On paper, the New York Jets boast one of the most talented defenses in football, and their defensive line looks like it could have the talent to wreck the game Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But their defensive line has underperformed a bit this season, and they’re going up on Sunday against a Steelers offensive line that’s starting Ryan McCollum at center in place of Zach Frazier and has been incredibly banged up all season. Pro Football Focus named the matchup between those two groups one that can define the week, and it’s one that might just decide who ends up on top Sunday night.
“The Jets’ front four is graded as the 22nd-ranked unit in the NFL, with its pass-rush win rate also sitting in 22nd. Only a single Jet — Will McDonald IV — has notched more than 20 pressures, and only one — Quinnen Williams — possesses a PFF overall grade above 65.0. Even then, 2024 has been a far cry for Williams, whose overall grade has dropped nearly 35 points and whose pass-rush win rate has dipped by almost 10 percentage points. However, New York might get an opportunity to right its wrongs on Sunday Night Football. The Steelers will presumably be without rookie center Zach Frazier, who ranks fourth in overall grade at the position. That means Pittsburgh will start three backups along its right side,” Bradley Locker writes.
Mason McCormick and Broderick Jones are the other two “backups” playing, McCormick in place of the injured James Daniels, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles. Calling Jones a backup might be a little bit of a stretch given that he started the second half of last season and every game except one this season, but it’s a fair enough assessment since Troy Fautanu would likely be starting over him if he was healthy. Regardless, McCormick had held his own while Jones has been one of the worst offensive linemen in the league this season, and he’ll likely see a healthy dose of Will McDonald IV, who has seven sacks this season.
Jones is going to have his hands full with that matchup, and he’s going to have to step up this week after struggling against Maxx Crosby in Week 6. All eyes are going to be on McCollum, who is making his first start with the Steelers and has the unenviable task of trying to replace Frazier, who’s been one of the best centers in football this season as a rookie. The Jets could opt to use Quinnen Williams as more of a nose tackle to take advantage of that matchup, but Williams has just 23 snaps as a true nose tackle this season, so McCollum might not have to work head up against him as much on Sunday.
Even with the Jets’ defensive front struggling a bit, it’s going to be a big test for Pittsburgh’s offensive line, which will be the fifth different offensive line combination the Steelers have started this season. McCollum, McCormick and Jones are all going to need to play well and step up to keep Russell Wilson clean and give him time to make plays downfield. If he’s under constant pressure, things could be ugly for the Steelers.
