Jets at Steelers Week 5: Highlights, score and recap

Ben Roethlisberger torched the underachieving New York Jets for nearly 400 yards passing and four scores to help the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 31-13 win.

It’s moved the Steelers to 4-1, after a solid performance on both sides of the ball at Heinz Field. Roethlisberger hit Sammie Coates deep to get things going, but needed to connect with tight end Jesse James just before halftime to erase a 13-7 deficit.

A Brandon Marshall touchdown catch and two Nick Folk field goals had put the Jets in front. But the Pittsburgh D’ stiffened after the break, applying more pressure on the pocket and eliminating the run.

Chris Boswell kicked a field goal, before Antonio Brown and Coates each snatched five-yard passes to give the Steelers an unassailable 18-point cushion.

Highlights

Three Stars

1. Ben Roethlisberger

Jets head coach Todd Bowles called a more aggressive game defensively this week, but Roethlisberger still knew where to go with the ball.

First, it was to target Darrelle Revis’ replacement with Coates going vertical one-on-one. The 72-yard bomb helped make Coates the most prolific big-play receiver in the league, per NFL Research:

Had it not been for several drops, Roethlisberger and Coates would have had several more long gains to their credit.

Still, whenever Coates faltered, Big Ben simply stayed patient and checked the ball down to Brown or Le’Veon Bell.

2. Le’Veon Bell

Bell predictably couldn’t get on track on the ground against New York’s formidable defensive line. Yet he proved a consistent mismatch as a receiver in space.

Bell caught nine passes for 88 yards to be Roethlisberger’s most prolific clutch target on the day. Few running backs have his feel for exploiting zones or his quickness and moves out of the breaks.

Bell makes the Steelers better every time he’s moved across formations.

3. Vince Williams

It’s not easy filling in for Ryan Shazier, but Vince Williams managed to turn heads for the second week in a row. The active inside linebacker was all over the field in Week 5, sacking Fitzpatrick and logging an impressive nine tackles.

Eight of those stops were solo, as Williams became the key figure in shutting gown the New York running game. He put a hat on blockers in the pits to help stuff inside runs. Williams was also swift covering ground laterally, chasing down a number of plays sideline-to-sideline.

The Steelers are the NFL‘s equivalent of linebacker U’. One more playmaker at the second level is good news for coordinator Kevin Butler, who called a more aggressive scheme for the second-straight game.

A big-play defense supplementing a prolific offensive machine can carry these Steelers far this season.

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He’ll also be very useful in blitz packages. Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Kevin Butler was more aggressive with pressure for Week 4’s blowout win over the Kansas City Chiefs. He should remain just as attack-minded against these Jets by moving Timmons around to rush from all angles.

Next Week

Both teams will hit the road in Week 6. The schedule sends the Steelers to the Miami Dolphins, while Bowles will visit former team the Cardinals on Monday night.