Victory Over Pittsburgh Steelers Shows New York Jets Can Stand Toe to Toe With Elite

by John B on Dec 20, 2010 10:17 AM EST

There seems to be a popular theory that the Jets have played worse when they have had extra rest. They lost the opener to the Ravens, the game after the bye to the Packers, and the Monday nighter to the Patriots off an 11 day layoff. I have a different theory, which I found even more troubling. Those were the three most difficult opponents on the schedule, and Gang Green had not raised its game. The Jets had only two wins against a winning record entering the weekend. One of those teams, Miami, only had a winning record as a result of being the Jets last Sunday and is once again a .500 team after a terrible home loss to the Bills.

That's why I think yesterday's win was big. The Jets needed to show they were capable of beating an elite team. The Week 2 victory was a long time ago. This team has taken care of business against the bottom feeders as any club with dreams of contending should do. However, there were legitimate concerns over the ability to step up against better competition.

I do not think a loss yesterday would have necessarily meant the end. There would have been things to build upon, such as the offense finally looking capable of moving the football. With that said, getting the victory is big. With or without Troy Polamalu, the Steelers are an excellent team. The way things are shaping up, the Jets are probably going to have to win three road games against the best the AFC has to offer to get to the Super Bowl, including possibly a return trip to Pittsburgh. This is the kind of win that reassures me with confidence the talent on this roster is capable of delivering against the best.

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this team is as talented as any.

How deep our playoff run goes is entirely up to the coaching staff. Good game plans, good preperation and good execution are all by-products of coaching.

by Crackback on Dec 20, 2010 11:57 AM EST via mobile reply actions

Team talent, not individual talent....

I would never assume to speak for Crackback, but I will say that if you looked at individual players/positions it would have favored the Steelers, with TP or not. But the Jets coalesced better as a team, and that was the difference. The Steelers are opportunistic, yet the Jets have no turnovers. They may not advance to the Super Bowl, but those are 2 strong components in ther NFL and Gang Green with a lot of heart.

But it’s team talent that won it for them at Heinz.

by oldskooljet on Dec 20, 2010 12:38 PM EST reply actions

About Troy Polamalu...

I wish he’d been in the game because I hate having to hear about some injured key player in every article about a particular victory and frankly, I think we could have won with him in. (We may very well find out later.)

It’s not like all our starters have survived. We have a bit of an issue at safety too. We’ve lost some major players (Jenkins and Leonhard come to mind, which has really hurt the D).

by cult hero on Dec 20, 2010 1:44 PM EST reply actions

Personally I'm thankful all to God that he wasn't playing.

If he had played, just being honest, I really don’t think that the Jets win that game. There were moments in that game where Pitt tried to turn the game defensively and just couldn’t do it, and that is exactly what Polamalu does.

Its not that the Jets CAN’T beat Pitt with TP ever, just not that week. Sanchez needed a break to get his confidence back, and not having to worry about Troy was that break. It was a big deal. The Jets needed to get off the mat first. If they played them again this week with Polamalu, they would have a much better chance.

by ________key on Dec 20, 2010 4:27 PM EST up reply actions

It helped, sure...

It’s just… every time this team wins the caveats have to be replayed over and over by the sports media and that gets old. Doesn’t matter now though… we have Da Bears to deal with now. It’s gonna be the battle of the pretenders. Ha!

by cult hero on Dec 20, 2010 5:14 PM EST up reply actions

Well, the Jets kinda have made their media bed. First they did the Hard Knocks Bravado but then have laid several eggs starting with a horrible first game. And the whole team was supposed to be about defense, it was supposed to be the identity of the team with the offense and its weapons just being icing on the cake. But the pass defense has basically stunk all year (after being 1st last year). Zero pass rush. Zero confident ability to close out a 3rd and 17. Zero confidence that an end of game drive can be shut down before the other team gets right to the goal line.

If you are going to talk the talk, you gotta…

by ________key on Dec 20, 2010 5:20 PM EST up reply actions