Steelers stomp the Jets
The NY Jets scored 48 points last week against the Buffalo Bills, so the Steelers were probably expecting a better offensive team than they ended up facing. Frankly, only one word comes to mind to describe the Jets team that faced the Steelers; impotent.
The Steelers dominated the Jets in every facet of the game.
Probably the most telling statistic was the fact that the Steelers converted 8 of 15 third down attempts. If an NFL team can’t stop a team on third down, they’re probably not going to win, and the Jets simply couldn’t stop the Steelers.
Another telling statistic was the time of possession. Despite being down 7-3 at the end of the first quarter, the Steelers actually controlled the ball for most of the quarter. They held the ball for a full 10:12 seconds, while the Jets only had the ball for 4:48. The fourth quarter was even worse for the Jets. The Steelers controlled the ball for a full 12:17. The Jets’ offense was only on the field for 2:43. It’s pretty hard for an offense to mount a comeback if they’re not allowed to set foot on the football field.
And if you need further evidence of the Steelers’ dominance, consider the fact that the Jets’ offense only crossed midfield once in the second half.
LaMarr Woodley sacks Mark Sanchez
The interesting thing about the Steelers offensive performance was that there were really no individual offensive heroes. The leading rusher for the Steelers only had 28 yards rushing. The leading receiver only had 79 receiving yards. But this type of performance seems to be indicative of offensive coordinator Todd Haley’s offense.
In the two games that the Steelers have played so far, Haley’s offense seems to be based on spreading the ball around. 5 different runners carried the ball in the Steelers offense, and 10 different receivers caught the ball. While this approach probably keeps the opposing defense guessing, it also doesn’t seem to be particularly conducive to producing big offensive number for any individual offensive player.
But besides the concern about generating individual statistics, it’s pretty hard to find fault in the results the Steelers’ offense generated.
The Steelers defense was equally dominant. They held Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez to a mere 138 passing yards. Sanchez completed only 10 of 27 pass attempts, and ended the game with a meager 66.6 passer rating.
Contrarily, Ben Roethlisberger completed 24 of 31 passes for 275 yards, and a 125.1 passer rating.
The Steelers don’t have time to celebrate their victory. Instead, they need to start preparing for next week’s game against the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders are 0-2, and should present a very beatable opponent for the Steelers.
Go Steelers!
I have a new name for Ike = Herbicide (Weed Killer). Heh.
Good game for the Steelers. Still need to get better, but I’ll take it.
1Those 10 minute drives are truly impressive.
After griping about Haley’s early escapades week 1, I’m liking what I see and this is with a bunch of injuries only two games into the season.
It’s only going to get better.
The D played hard and smart and it showed.
Next the hated Oakland Raiders.
2Jim,
I like it. I doubt that Santonio would like it. But I like it.
BTW, wasn’t that pass interference call absolutely ridiculous? I can’t believe that Santonio even accepted that gift from the referees.
3HP,
I’ve liked what I’ve seen from the defense. Sure, they didn’t shut Peyton Manning down, but who can? But they were very dominant against the Jets. They shut down their running game AND their passing game. That’s pretty tough to do against any NFL team.
Just wait until James Harrison and Troy return. Then the league will see the REAL Steelers defense.
4Haley made a great call by going PAP on first and goal to Heath Miller. Also he did a nice job mixing up running and safe passing on the 4th quarter 10-minute drive that finally killed the Jets. I wonder if the Jets defense just ran out of gas because they had been stuffing the run all game up until that point. It certainly helps our defense that we can possess the ball for 35.5 minutes per game over the course of the first 2 games.
5