Steely McBeam
Well-known member
- Mar 20, 2019
- 2,135
- 0
Getty Images
The Steelers came into Sunday needing to win both of their remaining games in order to clinch a playoff spot, but they no longer control their own chances of making it to the postseason.
Pittsburgh didn’t score any points in the second half while playing with a pair of quarterbacks and the Jets were able to hit a pair of field goals that game them a 16-10 win at home. The victory means that they will be out of the playoffs if the Titans win in Week 17 whether or not the Steelers are able to beat the Ravens.
While the Ravens may be resting players after clinching the top seed in the AFC playoffs, the Steelers may be short some of their own starters. Running back James Conner, center Maurkice Pouncey and quarterback Mason Rudolph all left Sunday’s loss with injuries.
Rudolph was in the game because Devlin Hodges was benched after being intercepted in the end zone by Jets safety Marcus Maye in the first half. It was Hodges’s second pick of the day and his sixth since the start of Week 15, so the Steelers turned to Rudolph and he helped them to 10 points that tied the game at halftime.
He couldn’t get anything going in the second half, however, and left after suffering a left shoulder injury. Hodges couldn’t move the ball either and the Steelers ran out of chances when JuJu Smith-Schuster couldn’t reel in a pass from Hodges on a fourth down with just under a minute to play.
The Steelers will need another backup if Rudolph can’t go next Sunday, but it was fitting that offensive futility has been their undoing the last two weeks. The defense has played well enough to get the team into the playoffs this season, but the lack of Ben Roethlisberger and extended absences for Smith-Schuster and Conner at points this season has done nothing to help them generate points.
The Jets offense has been no great success story this season either and Sunday’s game wasn’t much different. Le'Veon Bell had 25 carries for 72 yards and four catches for 21 yards in his first game against his former team, including 23 rushing yards to help set up the final Sam Ficken field goal of the afternoon. They only managed 259 yards overall, so the push for more offensive talent will be an offseason priority after they finish up with the Bills next Sunday.