Steelers set to go after stumbling Jets today

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

For the New York Jets, the 45-3 loss to the New England Patriots was humiliating. The 10-6 defeat to the Miami Dolphins was humbling.

Quarterback Mark Sanchez couldn’t handle the pass rush or, it seemed, the pressure, and coach Rex Ryan thought about replacing him. The offense didn’t score a touchdown in either game.

“It’s been ugly,” wide receiver Santonio Holmes said.

All of a sudden, the Jets (9-4) are being reminded about their collapse of 2008, when they started 8-3 before losing five straight and missing the playoffs.

Guess what: The Jets might not have seen the worst of it.

The Jets are trudging off to Pittsburgh, where the three rivers are freezing over and the Steelers’ defense is toughening up as January draws near. The Steelers (10-3) held the last two Heinz Field visitors, the Raiders and Bengals, to one touchdown between them, and the Bengals to a mere 190 yards of offense.

“I am concerned,” Ryan said. “The fact that we have to go up against Pittsburgh doesn’t help matters. Really, what I tell our team about them is this will be the best defense we face all year.”

No, there are far friendlier venues for a team that needs to get well in a hurry. Think James Harrison and James Farrior, Troy Polamalu and LaMarr Woodley can’t wait to get their hands on a confidence-shaken young quarterback, or the passes he throws? Polamalu himself has four interceptions in four games.

“I have seen a lot of guys come down with Pittsburgh flu,” said Ryan, the former Ravens defensive coordinator. “All of a sudden a guy won’t play in the game, saying, ‘Ahh, I’m just not right.’ I’ve seen it happen because they don’t want to face Pittsburgh.”

There’s also this: The Jets are 0-7 in Pittsburgh. Since the 1970 NFL merger, only two other teams have gone winless in more games in an opposing city; the Lions are 0-15 at Washington and the Texans are 0-9 at Indianapolis.

The Steelers can clinch their seventh playoff spot in 10 years by winning their fifth in a row, but all’s not well in the ’Burgh.

The offense didn’t get into the end zone against the woeful Bengals (2-11). The only touchdown in Baltimore came when the defense gave the offense the ball at the Ravens 9-yard line. Penalties are piling up, with 420 yards of infractions the last four games alone.