PITTSBURGH – It might be time to reconsider all that flowery prose written about the Jets offense last week.
A week after being unstoppable against the Bills, the Jets looked very, very stoppable against the Steelers in a 27-10 loss at Heinz Field.
The Jets (1-1) scored on their first two possessions and then not again as the Steelers (1-1) completely confused quarterback Mark Sanchez and the rest of the Jets offense into playing 2 ½ quarters of completely ineffective, unproductive football.
Playing without star cornerback Darrelle Revis, the Jets defense played well early but the Steelers were able to break through on a few big drives.
Sanchez started strong with an impressive 90-yard drive that finished with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes to take a 7-3 lead. Sanchez went 4-for-5 on the drive and it looked like he was going to have another big day after throwing for three touchdowns last week. But Sanchez did not complete any of his next five passes and the Jets offense began to sputter.
Sanchez completed 10-of-27 for 138 yards and the one touchdown. He went 6-for-22 to finish the game.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger performed surgery on a secondary playing without Revis. He took turns targeting Antonio Cromartie, Kyle Wilson and Ellis Lankster, and then got some additional help from LaRon Landry, who committed two boneheaded penalties.
Roethlisberger went 24-for-31 for 275 yards and two touchdowns.
The Jets were able to hold the Steelers to field goals on their first two possessions. The Jets extended their lead to 10-6 on a 38-yard field goal from Nick Folk with 9:38 left in the first half. It was the first time since the 2009 season finale against the Bengals that the Jets scored on their first two possessions.
The Steelers reached the end zone just before halftime, partially because Landry helped them get there. Roethlisberger hit Emmanuel Sanders for a 19-yard pass but it became a 32-yard play when Landry drilled Sanders out of bounds. Landry has been lauded for his aggressive play in his first year as a Jet, but the flip side is dumb penalties like this.
The Jets had one more chance to get the Steelers off the field before scoring but Landry missed a sack of Roethlisberger, who hit former Jet Jerricho Cotchery for a 6-yard gain to set up a first-and-goal from the 1.
Roethlisberger finished off the drive with a play-action pass to tight end Heath Miller for the touchdown to take a 13-10 lead going into the half.
Interestingly, Tim Tebow did not play on offense in the first half.
The Steelers padded their lead on their first drive of the second half. Another dumb penalty by Landry contributed to it. He got flagged for a horse-collar tackle on Antonio Brown that moved the Steelers to the Jets 31. The Steelers were moved back to the 37 on a six-yard running loss.
On third-and-16, Roethlisberger avoided David Harris in the pocket and then threw it to Mike Wallace against Cromartie, who looked like he lost track of the ball. Wallace landed with his feet barely in bounds, giving Pittsburgh a commanding 20-10 lead.
The Jets broke out Tebow after the touchdown. He entered the game with a 22-yard run on the first play. He was in for three plays before Sanchez re-entered the game.
The last real chance for the Jets to change the momentum came with just under five minutes to go in the third quarter. The Steelers appeared to covert a third-and-5 from their own 9, but a challenge by Rex Ryan overturned the spot of the ball and the Steelers were forced to punt.
Jeremy Kerley muffed the punt for the Jets and the Steelers recovered at the Jets 42, taking the life out of the Jets.
Jets rookie wide receiver Stephen Hill did not have a catch in the game after scoring two touchdowns last week.