Steelers 19, Jets 6
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- An efficient Ben Roethlisberger threw for 264 yards and a touchdown Sunday afternoon, and Shaun Suisham kicked four field goals as the Pittsburgh Steelers earned their first win of the season, 19-6 over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
Roethlisberger (23-for-30) threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders early in the third quarter for the Steelers (1-4), who opened with four consecutive losses for the first time since 1968. Antonio Brown had nine catches for 86 yards, while Heath Miller had six grabs for 84 yards.
Nick Folk had two field goals for the Jets (3-3), who continued their season-long pattern of alternating wins with losses. Rookie quarterback Geno Smith finished 19-for-34 for 201 yards and two red-zone interceptions. Running back Bilal Powell gained 30 yards on nine carries.
The Jets, six days removed from a stirring upset of the Falcons in Atlanta, enjoyed an energetic start, forcing three-and-outs on Pittsburgh's first two drives before Folk's 25-yard field goal with 3:25 left in the first quarter.
The Steelers began seizing the momentum, though, by utilizing the short passing game. Pittsburgh completed 13 of 14 passes for 161 yards -- including a 15-yard pass by Brown off a trick play -- on its final three first-half drives, all of which ended with field goals.
Smith, who led a last-minute, game-winning field goal drive against Atlanta, thrived again in the two-minute offense at the end of the first half as he directed the Jets 51 yards in seven plays before Folk kicked a 39-yard field goal with two seconds left.
The Jets' defense finally broke on the Steelers' first possession of the second half. On Pittsburgh's third play from scrimmage, Sanders got behind the gimpy Antonio Cromartie -- who suffered a hyperextended knee in practice Thursday and was dominated all day by Brown -- and caught Roethlisberger's bomb. The receiver raced untouched into the end zone for a touchdown.
The Jets threatened on their next drive, but Smith's pass into a trio of Steelers near the goal line was picked off by Ryan Clark.
Pittsburgh added to its lead with a methodical 12-play, 65-yard drive that took up 7:02 spanning the third and fourth quarters. Suisham capped the march with a 32-yard field goal.
Smith moved the Jets into the red zone with a little more than three minutes to play, but on first down from the Steelers 12-yard line, Smith was hit by Jarvis Jones as he threw, and the ball fluttered into the air and into the hands of Lawrence Timmons.
NOTES: Steelers LT Levi Brown was hurt during warmups and did not play. He was injured too late to be declared inactive. ... Steelers TE David Johnson hurt his left wrist during Pittsburgh's first series and didn't return. ... Jets CB Kyle Wilson left in the first half with a head injury and did not return. ... At halftime, the Jets inducted ex-defensive linemen Marty Lyons into their Ring of Honor. Lyons, a member of the famed "New York Sack Exchange" in the early 1980s, spent his entire 11-year career with the Jets and had 43 sacks in 147 games -- the most in franchise history by a defensive lineman. ... The Steelers were one of three AFC teams the Jets did not play at home in the previous five seasons, along with Oakland and Cleveland, each of whom the Jets host in December.
