Picks for Week 7
The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to square off with the New York Jets on Sunday night in hopes of taking their record to 5-2. Will they succeed? Here are this week’s predictions from our BTSC staff.
The Jets have a solid defense and a struggling offense despite several star players. The Steelers are countering with a mid-season change at quarterback. Russ Wilson’s tape in recent years is ugly and he is plagued with many of the same inconsistencies causing the Steelers to move on from Justin Fields. The only difference is Wilson is less mobile and has a soft tissue injury in his lower leg that could flare up at any moment. Oh and the Steelers are starting a third-string center against Quinnen Williams. This is fine. Jets win ugly 24-18..- Ryan Parish
Much like Aaron Rodgers was in his first few starts, I anticipate we see the same from Russell Wilson. I don’t trust the Steelers offensive line to protect him against a fierce Jets pass-rush. Pittsburgh will get a break with three of the Jets four members of the starting secondary out with injury – including CB’s Michael Carter II and DJ Reed. This is a chance for WR George Pickens to get back on track, and Van Jefferson to finally get involved. At the end of the day, it won’t be enough. Jets 20, Steelers 17.- Mike Nicastro
The Steelers picked up a much-needed win against the Raiders last week. Although the margin of victory was large, the game never really felt like the Steelers were dominating to me. The previous games still linger in my mind with the defense struggling early versus the Colts and their inability to stop the Cowboys with the game on the line. The offense is what it will always come down to but I cannot imagine they succeed against the tough front of the Jets. Newly acquired Davante Adams has the ability to unlock the old Aaron Rodgers… if he still has it. That question also goes for Russell Wilson, does he still have the old him inside himself somewhere? We will all be watching Sunday night to find out for ourselves. I predict a defensive battle with a couple of defensive lapses on both sides, one of which allows the game-winning touchdown to be scored. The Steelers win after a tough fight with a score of 19-17.- Austin Cave
Aaron Rodgers is at, or flirting with, career worst numbers for completion percentage, TD percentage, INT percentage, sack percentage, and yards per attempt. The Jets are the fourth worst team in rushing yards and YPC. Their offensive line has struggled. Look for the Steeler defensive front to absolutely feast. Expecting little from Davante Adams as he hasn’t played a down of football in about a month. With a banged up Jets secondary, the Steelers make enough plays to capitalize on consistent good field position provided by the defense. In a very heavy Chris Boswell game, Steelers win 22-13.- Tom Fox
If you thought the 6–3 first half against the Cowboys was boring, then pack another Red Bull for Sunday night. To quote Mike Tomlin: “Steelers football is 60 minutes. It’s never gonna be pretty. Throw style points out the window. But these guys will fight to the end.” And if you like watching Aaron Rodgers taking hits and looking less than, then this is the game for you. This week’s killer B’s will be Boswell, blitzes and Beanie’s bounce back. Steelers 16 – Jets 13.- Kyle Chrise
This game is a tough one to pick. We haven’t seen Russell Wilson play much in this Steelers offense, and there’s no way of knowing how much of an impact Davante Adams will have with the Jets with less than a week of preparation. Ultimately, I think the Jets’ offense does just enough to escape with a 20-17 victory, but this game could go a lot of different ways.- Ryland Bickley
Last week, I was the lone skeptic that the Steelers would pull out a win over the Raiders. Now, it seems I’m the lone skeptic that this game isn’t as frightening as it would have assumed. We don’t admittedly know what to expect in terms of Davante Adams’ participation, nor do we know that Aaron Rodgers & Co. will have a number of game-changing calls in their favor. What we do know is that the Jets are banged up on defense, Hail Mary’s aren’t every-week occurrences and this is a game Mike Tomlin won’t under prepare for; there are expectations for this to be a tough battle, and it’s not a gimme game. Steelers 20, Jets 17.- Kate Magdziuk
Making a quarterback change when the team is 4-2 to go with the soon-to-be 36 year old is a flat out dumb decision. The Steelers’ defense may hold up their end of the bargain, but the offense is going to struggle. Jets 23, Steelers 13.- Jarrett Bailey