Jets at Steelers
The New York Jets' already suspect secondary will have to contend with the combination of Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown without cornerback Darrelle Revis as they look to snap a two-game skid on Sunday at the Pittsburgh Steelers. Revis, part of a defensive backfield which has already allowed seven pass plays of over 40 yards, will miss the game with a strained hamstring, leaving Brown and the Steelers -- riding a six-game home winning streak -- licking their chops.
Pittsburgh rebounded from a deflating loss at Philadelphia by embarrassing Kansas City last week 43-14 as Le'Veon Bell returned to the lineup after serving a three-game suspension and put up a combined 176 all-purpose yards. The Jets continue in the midst of a brutal early schedule and have received no help from veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has thrown nine interceptions the past two games, both losses. New York may also be without one of Fitzpatrick's top targets, Eric Decker, who could miss an extended time with a partial tear in his rotator cuff. Pittsburgh has dominated the series historically by going 9-1 at home and 17-5 overall and Roethlisberger has thrown 18 scoring passes and just one interception in the Steelers' current home winning streak.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Steelers - 7.5. O/U: 48.5.
ABOUT THE JETS (1-3): New York would like to get something out of Matt Forte in the running game to take some of the onus off the struggling Fitzpatrick, who ranks 25th in the league with a 51.8 quarterback rating. Forte, battling rib and knee injuries, leads the team with 288 yards and three touchdowns on 81 carries but nearly all of his production (199 yards, 3 TDs) came in the first two games. Brandon Marshall is also off to a slow start for New York with just 16 catches, but second-year receiver Quincy Enunwa has been a pleasant surprise, leading the squad with 23 catches for 243 yards.
ABOUT THE STEELERS (3-1): Roethlisberger has already thrown 11 touchdown passes and the Steelers lined up the versatile Bell, who averages 120.7 yards from scrimmage for his career, as a wide receiver several times last week to give Big Ben yet another target. Roethlisberger threw five touchdown passes last week, the same number of incompletions he had, and was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Defensively, Pittsburgh is vulnerable and ranks 30th in the league against the pass, allowing 4.0 yards a carry on the ground. Budding star linebacker Ryan Shazier remains questionable for Sunday's game with a knee injury.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Jets rank third in the NFL defending against the rush, holding opponents to 86 or fewer yards per game.
2. Before the season, Marshall proposed a bet to Brown that whichever receiver finished with the most yards this season would get the other one's car. Brown currently leads 369-249.
3. The Jets enter Sunday's game with a minus-10 turnover rate while the Steelers are plus-1.