PITTSBURGH — Welcome back, Zach.
The Jets beat the Steelers 24-20 at Acrisure Stadium, erasing a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit for their second win of the season and second win ever in this city.
It was far from a perfect performance from Wilson in his season debut, but he delivered when the Jets needed him to in the fourth quarter.
Rookie running back Breece Hall scored the game-winning touchdown, a 2-yard plunge with 16 seconds left. It initially looked like Hall fumbled the ball, but a replay showed he crossed the goal line before losing it.
The touchdown capped an 11-play, 65-yard drive that started when Jets cornerback Michael Carter II intercepted Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett on a tipped pass at the Jets’ 35 with 3:34 left.
The Jets move to 2-2 this season, having pulled off two dramatic comebacks. This was not quite as miraculous as the win in Cleveland, but it was every bit as impressive.
Zach Wilson and the Jets rallied to be the Steelers on Sunday.Getty ImagesIt felt like the Jets were dead when the Steelers took a 20-10 lead with 13:36 left in the game on Pickett’s second rushing touchdown. The Steelers replaced Mitch Trubisky with Pickett to start the second half and he gave the Steelers a jolt of energy.
Wilson completed 19 of 37 passes for 252 yards with one passing touchdown, one receiving touchdown and two interceptions.
It did not start off well for Pickett, who threw an interception to Jordan Whitehead on his first pass attempt. But on the next series, Wilson threw his second interception of the game, although it was not really his fault. The pass bounced off tight end Tyler Conklin’s hands and Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick caught it at the Jets’ 38 and returned it to the 4.
Pickett scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak three plays later to give the Steelers a 13-10 lead, their first of the game.
The Pickett magic continued late in the third quarter and into the fourth, as he led a 12-play scoring drive. The key play was a third-and-8 throw from the Jets’ 20 that Pickett completed to tight end Pat Freiermuth for an 18-yard gain. Pickett got the throw off just as Quinnen Williams drilled him.
Pickett then ran it in from the 2 for his second touchdown of the game and a 20-10 lead with 13 minutes left.
Wilson led an impressive drive to answer. The Jets went 81 yards on 11 plays, with Wilson finding Corey Davis for a 22-yard gain on fourth-and-7 and then hitting Davis again for a 5-yard touchdown to cut the Pittsburgh lead to 20-17.
Breece Hall scored he go-ahead touchdown for the Jets.Getty ImagesThe Jets jumped out to a rare 10-0 lead. Coming into Sunday, the Jets had only led for 22 seconds — the final 22 seconds of the comeback win in Cleveland.
The defense gave the Jets an early boost. Lamarcus Joyner intercepted Trubisky to end the Steelers’ second drive of the game. The Jets took over at the Steelers’ 36 and moved it to the 20 before settling for a Greg Zuerlein 38-yard field goal.
The offense showed some signs of life early in the second quarter. They went 70 yards on nine plays and scored a touchdown on a version of the Philly Special from the Steelers’ 2-yard line. Wilson handed the ball to Garrett Wilson on an apparent end around, but Garrett Wilson then flipped it to Braxton Berrios, who threw the touchdown pass to Zach Wilson to give the Jets a 10-0 lead. Wilson danced in the end zone, celebrating his return.
The Trubisky-led offense struggled but managed a Chris Boswell 51-yard field goal with 8:30 left in the second quarter to cut it to 10-3.
It felt like the Jets were in control and Wilson was playing pretty well … until everything flipped.
The Jets got the ball with 2:32 left in the half at their own 46 with a chance to extend their lead. Instead, Wilson threw an interception to Cameron Sutton. It was a terrible decision by Wilson and it gave the Steelers life.
Still, Pittsburgh only had 20 seconds and took over at its own 30 with two timeouts. The Jets intercepted Trubisky’s Hail Mary attempt as time expired in the half, but Jets defensive end Carl Lawson was called for roughing the passer, moving the ball to the Jets’ 41 and giving Boswell a chance at a 59-yard field goal, which he made to cut the Jets’ lead to 10-6 at the half.
The Jets suffered another injury at tackle with rookie Max Mitchell getting carted off with a knee injury in the second quarter. The Jets were already without Mekhi Becton, George Fant and Duane Brown at the position. Alijah Vera-Tucker started at left tackle in place of Fant. That led to Nate Herbig starting at right guard, where Vera-Tucker usually plays. When Mitchell went out, Conor McDermott came in at right tackle.
