NFL News & Analysis

NFL Week 16 PFF ReFocused: New York Jets 16, Pittsburgh Steelers 10

East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold (14) passes the ball as Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kerrith Whyte (40) defends during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets did their best to play spoiler Sunday, beating the in-contention Pittsburgh Steelers 16-10 to make Week 17 a crucial game for the Steelers in their pursuit of the AFC's 6-seed.

PFF's ReFocused series features immediate takeaways from the two analysts who graded the game live. The two offer a detailed breakdown of the game's most notable performances before the grades and advanced stats are reviewed and finalized by Senior Analysts.

All of PFF's grades and advanced stats from this game and the other games played this week will be finalized and made available to ELITE subscribers within 24 hours of the final whistle. ELITE subscribers can view player grades, advanced statistics, positional snap counts and more in Premium Stats.

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Final Score

New York Jets 16, Pittsburgh Steelers 10

New York Jets

Sam Darnold threaded a seam pass to Robby Anderson in between two Steelers’ defenders for a 23-yard touchdown on the Jets’ first drive. Darnold threw what should have been ruled as interception to Joe Haden in the first quarter, but it was ruled incomplete.

Le’Veon Bell received plenty of touches against his old team but didn’t do much with them. Bell took a big loss on a play where he decided to completely reverse the field.

Marcus Maye made a great play to break up a deep ball late in the game the could have been the go-ahead touchdown for Pittsburgh.

Rookie Quinnen Williams had a good but not spectacular day Sunday, including an unblocked sack in the second half to go with a number of run stops.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Devlin Hodges started the game under center for Pittsburgh, but two bad interceptions resulted in his benching. Mason Rudolph came in and played surprisingly well before he got injured, bringing Hodges back once again. He ultimately was unable to rally the offense to a win on the road.

The play of the day for the Pittsburgh offense was when receiver Diontae Johnson beat his man deep at the end of the first half and caught a well-placed ball from Rudolph for a touchdown.

T.J. Watt had the holy trinity of strip-sack-recovery on Sam Darnold late in the first half after beating Brandon Shell outside. The turnover led to a Steelers touchdown with four seconds left in the half. Watt’s strip of Darnold was aided by how low Darnold brought the ball back in his delivery.

Bud Dupree got a clean-up sack of Darnold as he attempted to leave the pocket in the third quarter to end a Jets’ drive.

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