JEFF ALLEN GAME PREVIEW: NY JETS at STEELERS
The NY Jets head to the Steel City on Sunday with their season clearly on he line to face the Steelers
at Heinz Field. The Flyboys are clearly headed in the wrong direction coming off B2B losses to Kansas
City and Seattle in games that saw Jet QB Ryan Fitzpatrick throw an almost inconceivable none INTs.
Last week Pittsburgh rebounded from their 34-3 mauling at Philadelphia with a 45-14 blowout of the
Chiefs on Sunday night as Le’Veon Bell made his return from suspension with an 18 carry 155 yard
performance.
The line has stayed pretty close to the opener of Pitt -7 and 48 1/2. Some money has shown on the under
dropping the high/low a full point but overnight action on the over has things back at 48. Weather should
be perfect with the temperatures in the low 60’s for the 1;00 PM kickoff on CBS.
The Jets are desperate and with their backs against the wall. A loss here drops Gang Green to 1-4 with a
trip to Arizona to face the equally desperate Cardinals on deck. Not only has Fitzpatrick been terrible, injuries
to Matt Forte and Eric Decker have handcuffed the offense. The defense is second against the run but Revis
Island is showing his age and the stop unit in general has been left in untenable positions by the offense’s
turnovers. Forte has been upgraded to probable but this is a team that is clearly on the brink.
The Steelers clearly wrote off their no show vs. the Eagles as a mulligan that happens during a long season.
Big Ben had a surgical 22-27, 300, 5 TD game vs. KC last week. Bell is back which is going to open everything
for the most potent offense in the league. The Pittsburgh defense still has the same M.O. …. strong against the
run (No.4) and struggling vs. the pass (No.30). Antonio Brown could have a monster day here vs. a secondary
that has been burned deep on multiple occasions.
Current form and series history clearly favors the Steelers here. The Jets are just 3-12-2 as a non-divisional
road dog and are just 5-19 in their L24 games vs. The Steel Curtain. Add to the mix that the Jets have lost nine
straight visits here and that the Steelers are on a 14-6 ATS run (7-2 ATS L9) as a home favorite and you can
see there is little to recommend with the visitors. If you like the Steelers, you may want to act now as -7.5 is
probably close. The under might be worth a look as nine of the L11 in the series fell under the total of 37.