{"id":3566,"date":"2016-10-08T00:41:44","date_gmt":"2016-10-08T04:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=3566"},"modified":"2021-03-08T17:18:09","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T22:18:09","slug":"pittsburgh-steelers-keys-victory-new-york-jets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2016\/10\/08\/pittsburgh-steelers-keys-victory-new-york-jets\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Steelers Keys to Victory against the New York Jets"},"content":{"rendered":"

After an impressive 43-14 victory<\/a> over the Kansas City Chiefs<\/strong>, the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/strong> look to keep their winning ways against the New York Jets<\/strong>. The Pittsburgh Steelers potent offense was on full display with the return of running back Le\u2019Veon Bell<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Jets are coming off a 27-17 defeat<\/a> by the hands of the Seattle Seahawks<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Steelers Keys to Victory against the New York Jets<\/h2>\n

Welcome Back, Steelers Defense<\/h3>\n

After laying dormant in an early season slumber, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense finally woke up in 2016. With only one quarterback sack to their name coming into last week\u2019s game, the Steelers defense recorded four quarterback sacks and an interception.<\/p>\n

The Steelers defense was led by inside linebacker Vince Williams<\/a><\/strong> who was filling in for injured Ryan Shazier<\/a><\/strong>. And man did he ever. Williams recorded 15 total tackles and a sack. Joining Vince Williams in creating havoc was Cam Heyward<\/strong> who recorded seven tackles and three sacks.<\/p>\n

It was nice to see the defense create some \u201csplash plays\u201d. That trend will need to continue on Sunday against a New York Jets offense that has turned the ball over 12 times<\/em>\u00a0in just\u00a0two games<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Seattle Seahawks were able to sack New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0four times in their meeting. More importantly, the Seahawks were able to neutralize the Jets running game. They held Matt Forte<\/a><\/strong> to under 30 yards, forcing the turnover-prone quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to beat them (nine interceptions last two games) consistently.\u00a0As you know, the\u00a0strategy worked.<\/p>\n

Eliminate the run, pressure the quarterback, and make Fitzpatrick beat you. If the Steelers keep dialing up the blitz and creating turnovers and \u201csplash plays\u201d, their winning trend will continue on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Big Ben Roethlisberger<\/a> After Throwing 5 Touchdowns<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s an impressive feat to throw five touchdowns in a single game at any level, let alone the National Football League<\/strong>. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger<\/strong> has done it three times.<\/p>\n

Oh yeah, he\u2019s also thrown six touchdowns in a game. Twice. In back to back weeks.<\/p>\n

Even more impressive is Roethlisberger\u2019s record the week AFTER throwing five (or more) passing touchdowns. Roethlisberger is 4-1 the week after throwing 5 or more touchdowns.<\/p>\n

In more recent history, after throwing six touchdowns against the Indianapolis Colts<\/strong> ( the 51-34 victory), Roethlisberger torched the hated Baltimore Ravens<\/strong> with another six touchdown game winning 43-23. The next week, though? A 20-13 defeat by the Mike Vick<\/strong> led New York Jets. Roethlisberger threw for 343 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in the dud. History won’t repeat itself on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Roethlisberger and Co. won\u2019t miss the opportunity to torch a very exploitable Jets secondary. The Jets are ranked 27th<\/sup> against the pass giving up 285 yards a game. They also surrender 26.3 points per game (21st<\/sup> overall).<\/p>\n

Expect Ben Roethlisberger to feed the ball to Antonio Brown<\/a><\/strong> early and often. Even though Brown will be visiting Darrell\u00a0Revis<\/strong> “Island”, it\u2019s looked more exploitable and sunnier now than in years’ past.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s a bright spot for the New York Jets defense it\u2019s their run defense. Ranked second in the NFL the Jets give up only 70 rushing yards per game. Led in tackles by rookie Darron Lee<\/a> (24), Jets boast an impressive defensive line with the likes of Muhammad Wilkerson<\/a><\/strong>, Leonard\u00a0Williams<\/strong>, and Sheldon Richardson<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It will be interesting to see if the Steelers patched up offensive line can hold up against the stout Jets rush defense and pass rush.<\/a><\/p>\n

Keep Ringing the Bell<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s a terrible pun, I know, but it works. After averaging 7.3 yards per touch last week (18 rushes for 144 yards, five receptions for 34 yards) in his first game back, Le\u2019Veon Bell looked to be in vintage form. And I\u2019m going to keep using the pun until it proves me wrong.<\/p>\n

Le\u2019Veon Bell lined up all over the field, and spent quite a bit of time in the slot as a receiver. He presents a matchup problem against anyone on defense and the Steelers will continue to use him any way they can.<\/p>\n

The Seattle Seahawks running backs (Christine Michael<\/a><\/strong> and CJ Spiller<\/strong>) combined for 20 rushes (70 yards) and seven receptions (37 yards, two touchdowns) against the Jets defense last week. \u00a0I expect to see Le\u2019Veon Bell shoulder a full workload and line up all over the field.<\/p>\n

Somewhere in the ballpark of 20-25-30 touches for Le\u2019Veon Bell should be nothing more than a formality at this point.<\/p>\n

If the Pittsburgh Steelers stick to their above keys, they shall be victorious against the New York Jets and move to 4-1.<\/p>\n

Prediction \u2013 Steelers 31 New York Jets 24<\/p>\n

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Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n