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New York Jets defense on the wrong end of Russell Wilson's historic Steelers debut


New York Jets defense on the wrong end of Russell Wilson's historic Steelers debut

The New York Jets were excited for their matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football in Week 7.

Days earlier, a blockbuster trade occurred when Davante Adams was acquired from the Las Vegas Raiders to boost the offense. It was also announced that a revised deal with edge rusher Haason Reddick meant he would also return soon.

Things were finally looking up for the Jets. They also played well on the field at Acrisure Stadium.

A one-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to tight end Tyler Conklin and the subsequent two-point conversion gave New York a 15-6 lead. Unfortunately, that was the last time anything positive happened for Gang Green.

From that point on, it was a Steelers offense in every way.

Quarterback Russell Wilson managed to shake off the rust in his first start of the season, finally finding his rhythm and starting to pick apart a Jets secondary decimated by injuries.

Pittsburgh scored on its first drive of the game before punting on four of its next five drives, adding another field goal. On his final drive of the half, the veteran got things going and the Steelers never let up.

The Jets' 15-13 halftime lead was short-lived. After making a three-pointer on their first possession, they allowed Pittsburgh to get off the field but only managed to concede a field goal. Trailing by 16:15, it was as close as ever for the rest of the evening.

Another Rodgers interception, this time from the chest of Garrett Wilson directly to Beanie Bishop, brought the Steelers to the one-yard line. Wilson ran the ball into himself, which was the first of three consecutive touchdown attempts they would make.

The game ended with them scoring 31 unanswered points in a one-sided 37-15 situation.

What should be a vaunted New York defensive unit has dropped points. They allowed Pittsburgh to score on each of their final five possessions, similar to how the San Francisco 49ers wore them down in Week 1.

They had turned back the clock because the veteran quarterback looked like he did in his heyday with the Seattle Seahawks. He finished the game completing 16 of 29 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns and was sacked only once.

It was a historic performance from Wilson, who now holds the record for most passing yards in a Steelers debut in franchise history. The previous high was held by Earl Morral, who threw for 249 yards in a 28-7 win over the then-Washington Redskins in 1957.

Now the Jets are 2-5 on the season and on a four-game losing streak and have some work to do. Their schedule will be noticeably softer, but given what they've looked like the last few weeks, that might not matter.

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