Gang Green Nation
The Jets fell to 0-1 yesterday with a 34-32 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Let’s give out some anti-game balls (and game balls)
Brandon Stephens
Michael Carter II
I think it would be fair to say the Jets lost this game above all else because of their secondary. It was a very rough game for the team’s number two cornerback Stephens and the team’s slot cornerback Carter. They were both in the middle of a lot of ugly plays.
The book on Stephens in Baltimore is that he frequently was in position to make a play against a receiver one on one but failed to turn his head or make a play on the football. That was true on a couple of occasions Sunday. Stephens’ issues went beyond that, however. He committed a penalty. He also was out of position on a couple of coverage busts where it looked like he failed to execute a basic zone coverage.
While many Jets fans had a skepticism of the Stephens signing, Carter entered 2025 with his expectations. His first game did not go well. He appeared to be the culprit on a coverage bust during Pittsburgh’s first touchdown. A missed tackle resulted in a big DK Metcalf play later, and he was culpable for a couple of other coverage busts.
To put it simply, the defense is going to have problems if it doesn’t get better play from the cornerbacks behind Sauce Gardner.
Tony Adams
Andre Cisco
Unfortunately, things did not go much better at the safety position. Adams was in position to bring down Metcalf on a third down completion on the first series. He whiffed on the tackle, the first of three missed tackles on the day. Meanwhile, Cisco found himself either taking a bad angle or failing to get off a block on a couple of critical Pittsburgh plays, including a second quarter touchdown that helped the Steelers narrow the margin before halftime.
Xavier Gipson
Nobody can really explain why Xavier Gipson made the team. The Jets made it sound like they were concerned with Jamaal Pritchett’s ball security as a returner. That’s a viable reason to not keep Pritchett, but it isn’t like Gipson has done very well protecting the ball to this point in his career. The baffling decision to keep Gipson has already hurt the Jets as a fumble on a kickoff return set up a short Steelers touchdown at a critical juncture in the second half. Earlier in the game, Gipson broke a big return but then put the ball on the ground it appeared before he had been touched down. He was bailed out by teammate Marcelino McCrary-Ball who alertly dived on the ball, sparing a potential disaster. Gipson also made some suspect decisions on kickoff returns. Having him on the roster for Week 1 was difficult to defend. It will be even more difficult to defend a continued place on the roster in Week 2.
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