Steelers vs. Jets: Breaking Down Pittsburgh's Game Plan

What a difference three weeks makes.

The Pittsburgh Steelers took a Week 6 loss to the Cleveland Browns and turned in a three-game stretch of home victories that really announced to the league just what this team is capable of.

Gene Puskar/Associated Press

So now the Steelers are hitting the road for two games as their bye week approaches. The first of these road tilts is against the New York Jets. If you just look at these teams on the surface, one could assume that this will be a one-sided affair. After all, the Jets are a lowly 1-8 and at or near the bottom in several statistical categories.

Meanwhile, the Steelers and their three-game winning streak have put them at 6-3, and the offense is coming off full-blown three-game scoring extravaganza.

Nevertheless, we all understand that games are not won on paper. And you only have to go back to a Week 4 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or a near-loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5, to understand that nothing can be taken for granted.

How do the Steelers assure that they move to 7-3? Read and find out.

Injury updates

Here are some of the most current Twitter updates of the status of players for both sides:

"

Tomlin: Troy Polamalu and Ryan Shazier out this week with injuries

— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) November 4, 2014"

"

Report for @Steelers: Troy (knee), Shazier (ankle), Shamarko (hamstring), Ventrone (hamstring), and Worilds (abdomen) miss practice

— Bob Labriola (@BobLabriola) November 5, 2014"

"

OLB Jason Worilds (abdomen) and S Ross Ventrone (hamstring) were among Steelers who did not practice today because of injuries.

— Scott Brown (@ScottBrown_ESPN) November 5, 2014 "

"

Woodland Hills' Darrin Walls did not practice for the Jets today. Could be out against Steelers on Sunday.

— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) November 5, 2014"

"

For the Jets, their two start DTs - Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson missed practice w/ illness. Percy Harvin (heel) was limited

— Bob Labriola (@BobLabriola) November 5, 2014"

When the Steelers are on offense

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been on an absolute tear over the past two games. Roethlisberger has thrown for 862 yards with 12 touchdowns and no interceptions during this stretch. Big Ben has rediscovered his deep ball, and that has opened up the scoring in a big way.

That means that the Steelers are just going to go out and throw it all over the field on this Jets defense, right? Not so fast. For all of the struggles the Jets have had, they have allowed only one 300-yard passer in those nine games.

Gene Puskar/Associated Press

I guess that means the Steelers are going to just go out there, line up and run it right down the Jets’ throats, right? I wouldn’t count on it. The Jets are allowing only 88.4 yards per game on the ground.

Why is this team 1-8 again? We’ll get to that in the next section.

There is a philosophy that says you take what the defense gives you. I firmly believe that after the past two games, the Steelers offense is going to take what it wants. This unit is playing with tremendous confidence right now from the offensive line all the way to the backup skill players.

Against the Jets, I fully expect the Steelers to come out throwing the football. That New York front is stout and is going to be gunning for Bell. Offensive coordinator Todd Haley needs to soften this group up with their trio of wide receivers, Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant. This is strength against weakness.

"

@JoeStarkey1 Jets are on pace to shatter the NFL record of 40 TD passes allowed

— Dale Lolley (@dlolleyor) November 6, 2014"

The Steelers had great success against the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens by spreading out those two defenses with multiple wide receiver sets, then keeping the tight end in to protect and forcing the secondaries to make quick decisions.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Against a banged-up Jets secondary expect more of the same. On some level it is going to be pick your poison for the Jets defense as to whom to double and whom to leave in single coverage. If Roethlisberger can decipher his coverages pre-snap, it will just be up to the offensive line to give him some time, and he will find the open man.

But what about the run game? Last Sunday, the Ravens made a concerted effort to shut down Bell, and it worked. Jets head coach Rex Ryan it going to want to get off the field on third down. That means pressure on Roethlisberger and no controlling Pittsburgh running game on early downs.

Pittsburgh must counter this by getting back to the patient zone-rushing game that became an afterthought against Baltimore. The objective here is to soften up the Jets defense and then take the top off it.

When the Steelers are on defense 

It is hard to say what Week 2 of Mike Vick's tenure as the Jets starting quarterback will bring. Vick has always been an overrated player. True, his athleticism has been transcendent, but it has never translated into effective quarterbacking. It’s important to note that Vick has completed 60 percent of his passes for a season only once in his career.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

However, Vick is going to go out there on Sunday and throw it around to wide receivers Eric Decker and Percy Harvin, who look to exploit a very mediocre Steelers secondary. Without safety Troy Polamalu, look for safeties Will Allen and Mike Mitchell to stay back and keep Harvin and Decker from beating the defense deep.

This puts the onus of stopping the running game on the defensive line and linebackers. The Jets have two viable running backs in Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory, and assuming the game stays close both will get plenty of touches. Again, it will come down to gap integrity and stretching the run plays to the sidelines. It worked against the Colts and the Ravens, and it will work here.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Back to Vick, Pittsburgh has to bring the heat. The veteran signal-caller has fumbled five times in the past two weeks and thrown an interception. Pittsburgh has really stepped up its intensity on defense when it comes to turnovers, so look for Vick to turn it over a couple of times on Sunday. You can bet linebacker James Harrison wants to extend his streak of games with multiple sacks to three.

Expect more crowded fronts, masked pressures and mixed coverages from Pittsburgh in hopes of disrupting the timing of the routes and keeping Vick on the move.

If you want a player or two to watch, how about cornerback Brice McCain on Harvin? Cornerback William Gay can’t run with Harvin so it’ll be up to the speedy McCain, or possibly the even faster Antwon Blake to try and chase Harvin all over the field. A couple of big plays could be huge in this game, so keep an eye on Harvin and how the Steelers defend against his big-play ability.

Prediction and implications

After the last three weeks, it is possible that the Steelers suffer a huge letdown here and play down to the Jets' level. And early in the season, that was the case. However, at this point, this team is playing with too much chemistry and too much confidence to let those last few wins go to waste with a loss here.

In the final analysis, a high-powered passing offense versus a defense that gives up too many points spells doom for the J-E-T-S, Jets Jets Jets. The Steelers win this one going away.

Steelers 42, Jets 24

Player and team stats courtesy of NFL.com.