Russell Wilson passed for two touchdowns and rushed for one in his Pittsburgh debut as the Steelers rallied for a 37-15 victory over the visiting New York Jets on Sunday night.
Wilson missed the first six games with a calf injury before being chosen to start over Justin Fields during the week. Acquired from the Denver Broncos in the offseason, he completed 16 of 29 passes for 264 yards to help Pittsburgh (5-2) win its second straight game.
Najee Harris rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, George Pickens caught five passes for 111 yards and one touchdown and Van Jefferson also had a touchdown reception for the Steelers. Rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. recorded his first two career interceptions and Dean Lowry blocked a field-goal attempt for Pittsburgh, which finished the game with 31 unanswered points.
Aaron Rodgers completed 24 of 39 passes for 276 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for New York (2-5), which lost its four consecutive game. Davante Adams caught three passes for 30 yards in his Jets debut after being acquired from the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday.
New York’s Breece Hall rushed for a touchdown and caught six passes for a career-best 103 receiving yards. Tyler Conklin caught a touchdown pass for the Jets.
Jets offensive lineman Xavier Newman-Johnson was carted off the field with a serious neck injury midway through the third quarter.
The Steelers trailed 15-6 before eventually setting a season high in points. Pittsburgh moved ahead at 16-15 on Chris Boswell’s 21-yard field goal with 7:49 left in the third quarter.
Bishop then intercepted Rodgers’ pass for the second time when the ball bounced off the chest of Garrett Wilson and into Bishop’s arms. He returned it 41 yards to the 1. Russell Wilson scored on a quarterback sneak on the next play to give the Steelers a 23-15 lead with 7:15 left in the period.
Russell Wilson connected with Jefferson on a 4-yard scoring pass to give Pittsburgh a 30-15 lead with 12:09 left in the game.
The Steelers later dominated New York’s defense during a 13-play, 75-yard drive that took nearly 7 1/2 minutes. Harris finished it with a 10-yard scoring run with 26 seconds to play.
Boswell started the scoring with a 46-yard field goal, but the Jets took a 7-3 lead on Hall’s 13-yard run with 2:27 left in the first quarter.
Boswell booted a 29-yard field goal with 8:20 left in the first half to bring the Steelers within one. New York increased its lead to 15-6 less than three minutes later on Rodgers’ 1-yard pass to Conklin and the ensuing two-point conversion toss to Garrett Wilson.
The Steelers began their turnaround on Wilson’s 11-yard scoring pass to Pickens with 27 seconds left in the half.
–Field Level Media