New York Jets Defense on Wrong End of Russell Wilson’s Historic Steelers Debut

The New York Jets defense was carved up by Russell Wilson in his debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Oct 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin (right) congratulates quarterback Russell Wilson (3) on his touchdown pass against the New York Jets during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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

A blockbuster trade was made days before, as Davante Adams was acquired from the Las Vegas Raiders to jumpstart the offense. It was also revealed that a reworked deal with edge rusher Haason Reddick meant he would be returning soon as well.

Things were finally looking up for the Jets. On the field at Acrisure Stadium, they were playing well, too.

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 would happen for Gang Green.

From that point on, it was a Steelers onslaught in every facet of the game.

Knocking off rust in his first start of the season, quarterback Russell Wilson eventually found his groove and started picking apart a Jets secondary that was decimated by injuries.

Pittsburgh scored on its first drive of the game before punting on four out of their next five drives with another field goal mixed in. On their final drive of the half, the veteran got things going and the Steelers never slowed down.

The Jets 15-13 halftime lead was short-lived. After going three-and-out on their opening possession, they allowed Pittsburgh to go down the field but held to surrender only a field goal. Now trailing 16-15, it was the closest they would ever be the remainder of the night.

Another Rodgers interception, this time off of Garrett Wilson’s chest right to Beanie Bishop, set the Steelers up at the one-yard line. Wilson would run the ball in himself, which was the first of three straight touchdown drives they would have.

The game ended with them scoring 31 unanswered points in a 37-15 lopsided affair.

What was supposed to be a vaunted New York defensive unit has been hemorrhaging 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 the clock turned back on them, as the veteran quarterback looked like he did during his heyday with the Seattle Seahawks. He finished the game completing 16-of-29 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns, getting sacked only once.

It was a historic performance by 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 1957 in a 28-7 victory over the then-Washington Redskins.

Now 2-5 on the season and riding a four-game losing streak, the Jets have to do some soul-searching. Their schedule softens up considerably, but with how they have looked the last few weeks, it may not matter.