PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers will welcome the New York Jets for Sunday Night Football this week, and with a change at quarterback coming down the pipeline on top of that, it seems like the Steelers will have the spotlight on them. The Jets just made a huge trade for Davante Adams, and the hope is that the star wide receiver can spark the offense even more, especially since the Jets now sit at 2-4.
With that being said, here are the two X-Factors for this matchup:
Jets X-Factor: Garrett Wilson
I am picking the other top Jets wide receiver as the X-Factor here, mainly because the Steelers’ focus will almost certainly be on Adams himself. Adams is the superstar and the guy with Rodgers’ trust, and so Joey Porter Jr. will be tested out there. However, Garrett Wilson is a one-on-one cheat code that could create significant issues for the Steelers from the slot. His matchup against Beanie Bishop is one that is terrifying, and he is easily the best second wide receiver Pittsburgh has seen this year.
Wilson and Rodgers’ relationship has not come super naturally just yet, but those are two talented people that make you respect them. In particular, what happened against the Colts with Josh Downs makes this a very concerning matchup for the Steelers. If Wilson goes off, even if they hold Adams down for the most part, Pittsburgh will likely be giving up multiple third down conversions from that slot, just like they did against the Colts.
Steelers X-Factor:
Russell Wilson
There is no overthinking this one, and the Steelers have a lot of matchups to watch on both sides of the ball. The biggest one not mentioned here is center Ryan McCollum against Jets star Quinnen Williams. Zach Frazier being out is a huge hit for the Steelers in this game. Yet, Russell Wilson remains the forefront of the argument. Can the deep ball pop against a talented defense with a battered secondary?
The Jets will rightfully sell out to stop Najee Harris, who could get some success against them. New York has missed the most tackles in the NFL against running backs this season, and were just carved up by Ray Davis. Wilson, if he can supplement Harris with quality play-action passing and keep the negative plays, especially sacks, to a minimum, can engineer Pittsburgh to a win in what looks like a very winnable game on paper.
Insider says Pittsburgh Steelers are ‘next up’ to make big WR trade
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN says that the Pittsburgh Steelers are widely believed to be the next team to make a big-time trade for a wide receiver. The belief came after Tuesday when the New York Jets acquired Davante Adams, and the Buffalo Bills traded for Amari Cooper.
“Pittsburgh appears to be the next team up,” Fowler wrote. “It has been scouring the earth for receiver help, making strong pushes for Brandon Aiyuk and Adams in the past. Williams could make some sense as a deep-threat option, though the Jets and Steelers play this week, which complicates matters. Either way, Pittsburgh will be looking.”
A few names make sense, and Mike Williams is the easiest name to point to right now. Williams had a rough start to the season, making the Jets pull the trigger on the Adams trade. More than that, Williams is coming off a torn ACL, a major injury, and has not looked like the same player he was pre-injury. However, other options exist if the Steelers want to acquire somebody. New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton and Tenessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins are two other names that could be on the Steelers’ radar.
Pittsburgh seems determined to add somebody to the room outside of George Pickens, who has tremendous pressure on him as teh only productive receiver in the offense so far this season. The Steelers have looked to add somebody to the room who can help Pickens for months, but with the trade deadline just weeks away, the time to make a move is coming.
