have nothing to gain here. The focused Steelers will be at full health, and have the much better kicker. I’m thinking it won’t come down to that. … Steelers, 20-13.
BY THE NUMBERS
11: Tackles last week by Terrell Edmunds led the Steelers. His team-high 94 tackles this season leads Devin Bush by two.
13: Sacks by T.J. Watt marks his second consecutive season with at least 13, the first player in team history to do so.
53: Career sacks by Cameron Heyward puts him 0.5 sacks behind Greg Lloyd for eighth place on the team’s all-time list.
68: Percent completed by Hodges leads all NFL rookie quarterbacks. Hodges has a passer rating of 120.1 in his last two road games.
694: Receiving yards by James Washington leads the Steelers. Last season, Smith-Schuster (1,426) and Antonio Brown (1,297) were the team leaders.
DOWNLOADS
* The Jets lost four of their top six (five of top 10) cap numbers to injured reserve this season. Along with Mosley ($13M) and Williamson ($8M), also on IR are CB Trumaine Johnson ($12M) and center Ryan Kalil ($8.4M). The top remaining cap numbers belong to the former Steelers, Beachum ($9.5M) and Bell ($9M).
* The Steelers lost the last two games Conner started at running back, and the poor rushing numbers may have had more to do with the large committee and respective lack of roles. This week should be different with Conner and Jaylen Samuels fully healthy and having practiced for two weeks. “I think it is great as a group,” said OC Randy Fichtner. “But I can see where at times, if I am a back, I would want that ball and I want to stay in there and I want to be able to protect and I can do the job. It’s not that they can’t, you just try to isolate some certain things that guys do better. And if I have grown in any way, it would be maybe you don’t have to be perfect. Let’s play the back that is in there. Let’s play the receivers that are in there. That is what we have learned this whole year. We have to play the quarterback that is in there. Play them. Let’s play.”
* In starting 13 games as a rookie, Darnold compiled a passer rating of 77.6 and the Jets went 4-9. Through his first five games this season, Darnold’s rating was 70.5 and the Jets were 1-4. But they’ve won four of their last six as Darnold has gotten hot. He’s thrown 11 TD passes and only 3 interceptions in the last six games for a rating of 96.1. “I think he has learned,” said Steelers DC Keith Butler. “There are teaching tools available to coaches nowadays. One of them is the film. The other is the sideline pictures that are taken and you can coach them up on the sideline, whereas you used to not be able to do that. I think they’re taking advantage of that and doing a good job of teaching. He has gotten better. He throws the ball well. He’s accurate. He rarely gets fooled in terms of holding the ball and stuff like that where he panics. What we have to do is get him in those situations as much as we can.”
* The Jets haven’t had much success with the Steelers throughout their history. Including Steelers wins in both playoff meetings, the Steelers lead the all-time series 20-5. The Steelers are 10-4 on the road, but the Jets won the last game the two teams played in New York/New Jersey, 20-13, in 2014.
PARTING SHOT
“We’ve got to make sure we bring our hard hat because he’s going to be trying to give payback.” — Cam Heyward on Le’Veon Bell.