Marshall in Beast Mode: A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Jets WR Brandon Marshall had six first half receptions for 86 yards and 1 TD. Matched up with 6'0", 191-pound Ross Cockrell, the 6'4", 230-pound Marshall went to work early and often. He finished with eight receptions for 114 yards in the loss at Heinz Field.
Offensive Showdown Early: The teams combined to total 440 yards of offense in the first half. On each of their first four possessions, the Jets drove the ball into plus-territory. Marshall's red zone touchdown followed a pair of Nick Folk field goals from 35 yards and 48 yards respectively. Pittsburgh took an early lead on a 72-yard scoring strike from QB Ben Roethlisberger to speedster Sammy Coates and it later regained the advantage on Roethlisberger's 1-yard toss to TE Jesse James. Roethlisberger had 4 TDs in all, connecting on 34 of 47 for 380 yards.
Harris Goes Out: Late in the second quarter, veteran MLB David Harris went down with a hamstring injury. He had six total tackles before departing and 1 PD. Harris' departure meant more time for rookie Darron Lee, who played alongside veteran Erin Henderson in the second half. Henderson started for the Jets in both base and sub packages.
Mangold Exits: Late in the third quarter, C Nick Mangold left the field with a knee ailment after being looked at by trainers. The Jets, who started Brent Qvale in place of Brian Winters (concussion) at RG, continued to shuffle up front as Wesley Johnson took over in the middle.
Decisive 3rd Quarter: After marching up and down the field throughout the opening 30 minutes, the New York offense was stymied in the third. Antonio Brown inflicted harm for the other side, setting up a field goal with a 33-yard punt return. And then AB, who had nine receptions for 78 yards, gave the home club a 24-13 lead when Roethlisberger hit him for a 5-yard TD to start the fourth. While the Jets mostly contained star RB Le'Veon Bell on the ground, Bell proved to be force as a receiver and had nine receptions for 88 yards. Coates had six catches for 139 yards and a pair of scores.
Top Photos from the game in Pittsburgh
Jets' Debuts: Both CB Darryl Roberts and TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins suited up for the first time for the Green & White. In sub packages, Roberts played outside across from Marcus Williams while Buster Skrine manned the inside. Roberts had a pair of PDs and went down hard after preventing a Roethlisberger to Coates score. In sub packages, rookie Juston Burris entered after Roberts' fall. Seferian-Jenkins looked smooth in his releases and he finished with a couple of receptions.
Notes: Targeted five times, WR Quincy Enunwa had four receptions for 51 yards… DL Leonard William racked up his team-leading fifth sack in the fourth quarter, jolting Roethlisberger and fellow DL Sheldon Richardson recovered for the visitors… S Rontez Miles stuffed a fake field goal attempt and he finished with six defensive tackles… The Green & White finished just 2 of 11 on third down.
