Jets Country

Jets Overcome Mistakes in Comeback Victory Over Steelers

After digging themselves into a hole, Zach Wilson and the Jets battled back to defeat Pittsburgh.

Max Goodman

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The cardiac Jets have done it again.

After allowing 20 unanswered points and watching the Steelers capture every ounce of momentum on their home turf on Sunday, New York battled back and produced their second dramatic comeback win of the season.

Scoring 14 points on two clinical drives in the final 13 minutes of the fourth quarter, Zach Wilson and the Jets defeated the Steelers 24-20 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.

Wilson, making his 2022 debut and returning from knee surgery, threw for 252 yards, completing 18 of his 36 pass attempts with two scores and two interceptions. 

It was an ugly win in the sense that New York made several costly mistakes throughout, leading to their deficit entering the fourth, but a win is a win. New York is now 2-2 on the season, raising their record to .500 for the first time since Week 6 of the 2018 season. 

The Jets were flying high in the first half. They jumped ahead 10-0 after a Wilson touchdown catch on a trick play, thrown into the end zone by wideout Braxton Berrios. On defense, New York was wreaking havoc in the backfield, making life miserable for Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who was benched in favor of rookie Kenny Pickett at halftime.

Then, two plays in the final 20 seconds of the first half changed the trajectory of this game. Or so we thought.

New York was driving while up 10-3, poised to put at least three more points on the board before the halftime whistle. Instead, Wilson tried to force a deep ball down the left sideline, an ill-advised decision and poorly-placed pass that was intercepted by cornerback Cameron Sutton.

To make that interception hurt even more, defensive end Carl Lawson drilled Trubisky on what should've been the final play of the first half, penalized for roughing the passer. That gave the Steelers an additional 15 yards and one more play before the half, a play that resulted in a 59-yard field goal from Chris Boswell.

It was a six-point swing that handed all the momentum after a promising first two quarters back to the home team. 

Pittsburgh promptly took the lead in the third quarter after yet another interception from Wilson, his second in a span of five passes. This one wasn't entirely Wilson's fault as it slipped through tight end Tyler Conklin's hands and into the mitts of Minkah Fitzpatrick. The safety returned the pick all the way to the four-yard line, setting up a QB sneak from Pickett, his first NFL score.

Pickett added another touchdown on the ground to begin the fourth quarter, the 20th unanswered point in a row for Pittsburgh.

That's when the comeback began. Wilson and the Jets overcame more silly penalties to cut their deficit to three. After a false start and ineligible man downfield took New York from the one-yard line back to the 11, Wilson found Corey Davis on a third-down score, his first touchdown pass of the season. 

Getting the ball back after a Pickett interception with 3:34 remaining, Wilson and the Jets produced a perfect, game-winning drive. New York marched 65 yards on 10 plays—following up their 11-play, 81-yard scoring drive—to take the lead on a Breece Hall touchdown run with 16 seconds left on the game clock.

Pittsburgh had a chance to win it on their last play, but Pickett's hail mary toss soared into the hands of safety Lamarcus Joyner in the back of the end zone, New York's fourth interception of the game on defense.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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