The offensive effort hasn’t been all that pretty for the Steelers against the Jets, but it has been good enough to send them to halftime with a lead for the first time this season.
The Steelers lead 9-6 in a game that’s featured a strong performance by Ben Roethlisberger in the face of a strong Jets pass rush. Roethlisberger’s been sacked twice and hit several other times, but ended the half with 13 completions on his last 14 passes to get his team into the lead. The lead would be even bigger if Antonio Brown was able to hold onto a pass that he should have caught in the end zone before one of Shaun Suisham’s field goals.
There hasn’t been any such success for the running game as the Jets have remained as tough on the ground as they have all season. Penalties have also hurt the Steelers as their last possession of the half was sunk by illegal formation and false start penalties.
Geno Smith took some time to get going, but finished the half by driving the Jets for a field goal after four straight completions. He wound up the half 8-of-12 for 81 yards while being sacked twice and hasn’t turned the ball over. Smith did overthrow a wide-open Stephen Hill on the one deep throw the Jets dialed up in the half and Hill wound up shaken up at the end of a half after a big, legal hit from Troy Polamalu on the final offensive play of the half.