PITTSBURGH (8-6) at NEW YORK JETS (5-9)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS
OPENING LINE — Steelers by 3
RECORD VS. SPREAD — Steelers 7-5-2, Jets 5-9
SERIES RECORD — Steelers lead 20-5
LAST MEETING — Steelers beat Jets 31-13, Oct. 9, 2016
LAST WEEK — Steelers lost to Bills 17-10; Jets lost to Ravens 42-21
AP PRO32 RANKING — Steelers No. 14, Jets No. 27
STEELERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (30), RUSH (26), PASS (31).
STEELERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (4), RUSH (11), PASS (5).
JETS OFFENSE — OVERALL (31), RUSH (31), PASS (29).
JETS DEFENSE — OVERALL (9), RUSH (2), PASS (19)
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Steelers can clinch AFC wild-card spot with wins in final two games. Loss to Jets would complicate picture significantly. ... Pittsburgh 10-4 all-time on road vs. New York, but dropped last road meeting in 2014. ... Steelers rookie QB Devlin “Duck” Hodges making fourth straight start, tossed four picks in loss last week to Buffalo. ... WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) could return following four-game absence. ... TE Vance McDonald expected back after missing one game with concussion. ... Steelers running game stalled in loss to Bills. Now facing Jets defense ranked second against run. Pittsburgh is 5-0 when reaching 100 yards rushing, 3-6 when it does not. ... Steelers tied for lead NFL in sacks (49), rank second in takeaways (35). Pittsburgh one of two teams with three players with at least eight sacks. ... Steelers have held each of last five opponents to under 300 total yards, going 4-1 during span. ... Pittsburgh OLB T.J. Watt first player in franchise history with multiple seasons of at least 13 sacks. ... LB Devin Bush leads all NFL rookies in total tackles (92) and fumble recoveries (4). ... Jets looking to avoid double-digit losses for season, which would be franchise-worst fourth straight year doing so. ... RB Le'Veon Bell faces former team for first time since leaving Steelers in offseason and signing with New York. Bell, three-time Pro Bowl selection with Steelers, sat out all last season in contract dispute with Pittsburgh. He ran for season-high 87 yards last week at Baltimore, but 3.3 rushing average is lowest of career. ... QB Sam Darnold has thrown two TD passes in each of last two games. He has 17 TD throws to match total from rookie season last year. Darnold moved into 10th place on franchise's career yards passing list with 5,507, passing Al Dorow (5,399). Geno Smith is ninth with 5,962 yards. ... WR Robby Anderson surging with 22 catches for 370 yards and three touchdowns in last four games. He became fifth undrafted free agent since 1970 merger to gain 3,000 yards in first four NFL seasons, joining Drew Pearson, Wayne Chrebet, Antonio Gates and Victor Cruz. ... WR Jamison Crowder has team-leading 66 catches — one shy of career high set in 2016 with Washington — for 707 yards and five TDs. ... S Jamal Adams could return from sprained ankle that sidelined him for first time in NFL career. Has 6 1/2 sacks, just two from breaking Adrian Wilson's league record for defensive backs, set in 2005 for Arizona. ... Jets defense has allowed just one individual 100-yard rusher: Dallas' Ezekiel Elliott in Week 6. New York struggled last week against Baltimore, though, giving up 218 yards, including quarterback Lamar Jackson running for 86 and running back Mark Ingram getting 76. ... PR Braxton Berrios leads all qualified punt returners (minimum of 1.25 returns per game) with 11.1 average, including 12 returns of at least 10 yards. ... Fantasy tip: Bell is tempting play against Steelers, but hasn't scored in his last three games. Anderson could be safest play in matchup as he has re-established himself as go-to guy for Darnold.
___
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL