Steelers @ NY Jets - Breakdown / Prediction

Will Ben Still Be Running For His Life vs the Jets?

With the Pirates postseason run, the Penguins' red hot start to the season, alot of fans have put the Steelers on the back burner and just kind of let them there.  After all, nothing gets fans more pumped than a trip to the New Meadowlands with an 0-4 record, RIGHT?  Whether you've thrown in the terrible towel, or if you are a die hard like me that is still very much vested in what this team can do for the remainder of the season...you  should enjoy this breakdown of the Steelers vs Jets matchup at 1:00pm Sunday.  Its a "One Game Season" from here on out, and this is week 1.  Lets break this down...

Steelers Offense vs Jets Defense - Don't look now, but the Steelers have actually made in season changes, and not just Mike Tomlin saying he is going "unleash hell" and "changes will be made" and nothing changes AT ALL.  The Steelers haven't made drastic changes, except at the left tackle position, but change is change.  The one aspect of the Steelers offense that I'm looking forward to watching is what the running game looks like with Le'Veon Bell and Heath Miller as healthy as ever.  Le'Veon Bell gives the Steelers an aspect of the running game they haven't had in years.  His "jump cuts" last time they played in London proved to be lethal and were able to create offense when nothing was there.  Lets be honest, with this OLine there isn't much there.  The OLine will have to work hard to keep Ben Roethlisberger upright and to give him the time he needs to make plays.  Whats more important than the Steelers running game, offensive line, and Wide Receivers are the turnovers.  The Steelers have turned the ball over at a tremendous rate, and at the worst possible time.  Needless to say, if the Steelers want to win their first game of the season (including preseason) they CANNOT turn the ball over.  Not once.  That is the type of offense this team has now...not good.

Steelers Defense vs Jets Offense - The defense is equally underwhelming.  In Week 1 the Steelers lost because of the offense.  In Week 2, the blame could have been shared, and its been that way ever since.  Not only are the Steelers posting a GOOSE EGG in the takeaway column, but they are also not getting to the quarterback.  Throw in giving up big runs at crucial situations and that is a recipe that equates to disaster.  The Steelers defense has questions that simply cannot be answered midway through the season.  Some are saying Dick Lebeau's schemes are not "up to snuff" anymore, while others feel its the players.  I believe its a little bit of both.  How many times will we see the same "zone dog" blitz before the opposing teams know exactly how to protect against it?  How many schemes can be tweaked before it becomes just "average"?  Does Lebeau have the players to win?  Certainly he could, but when Troy Polamalu consistently is playing the line of scrimmage you are negating of his best skill sets, and thats taking the ball away.  This defense is NOTHING like the Steelers defenses of the past.  In the past, the Steelers D would feast on rookie QBs, but now, you have to think Geno Smith will probably make some plays.

Intangibles - The Steelers are on the road, and it isn't like they've been road warriors or taking advantage of home field either.  The Steelers are just trying to win a game.  Not playoffs or division talk...just win a game. Rex Ryan has the Jets believing, and Tomlin has the Steelers questioning.  Either way you look at it, this game could be decided by one key play.  Could be a special teams play, a blown assignment, or maybe even a costly penalty.  This game in NY is going to be an eye opener for the Steelers.  Whether the eyes are opened to the potential of the team, or if they are opened to how awful this team is.  

Prediction - Tough to predict the Steelers this season, but I think this is the week that the Steelers bounce back and finally break into the 'W' column.

Steelers - 24
Jets - 20