{"id":80939,"date":"2025-09-08T12:59:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T16:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jetnation.com\/?p=80939"},"modified":"2025-10-01T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T11:00:00","slug":"brandon-stephens-other-thoughts-on-the-jets-performance-vs-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/2025\/09\/08\/brandon-stephens-other-thoughts-on-the-jets-performance-vs-pittsburgh\/","title":{"rendered":"Brandon Stephens & Other Thoughts on the Jets Performance vs Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"

After watching yesterday’s Jets game vs the Pittsburgh Steelers, there is so much to take away from the performance, and mostly in a positive way.\u00a0 No one knew what to expect out of this Jets team under first-year head coach Aaron Glenn and new Jets QB Justin Fields.\u00a0 A new energy and vibe within the organization that has struggled for quite some time.\u00a0 Especially within these past two years during the Aaron Rodgers era.\u00a0 Brandon Stephens<\/a><\/strong> was definitely one of the issues that stood out yesterday.<\/span><\/p>\n

This game had several storylines heading into the matchup.\u00a0 Both QBs were looking to stick it to their former teams.\u00a0 Aaron Rodgers flew across the country to the Jets facility, only to be told that he was getting released from the team. At the same time, Justin Fields wasn\u2019t a main priority for the Steelers, as they were non-committal on Fields being their starting QB.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the Jets, this game was a big test in determining how the season would go and a big opportunity to showcase themselves.\u00a0 It\u2019s safe to say that the Jets showed out in a masterpiece of a game.\u00a0 If they play as competitively as they did against the Steelers, then it\u2019ll be a fun season to watch them and continue to see them progress as a team.\u00a0 The offense looked great under Justin Fields and new play-caller Tanner Engstrand.\u00a0 In terms of the defense, they were able to get to Rodgers and stop the run game a bit, but there are still question marks within the defense.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With that being said, let\u2019s look into the pros and cons of the Jets’ performance in yesterday’s 34-32 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pro’s<\/i><\/b><\/h1>\n

Justin Fields Played a Phenomenal Game<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Justin Fields came over from the Steelers to the Jets in hopes of reviving his career.\u00a0 The Jets made a strong offer to Fields and told him he would be their starter from the jump, without second-guessing the decision.\u00a0 In Justin Fields’ Jets debut, he did not disappoint as he looked phenomenal at the QB position, giving the Jets a sense of relief.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Compared to last year, Rodgers was not as mobile or efficient under center for the Jets, and that\u2019s for several reasons.\u00a0 With Fields at QB, it\u2019s a whole different energy. \u00a0 <\/span>Fields\u2019 QB play was amazing as he took care of the ball, extending drives and leading them down the field.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a quick stat: according to Bleacher Report, there were 0 punts for the Jets in the first half, the first time since 1991, which should say enough right there.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fields made great reads and got everyone on offense involved.\u00a0 <\/span>His chemistry with his former OSU teammate Garrett Wilson was no joke as they connected for a beautiful 33-yard touchdown pass, and Fields was even getting TE Jeremy Ruckert involved.\u00a0 His mobility was the best thing, as his scrambling abilities kept plays alive and avoided sacks, as he was only sacked once the whole game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This performance by Justin Fields should be refreshing for Jets fans because it was enjoyable to watch.\u00a0 Over the years, the quarterback play has been miserable to watch, but Fields\u2019 performance against the Steelers, who have a great defense, should give Jets fans confidence throughout the season.\u00a0 Fields will look to keep the energy going against the Buffalo Bills next week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ground and Pound is For Real<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Coming into the game, the Jets wanted to establish the ground and pound as one of their main identities on offense, and they made it well known.\u00a0 The Jets outrushed the Steelers with 182 rushing yards compared to the Steelers with 53, and that\u2019s with a defense stacked with players like T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Jalen Ramsey, and Darius Slay.<\/span><\/p>\n

Breece Hall had his sixth career 100-yard rushing performance as he looked electric, showcasing his Breece lightning abilities.\u00a0 The offensive line created holes for Breece to explode on, along with Braelon Allen getting some good runs.\u00a0 Establishing a ground and pound run game, giving the offense creative flow to do anything, as opponents are mainly focused on stopping the run game, and that\u2019s what happened on Sunday against the Steelers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tanner Engstrand did a brilliant job of controlling the offense and establishing the run.<\/span><\/p>\n

Change of Feeling Within the Jets<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Jets matchup against the Steelers should not be overlooked, as they put up a great fight and arguably one of the best Jets games to watch in quite some time.\u00a0 One of Glenn\u2019s goals for the season was to put together a product that fans could be proud of, and their week one matchup against the Steelers showed that.<\/span><\/p>\n

They played in a competitive manner that was fun to watch.\u00a0 This was a game that should\u2019ve been won, but to see the offense play efficiently was enjoyable to watch. \u00a0A lot of questions swarm the defense, but the Jets were able to generate pressures and sacks during the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Con\u2019s<\/i><\/b><\/h1>\n

Penalties still an Issue<\/b><\/h2>\n

One of Aaron Glenn\u2019s other goals is to work on the team’s discipline, as last year they ranked last in the NFL in discipline as the most penalized team in the league. Yesterday proved that it\u2019s still a problem that Aaron Glenn needs to fix.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Jets were penalized 7 times for 74 yards; two were crucial for the team.\u00a0 The first crucial penalty was on John Simpson, who was called for a 15-yard personal foul call for shoving Jalen Ramsey, who supposedly exaggerated the shove.\u00a0 Credit to Simpson for sticking up for his QB after Fields took a big hit from Jalen Ramsey, but the penalty took the Jets out of field goal range at the end of the half.<\/span><\/p>\n

Quincy Williams took the second big, crucial penalty as he committed a late hit penalty on Jalyen Warren, which kept the drive going for the Steelers and ultimately shifted momentum back to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jets Still Find Ways to Lose<\/b><\/h2>\n

Whether it’s the penalties, miscues on special teams, or not converting on two-point conversions, these are what will hurt the team if they want to turn from losers into contenders.\u00a0 The Quincy Williams penalty hurt in a lot of ways, but the Xavier Gipson kickoff return fumble in a tight game is gut-wrenching to watch.<\/span><\/p>\n

These are what separate the good teams from the bad; they find ways to win instead of ways to lose.\u00a0 The Jets need to work on these if they want to get rid of the \u201cSame Old Jets\u201d narrative.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Concerns with Brandon Stephens as the CB2?<\/b><\/h2>\n

This was possibly Brandon Stephens worst nightmare, as yesterday’s performance against the Steelers was not ideal.\u00a0 Stephens showed poor coverage in his performance as he was targeted 7 times, allowing 5 catches that went for 60 yards, allowing 2 touchdowns.\u00a0 He also had a pass interference penalty to go with his 136.9 passer rating allowed when targeted.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ravens fans warned us about Stephens when the team signed him to a three-year deal. Now it looks like his miscues carried over to the Jets.\u00a0 The Jets signed him to replace former CB2 D.J. Reed, who now plays for the Detroit Lions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hopefully, Stephens can fix up his performance and live up to the contract he signed; otherwise, the Jets might have to take a look at Azareye\u2019h Thomas, the rookie cornerback from Florida State.\u00a0 This could be detrimental to the Jets, as teams will look at the CB2 position as a weak link to attack them.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After watching yesterday’s Jets game vs the Pittsburgh Steelers, there is so much to take away from the performance, and mostly in a positive way.\u00a0 No one knew what to expect out of this Jets team under first-year head coach Aaron Glenn and new Jets QB Justin Fields.\u00a0 A new energy and vibe within the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":80944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-80939","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured-editorials"},"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Brandon-Stephens-scaled-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peLffi-l3t","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80939"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81670,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80939\/revisions\/81670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}