Behind the Steel Curtain
The Pittsburgh Steelers are just days away from opening their 2025 season against the New York Jets. I’m excited to kick off a new weekly article highlighting intriguing position group battles the Steelers will face. This opener brings compelling storylines: Aaron Rodgers and Justin Fields take on former teams, and both organizations debut key offseason changes. As the Jets build a new identity under head coach Aaron Glenn, the Steelers work to return to their roots.
Unfortunately for the Jets, just as I began writing this article, news broke that starting interior offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker had suffered a season-ending injury. With key injuries on both the Steelers’ defensive line and now the Jets’ offensive line, this positional matchup becomes even more interesting.
Let’s take a moment to think about Aaron Glenn as a head coach. While he is a defensive-minded head coach, he comes from a place that loves to run the football. The Lions built their team from the inside out, establishing one of the best offensive line units in the league through the draft and utilizing multiple running backs. Over the last several seasons, the Lions have made at least the divisional round for two years straight. Now Glenn finds himself leading an organization that has not made the playoffs since 2010, when they lost to the Steelers in the AFC Championship game.
Oddly enough, this Jets roster mirrors the Lions in several ways.
Now, I know exactly what you are thinking. “Joey, this team is nowhere close to being on the level of Detroit!” You’re not wrong, but hear me out.
The Jets will have a better tandem of running backs than we give them credit for. Breece Hall had a down year in 2024, but he has shown he is capable of averaging over 5 yards per carry, as he did during his rookie season before it was cut short. Braelon Allen also presents a unique skillset. Allen was the youngest player in the league last season, as he only just turned 21 years old back in January. The Jets’ pair of backs form a formidable one-two punch, which should feel familiar to Glenn. While Hall and Allen have different skillsets than Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, you can get an idea of what New York is hoping those two will be.
In addition to their running back tandem, the Jets are certain to have their quarterback in the mix. Steelers fans know what Justin Fields offers — if nothing else, he will elevate New York’s running game. A lot needs to go right, but if it does, the potential is there for the trio of Fields, Hall, and Allen to form one of the more potent rushing attacks in the NFL.
For this experiment to work, the Jets’ young offensive line will need to pay off on all the investments the organization has sunk into it in recent seasons. Despite the Vera-Tucker injury, they...
