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We have a terrific matchup for Sunday Night Football in Week 7 of the NFL season. The New York Jets, who are coming off a wild week after firing head coach Robert Saleh and losing to the Bills, are traveling to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers. This game is big for both teams with the Jets desperately trying to right the ship while Pittsburgh looks to stay in contention with Baltimore in the AFC North, and that should make for an exciting matchup. Let’s dive deeper into this SNF game and make our Jets @ Steelers NFL picks.
I mentioned above that the Jets had a wild Week 6. They started things by shockingly firing head coach Robert Saleh. They then promoted defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich to head coach, who then made the decision to demote offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and promote Todd Downing to start calling the plays.
They had a Monday Night Football matchup against the Buffalo Bills. The Jets came out firing, but unfortunately for them and their fans, their defense had trouble stopping the Bills’ running game. The Bills running backs combined for 24 carries totaling 131 yards without James Cook in the lineup.
New York would go on to lose the matchup 23-20 and fall to 2-4 on the season. The offense for the Jets looked much better as they leaned in on the run game with Breece Hall. He had his season high in carries with 18 totaling 113 yards on the ground. He even got involved in the passing game, catching five of his six targets for 56 yards. Even though the Jets lost, that was the main positive coming out of the game.
Aaron Rodgers had a solid night for the Jets as well. He threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns and one interception. He was able to hit Allen Lazard in the end zone as time expired for another Hail Mary in his career. However, Rodgers did throw a costly interception late as the Jets were moving to take the lead or tie with under two minutes left.
Garrett Wilson and Lazard each had big nights receiving. Wilson caught eight of his 10 targets for 107 yards and a touchdown. At the same time, Lazard caught six of his seven targets for 114 yards. The Jets may have lost the game, but their offense looked much better than the previous couple of weeks.
The Steelers are coming off a win that they desperately needed after losing two straight games. They improved to 4-2 on the season with the 32-13 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
They were led by running back Najee Harris, who was an absolute animal on the ground. Harris saw 14 carries for 106 yards and found the end zone for the first time all year with a great 36-yard touchdown run. It was by far his best game of the season.
Justin Fields also added to the rushing attack, which we have seen from him throughout his career. He found the end zone twice on the ground while rushing for 59 yards. He was much quieter through the air, however, going 14-24 for just 145 yards.
The Steelers did not need to rely on the arm of Fields, which is how they want to win football games. That led to George Pickens catching just three balls for 53 yards.
This Steelers team will likely continue to rely on the rushing attack and their terrific defense. TJ Watt continued to make his case for being Defensive Player of the Year as he had two tackles for loss and forced two turnovers. This Steelers defense continues to look legit.
This is an intriguing matchup between two teams who are very similar. They both like to rely on their good defenses and want to run the ball. They also both like to play at slower paces, with the Steelers ranking 24th in pace of play and the Jets being middle of the pack.
Both of these defenses are great, but the Steelers have the advantage in stopping the opposing teams’ running games. The Steelers are the fourth-best team in the NFL in that department, allowing just 88.4 yards per game on the ground while the Jets are allowing 124 yards per game on the ground. That bodes well for the Steelers.
However, the person that doesn’t bode well for is Justin Fields as a passer. Fields has thrown for over 200 yards just twice this season. In the three games he did not, he threw for fewer than 150 yards. The Jets are very solid against opposing quarterbacks, allowing the fewest passing yards per game in the NFL. With that said, our Jets @ Steelers NFL pick is going to be on Justin Fields throwing for fewer than 175 yards on Sunday Night Football.
Dylan has had a love for sports since he was a kid. Four years ago, he decided to dive into the sports content-creating industry specializing in Fantasy Football, NFL and NBA. He has since had his work published on sites that include Fantasy Alarm, Fansided, and Fantasy Six Pack.