Breaking down Week 5 at Pittsburgh Steelers

The New York Jets are set to clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers come Week 5 of the regular season. Will they have a chance at taking down this NFL Playoff contending team?

The early season run of 2015 playoff teams continue Week 5 at Pittsburgh. This marks the second straight week that the New York Jets will play in front of a tough crowd. The Steelers have a tremendous home-field advantage which gives them an immediate edge.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have high expectations this season, despite the year-long suspension of wide receiver Martavis Bryant and the looming four-game suspension of running back Le’Veon Bell. Unfortunately, Bell will not miss this game.

Even without Bryant, the Steelers possess an explosive offense, led by arguably the best wide-out in the NFL, Antonio Brown. He is the perfect receiver for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who makes a living on extending plays. The offensive line is very solid, and young wide-outs Markus Wheaton and Sammie Coates are poised for big years.

The Steelers run a zone-blitzing 3-4 scheme which can be pretty ruthless against opposing teams. They have a strong front seven led by Pro Bowl defensive end Cameron Heyward and inside linebackers Lawrence Timmons and Ryan Shazier. They are not as stout in the secondary, where they are likely to start two rookies.

More from The Jet Press

The Jets will need to keep pace with this explosive Steelers’ offense.

Wide receivers Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall are a mismatch for any cornerback the Steelers have.

They will need to flex their muscles in this game for the Jets to pull off an upset on the road.

The Jets will also lean on quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to decipher the defense and know who is blitzing and which players are dropping into coverage.

Running backs Matt Forte and Bilal Powell thrive as third-down backs who can pick up extra rushers. For the Jets to win, they need to push the ball downfield against a weak and inexperienced defensive secondary. It would help if wide receiver Devin Smith is active for this game thanks to the speed he brings to the table.

The Jets must keep Roethlisberger in the pocket and tackle him every opportunity they get. The Jets will have their hands full on defense with Bell coming back and Brown being, well, himself. Brown is nearly impossible to cover one-on-one. Ask cornerback Chris Harris of the Denver Broncos, who hadn’t given up a touchdown pass all year until Brown got him twice.

Cornerback Darrelle Revis shouldn’t be allowed to cover him one-on-one. They should put the faster and quicker Buster Skrine on Brown, but also bracket or even double team him in certain situations. The Jets must not allow Brown to beat them. Put Revis on Wheaton or Coates the whole game as that would be much more effective.

must read: When will Christian Hackenberg play?

The Jets’ defense could be in store for a rough game with all of the weapons the Steelers have. There is a reason that some analysts are putting the Steelers in the Super Bowl this year and well, the Jets will have their hands full all game long come Week 5.

Home/Jets News