Although the 1-3 New York Jets face a rough time defensively against the Pittsburgh Steelers, don’t think the offense won’t score points.

  • New York Jets (1-3)
  • Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)
  • NFL, Week, 3, Sunday, Oct. 9, CBS
  • Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA

You’d be hard pressed to find one singular person who is picking the New York Jets to win this Sunday.

It makes sense. The 1-3 Jets have done nothing to impress over the last two weeks while playing in Kansas City and hosting Seattle while the Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off a 43-13 dismantling of the very tough Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.

That impressive Pitt performance coupled with the frightening thought of this awful 26th ranked Jets passing defense facing up against Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell has everybody on the Steelers in Week 5.

Unfortunately for Gang Green, it’s even much more than that. There are incredible factors hurting their chances in coming out of Heinz field with a win.

Here’s the full preview:

Injury Report

Out:

Doubtful:

Questionable:

The Eric Decker injury is a crushing blow. His chemistry with Ryan Fitzpatrick was money, and not having him for an extended period of time hurts beyond any analyzing. Compounding things are the injuries to Jalin Marshall and Quincy Enunwa. New York’s once-deep receiving corps is down to a select few. This allows defenses to completely zone in on Brandon Marshall and take him out of the game.

Darrelle Revis will, most likely, not play. Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse for the secondary, this happens.

 RELATED: Don't Count Ryan Fitzpatrick Out Just Yet 

Out:

While the Pittsburgh Steelers have nine players officially listed as out for Sunday’s game, the players aren’t as impactful as the Jets injury side of things.

Ryan Shazier is, by far, the biggest loss. He’s quite possibly the fastest linebacker in the game and his loss impacts Pitt’s defense greatly. Robert Golden‘s absence just means more opportunity for Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets passing game.

Jets Keys To Victory

1. Employ A Lighter Sub Package

First and foremost, Todd Bowles must move away from his classic nickel defense that deploys both David Harris and Darron Lee and move to a more new-age look:

Calvin Pryor in the box and Harris off the field is what Bowles needs to do against a potent 11th ranked passing offense. Antonio Brown will not only be a handful, but Sammie Coates, Markus Wheaton, and Le’Veon Bell will, of course, be extremely dangerous.

Bowles and the Jets must dare Pittsburgh to run the ball from the get go. Rely on the studs up front to take care of the rushing attack and keep a lighter back end for Big Ben’s air game.

2. Pressure On Big Ben

There is no single QB who is harder to bring down in the game. Ben Roethlisberger stays on his feet and fights through tackles better than anybody.

If there’s one d-line who could matchup well with Ben’s strength, it’s the Jets. Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson, and Leonard Williams will need to literally be superheroes on Sunday if the Jets have any aspirations of limiting the Steelers offense. Furthermore, Lorenzo Mauldin and/or Jordan Jenkins needs to create some sort of speed edge presence on the opposite side of Big Mo.

 RELATED: If Jets Like Geno, Fitz Wouldn't Be Here 

3. Ryan Fitzpatrick And The Passing Game Dominating

Thanks to the idea of the Steelers throwing all over the weak Jets pass coverage, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brandon Marshall, and the rest of the Jets passing game must dominate.

Many will point to a solid rushing game with Matt Forte as the key to the game. They’ll point to that as a way New York can control the game and keep Big Ben and Antonio Brown off the field. However, with Brian Winters out and Forte never fooling anybody into thinking he’s a controlled power back, Fitz will need to do his thing through the air.

Most importantly, though, the reason why the Jets will have to rely on the passing game is because of the defense they’re facing.

The Steelers pass defense could be worse than the Jets. Yielding 316.5 yards through the air, Pitt ranks 30th in the league in pass defense. There’s nobody in that secondary that scares you, and with safety Robert Golden out, it furthers the idea the Jets can throw the ball.

Oct 2, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin looks on against the Kansas City Chiefs during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 43-14. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Prediction

Don’t think for one moment this is a definite blowout. Sure, the Steelers could own the air while on offense. At the same time, Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets should find great success against the porous Steelers defense.

Brandon Marshall believes this is the week his Jets turn it around, according to Darryl Slater of NJ.com:

“I said this on Wednesday, that we had our best practice that we’ve had since I’ve been here in two years,” Marshall said. “But we truly had the best week since I’ve been here. I mean, an awesome week. We had a championship week. Usually, when you approach practice that way, it happens for you on Sunday.”

Still, the New York Jets need to prove it prior to receicing the benefit of the doubt. We do believe the game will be close throughout. We do believe Fitz and the Jets will get back to doing good things on offense, despite Decker’s absence.

But we simply can’t pick them based on the other side of the ball. Ben Roethlisberger will be able to cut up the Jets defense. We also don’t have faith that Todd Bowles will make the correct and necessary adjustements. He didn’t do it for Jimmy Graham and the Seahawks a week after Travis Kelce ran wild. What makes anybody think he’ll do it in Week 5?

Final Score: Jets 31, Steelers 38

 NEXT: Breaking Down The Jets Horrid Pass Coverage (Game Tape)