Pittsburgh Steelers QB Russell Wilson made his debut on Sunday Night Football in front of a packed Acrisure Stadium crowd, and Wilson delivered, going 16-29 for 264 yards with 2 touchdowns while leading the team to a 37-15 win. It was another example of the Steelers playing complementary football, as the defense forced 2 turnovers and the special teams unit blocked a field goal.
The Jets won the toss and deferred to the second half, meaning the Russell Wilson era in Pittsburgh began on the first drive of the game. His first completion as a Steeler came off play action to TE Darnell Washington for a gain of 15 on the second play of the game. That was followed by an 18-yard run by RB Najee Harris, but the drive would stall out at the Jets’ 28-yard line and Pittsburgh settled for a field goal. Chris Boswell was good from 46 yards out and the Steelers took a 3-0 lead with 11:33 left. They would force a three-and-out on New York’s opening drive, with Larry Ogunjobi picking up a sack on third down.
The Jets were able to get on the scoreboard on their second drive of the game, as they went 82 yards in eight plays and RB Breece Hall broke off a 13-yard touchdown run. Greg Zuerlein’s extra point gave the Jets a 7-3 lead with 2:27 left in the first quarter.
The score would remain 7-3 until 8:20 left in the first half when Boswell hit his second field goal of the game to make it 7-6. Pittsburgh’s offense got a spark from a 44-yard completion from Wilson to WR George Pickens on the third play of the drive that put the Steelers in New York territory.
A 57-yard gain by Hall on a screen pass moved the Jets to the Pittsburgh 3-yard line, and QB Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown pass to TE Tyler Conklin. A questionable leverage call wiped away a blocked kick on the extra point by the Steelers, and the Jets went for 2 points and got the conversion, so they would take a 15-6 lead with 5:29 to play.
Pittsburgh responded with a 30-yard gain by TE Pat Freiermuth on the first play of their next drive, but the drive would stall out after a sack by EDGE Will McDonald IV on 2nd-and-20.
The Steelers got some momentum back when CB Beanie Bishop Jr. picked off Rodgers, and the Steelers got the ball back at the Pittsburgh 46-yard line. A defensive pass interference penalty against the Jets would give the Steelers the ball at the New York 11, and two plays later, Wilson hit Pickens for an 11-yard score. Boswell’s extra point cut the Jets lead to 15-13 with 27 seconds left in the first half.
The score remained 15-13 at the half. The Steelers forced a Jets punt on the opening drive of the second half, and the Steelers moved down the field from the Wilson-Pickens connection again with a 37-yard gain on an impressive catch by Pickens moving the Steelers into field goal range.
On 3rd-and-5, Wilson went downfield to Freiermuth, who gained 21 yards. The Steelers would get down to the Jets 3 after a 10-yard run by RB Jaylen Warren. They wouldn’t be able to punch it in, though, and the Steelers had to settle for Boswell’s third field goal of the night to take a 16-15 lead with 7:49 left in the third quarter.
On the second play of the ensuing Jets’ drive, Bishop got his second interception of the game, catching a ball that bounced off WR Garrett Wilson’s hands.
Bishop returned it to the Jets’ one-yard line, and the Steelers would have the best field position possible to score. Russell Wilson scored on the first play of the drive on a QB sneak, and the Steelers extended their lead to 23-15 following Boswell’s extra point with 7:04 left in the third quarter.
The Steelers special teams came through once again with a blocked field goal on New York’s ensuing drive, with DL Dean Lowry making the play.
RB Najee Harris got going after the blocked kick and ran for 46 yards on 5 straight carries to get Pittsburgh inside the Jets 5-yard line. On 3rd-and-goal, Wilson threw his second touchdown of the game. This one went to WR Van Jefferson, and the Steelers took a 30-15 lead with 12:09 left to play following Boswell’s extra point.
The Jets would drive into Pittsburgh territory down to their 25, but down two scores with the clock ticking, they had to go for it on 4th-and-5 from the Pittsburgh 25. Rodgers’ pass was deflected by DT Keeanu Benton and the Steelers would take over up 30-15 with 7:53 left. The Steelers chewed the rest of the clock and added one more score for good measure, with RB Najee Harris running for a 10-yard touchdown with 26 seconds left. Boswell’s extra point put the score at 37-15, where it would remain until the final whistle.
The win moves the Steelers to 5-2, while the Jets fall to 2-5.
