Written by Sydney Spack, Red & Black Contributing Writer
A cold Sunday in October and a sad day for Steelers fans this past weekend as they lost in the final seconds of the game against the New York Jets at Acrisure Stadium. The game-winning score came from rookie running back Breece Hall of the Jets. Despite their now 1-3 record, the Steelers hold second in the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. This is due to the three-way tie for first between the Browns, Ravens, and Bengals.
The two teams have met a total of 27 times according to The Football Database, with the Steelers walking away as the victor 20 of those times, but this weekend proved to be in the Jet's favor. Late in the first quarter of the game, New York took the lead with a field goal scored by Zuerlein. The Steeler's defensive line performed but struggled without the notable TJ Watt to help stir up trouble for the Jet's offense. The main issue throughout the game for defense appeared to be their inability to cover the middle of the field on passing and allowing for big running breaks here and there. Not until halfway through the second quarter did Pittsburgh answer with a field goal of their own from Boswell, who scored the longest field goal in Steelers history at 59 yards later in the game. The Jets still had the lead, with no intentions of giving it up. Mitch Trubisky started at quarterback for the first half of the game but seemed to be playing conservatively. The only points, while Trubisky was playing, came from kicker Chris Boswell.
During halftime, Mike Tomlin recognized the desperate need to give his team the edge they were looking for. His resolution to the issue at hand, putting Kenny Pickett in for the second half. Electricity took the field in the second half of the game and the Steelers started to look alive. Although he threw three interceptions in the half, they cannot all be held against him. The final was a Hail Mary attempt at giving his team a chance. The Steeler's offensive line, in both the first and second half, created time for both Trubisky and Pickett to get passes off or allow holes for the running backs. Both of the Steelers’ touchdowns were scored by Kenny, each being less than 5-yard rushes to the endzone.
The Jets quarterback, rookie Zach Wilson, also got in the endzone for his team scoring one touchdown helping their impressive offense march down the field on numerous occasions to score. Jets head coach Robert Salah stated in a post-game interview that he was proud of his team’s ability to make an “on-the-road comeback” against the Steelers