The Jets fell to 0-1 yesterday with a 34-32 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Let’s give out some anti-game balls (and game balls)
Anti-Game Balls
Brandon Stephens
Michael Carter II
I think it would be fair to say the Jets lost this game above all else because of their secondary. It was a very rough game for the team’s number two cornerback Stephens and the team’s slot cornerback Carter. They were both in the middle of a lot of ugly plays.
The book on Stephens in Baltimore is that he frequently was in position to make
a play against a receiver one on one but failed to turn his head or make a play on the football. That was true on a couple of occasions Sunday. Stephens’ issues went beyond that, however. He committed a penalty. He also was out of position on a couple of coverage busts where it looked like he failed to execute a basic zone coverage.
While many Jets fans had a skepticism of the Stephens signing, Carter entered 2025 with his expectations. His first game did not go well. He appeared to be the culprit on a coverage bust during Pittsburgh’s first touchdown. A missed tackle resulted in a big DK Metcalf play later, and he was culpable for a couple of other coverage busts.
To put it simply, the defense is going to have problems if it doesn’t get better play from the cornerbacks behind Sauce Gardner.
Tony Adams
Andre Cisco
Unfortunately, things did not go much better at the safety position. Adams was in position to bring down Metcalf on a third down completion on the first series. He whiffed on the tackle, the first of three missed tackles on the day. Meanwhile, Cisco found himself either taking a bad angle or failing to get off a block on a couple of critical Pittsburgh plays, including a second quarter touchdown that helped the Steelers narrow the margin before halftime.
Xavier Gipson
Nobody can really explain why Xavier Gipson made the team. The Jets made it sound like they were concerned with Jamaal Pritchett’s ball security as a returner. That’s a viable reason to not keep Pritchett, but it isn’t like Gipson has done very well protecting the ball to this point in his career. The baffling decision to keep Gipson has already hurt the Jets as a fumble on a kickoff return set up a short Steelers touchdown at a critical juncture in the second half. Earlier in the game, Gipson broke a big return but then put the ball on the ground it appeared before he had been touched down. He was bailed out by teammate Marcelino McCrary-Ball who alertly dived on the ball, sparing a potential disaster. Gipson also made some suspect decisions on kickoff returns. Having him on the roster for Week 1 was difficult to defend. It will be even more difficult to defend a continued place on the roster in Week 2.
Half Anti-Game Ball
I’m creating a new feature, the half anti-game ball. It goes to a player whose whole performance does not justify an anti-game ball, but there was a major error that must be acknowledged.
Quincy Williams
I thought Williams generally played well, but he had a really costly personal foul in the third quarter of the game. It has kind of flown under the radar given all of the Jets’ other issues, but it was one of the game’s most important plays. The Jets had taken a 9 point lead in the third quarter. The defense had started the second half with back to back stops. With a quick stop, the Jets were on the verge of turning this into a blowout. A first down run was stopped for a loss of two. The Steelers were about to be behind the sticks. Then Williams flew in with an inexcusable late hit. Pittsburgh was given a reprieve. They turned the penalty into points, and the game turned into a nail biter.
Nick Folk
How do you deal with a kicker who made a field goal from 50+ yards but missed an extra point? That’s the beauty of creating the half anti-game ball. The Jets brought in Folk to make all of the easy ones, and he didn’t do it. We can debate the merits of the Jets going for two after the penalty on his miss, but the miss was the start of that chain of events.
Game Balls
Offensive Line
There were some breakdowns on the left side of the line in the second half, but I left this game very encouraged by the line’s play. This was a talented defensive front, and the Jets had to reconfigure their offensive line days before the game due to Alijah Vera-Tucker’s injury. The Jets opened up holes consistently in the run game and didn’t let Pittsburgh’s pass rush take the game over. This an an offense that is lacking at the skill positions and will need to lean on its line. They ended up holding up well facing a difficult test.
Breece Hall
This was the decisive, playmaking version of Breece Hall we saw back in 2022. I wasn’t sure this player still existed. Breece has always had the ability to hit the homerun, but his hesitancy the last few years to hit holes and grind out yards has made him an inconsistent play to play runner. If Breece plays like this over the next 16 games, he will get paid. It will probably be by the Jets.
Garrett Wilson
Wilson has a lot of pressure on him. He is by far the Jets’ biggest threat in the passing game. Targets will need to be funneled to him. Through one week, it’s working. Garrett posted a 7 catch, 95 yard, 1 touchdown stat line. That touchdown was a thing of beauty too. He toasted Darius Slay.
Will McDonald
It wasn’t just that McDonald had 2 sacks. His pass rush arsenal looked more complete than it did a year ago when he was largely a speed rush/spin move guy. More moves will likely mean more success for McDonald.
Justin Fields
A win would have been nice, but it’s tough to ask for much more than what Fields provided the Jets. He made good decisions, threw accurate passes, and used his legs to great effect. To this point in Fields’ career, the good has been very good, and the bad has been very good. Through one game, we have one very good performance.
