Davante Adams changes nothing for spiraling Jets in embarrassing loss to Steelers

PITTSBURGH — OK Woody, now what? 

Jets owner Woody Johnson has made dramatic moves after the last two Jets losses but nothing is working. The Jets lost their fourth straight game on Sunday night, this one a 37-15 loss to the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. 

The loss drops the Jets to 2-5 and desperation time has arrived before Halloween for the Jets. In a year when they entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations, they are now clinging to very slim playoff hopes. 

This comes after Johnson fired coach Robert Saleh two weeks ago following a loss to the Vikings in London and one week after the Jets traded for wide receiver Davante Adams following the loss to the Bills. 

Maybe Johnson can coax Joe Namath out of retirement this week. 

The arrival of Adams did not have much impact for Aaron Rodgers and the Jets in his first game. Adams had three catches for 30 yards on nine targets in the game. Rodgers threw two interceptions in the game and the Steelers turned both into touchdowns. Rodgers was 24-of-39 passing for 276 yards with one touchdown. 

Russell Wilson made his first start for the Steelers and after some early struggles, he found his stride and the Steelers scored 31 unanswered points in the win that improved the Steelers to 5-2. Wilson was 16-of-29 passing for 264 yards and two touchdowns. 

The Jets looked like they would control the game with the way they played in the first half. They took a 7-3 lead on their second possession of the game. They put together a nine-play, 82 yard drive. Rodgers was 6-for-6 on the drive and the Jets moved down the field with ease. Breece Hall ran it in for a 13-yard touchdown with 2:27 left in the first quarter. 

The Steelers struggled to move the ball and only managed two Chris Boswell field goals on their first six possessions. 

The Jets had two three-and-out possessions of their own after the first touchdown. Then Rodgers found Hall on a short checkdown pass when it looked like there was nowhere to go. Hall raced through Steelers defenders for 57 yards before getting pushed out by Minkah Fitzpatrick at the 3-yard line. Rodgers then hit tight end Tyler Conklin for a 1-yard touchdown pass. The play almost did not happen as interim coach Jeff Ulbrich threw the red challenge flag, but it was ruled he threw the flag after the ball was snapped. 

On the point-after try, Fitzpatrick was penalized for pushing off of a Jets player to block the kick. It appeared that Fitzpatrick may have just touched a Jets player and not pushed off of him, which would not be a penalty. After the penalty, the Jets went for two and Rodgers connected with Garrett Wilson for the conversion and a 15-6 lead. 

It felt like the Jets were in total control with Russell Wilson and the Steelers struggling to move the ball. Rodgers gave Pittsburgh some momentum, though, just before halftime. He tried to hit Garrett Wilson across the middle and instead Steelers rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. made a beautiful interception of the pass and the Steelers took over at their own 46. 

Wilson took advantage of the turnover, throwing a deep ball toward George Pickens that drew a pass interference penalty on Sauce Gardner and moved the ball 29 yards to the Jets’ 11. Two plays later Wilson hit Pickens for a touchdown over Brandin Echols in the back corner of the end zone to make it 15-13 heading into halftime. 

The Jets got the ball to start the second half but punted after four plays. The Steelers drove down the field with a 37-yard pass to Pickens and then a 21-yard pass to tight end Pat Freiermuth. The Steelers made it to the 3 but then stalled out and Boswell kicked a 21-yard field goal to give the Steelers a 16-15 lead with 7:49 left in the third quarter. 

Rodgers then threw his second interception of the game, this one was not really his fault. The ball bounced off Garrett Wilson’s chest and intot he arms of Bishop again. He ran to the 1-yard line where Adams tackled him from behind. 

On their first play, the Steelers scored a touchdown on a one-yard sneak by Russell Wilson with 7:22 to play in the third quarter. 

The Jets had a scoring chance late in the third quarter, moving the ball all the way to the Pittsburgh 18 on a drive that included a fourth-and-1 conversion. But Greg Zuerlein’s 35-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Dean Lowry. 

The Steelers took over and went 75 yards in 11 plays. Najee Harris gashed the Jets for a 34-yard gain to the Jets’ 16-yard line. The Jets defense looked tired and the secondary was getting really deep down the bench with injuries piling up. Wilson gave the Steelers a 30-15 lead with a four-yard touchdown pass to Van Jefferson with 12:09 left in the game. 

The Jets threatened again with a nine-play drive that got to the Steelers’ 25-yard line. Rodgers’ fourth-and-5 pass to Adams was knocked down by Steelers defensive tackle Keeanu Benton, giving the Steelers the ball back with 7:53 left to play and a 15-point lead.