3 keys to victory for the New York Jets to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Jets are getting ready to open their regular season on Sunday when they face Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers at MetLife Stadium. It's a tough matchup to say the least, especially for a team with a new coaching staff and an overhauled roster that is one of the youngest in the league.

It was a tough week for the Jets when they lost arguably their best offensive lineman, Alijah Vera-Tucker, for the rest of the season with a torn triceps. Despite the injury to AVT, the Jets will be playing with a new attitude and will want to get Aaron Glenn a victory in his head coaching debut on Sunday.

Here are three keys to victory for the Jets on Sunday over the Pittsburgh Steelers:

Pressure Aaron Rodgers early and often

While Rodgers has no issues throwing the football, his days of being a scrambling quarterback are pretty much over.  It comes with the territory of being 41 years old.  The Jets front four got much stronger after they traded for Vikings defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, who will help Quinnen Williams contain the Steelers running game. They have two strong edge rushers in a returning Jermaine Johnson and Will McDonald, who know Rodgers' tendencies very well.

Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks needs to dial up blitzes as much as possible to make Rodgers uncomfortable and force him into errant throws. The Steelers receiving group outside of DK Metcalf is not very strong and he didn't play in the preseason, which cost him valuable time to work with Pittsburgh's receivers. If the Jets give Rodgers too much time in the pocket, he will pick them apart every time. They will need to force him into situations where he'll need to use his legs and the only way to do that is to put pressure on him every chance they get.

Watch the Penalties

Aaron Glenn stressed the importance of being a disciplined team during the offseason and training camp. He’s fully aware that penalties are going to happen, but he prefers them not to happen during a scoring drive or on third down when the defense needs to get off the field.  So far, the Jets are still a major work in progress in this department.  They were penalized 24 times for 199 yards in three preseason games, which is not good.  Some of those penalties brought back terrible memories of the Robert Saleh regime, where they made undisciplined play an art form.

Rodgers knows some of the Jets players have a tendency to let their emotions get the better of them. It doesn't take much to bait Micheal Clemons into taking a dumb penalty that will cost them 15 yards. The Jets have to stay disciplined on both sides of the football and make sure not to gift wrap opportunities for Rodgers to burn them at crucial moments in Sunday's game.

Be Aware of the Tight Ends

While the Steelers may not have the strongest wide receivers in the league, they do have plenty of solid options at tight end. They acquired Jonnu Smith from the Dolphins, who became a very reliable weapon for Tua Tagovailoa in Miami with close to 900 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Pat Freiermuth was a very underrated red-zone target for Pittsburgh last season with seven touchdowns of his own. The Steelers also have Darnell Washington, their third-round pick from 2023, who’s 6’7 and 264 lbs. He's exactly the kind of big bodied target Aaron Rodgers loves to throw to.

While the talk surrounding the Steelers passing game will center around containing DK Metcalf, the Jets have to make sure they neutralize Pittsburgh's tight ends, who could easily fly under the radar and be the difference between a win and a loss on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: 3 keys to victory for the Jets to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers