3 game-plan choices NY Jets offense must make vs. Steelers

For most of his career, Ramsey was arguably the best tackling cornerback in the NFL. His sure-handed tackling is one of the main reasons he was considered among the game’s best corners. However, after turning 30 last season, Ramsey showed signs of major decline in this area.

Over the first eight seasons of his career, Ramsey never missed more than eight tackles in a season. He averaged an incredibly low 5.3 missed tackles per season. But in 2024, Ramsey missed a career-high 14 tackles, four more than Sauce Gardner, whose tackling was scrutinized by the New York media.

The Jets should test Ramsey’s tackling early in the game. Ignore his reputation and go by his body of work over 17 games last season – especially against Wilson. This is a nearly 31-year-old corner on the downswing. Wilson made him look silly in the open field last year, and Engstrand should challenge Ramsey to prove that things will be different this time around.

Whether it’s through RPOs, designed screens, or short routes on quick-hitting concepts, Engstrand would be wise to prioritize concepts that isolate Wilson against Ramsey, specifically in positions that are facilitative for YAC.

Ideally, these plays succeed. Even if they don’t, though, calling them early in the game will set up the next point of our game plan.

2. Take shots on second and short-to-medium (especially in late-Q1 and Q2)

Feeding short passes to Wilson early in the game should draw the Steelers’ cornerbacks toward the line of scrimmage. Combined with the Jets’ emphasis on the run game, New York should be able to convince Pittsburgh to pack their defense in by the end of the first quarter.

That’s when New York has to strike.

The Jets can be successful in 2025 with the run game as their bread-and-butter, but only if they can occasionally complement the run game with explosive pass plays. That is what allowed the Eagles to thrive last year despite ranking 29th in total passing yards. Sure, they rarely passed (league-low 448 attempts), but when they did, they made it count; Philadelphia ranked sixth in yards per pass attempt (7.9).

The Eagles used the threat of their dominant run game to set up downfield pass plays once they convinced the defense to go all-out toward stopping the run. Then, once teams got hit with a bomb downfield, they were forced to back off, and the Eagles could go back to steamrolling them on the ground. And so the cycle continued, all the way to the Super Bowl.

If they did not have that changeup in their arsenal, the Eagles’ run game would eventually be shut down, and they would march their way to a bunch of field goals and punts.

This is what people often overlook when using Philadelphia as a model for hopeful run-first teams like New York. The Eagles may have shown that you can win in today’s NFL without being a pass-heavy offense, but they did not show that you can win without an efficient and explosive passing attack. That is still necessary.

The Jets must heed that advice, and Sunday offers a chance to start off on the right foot.

Between their run game and the early short passes to Wilson, the Jets should have the Steelers stacking the box and playing their corners tight to the line of scrimmage by the end of the first quarter or early in the second quarter. It’s at this point when New York must resist the urge to continue relying on the safety of the run game and instead opt to roll the dice with a downfield shot.

In second down situations with six or fewer yards to go, New York must take at least two shots in the first half. Ideally, Fields can throw a strike with his rocket of an arm, but even if he doesn’t, it will at least keep the defense honest. From there, the defense will soften up a bit, and the Jets can continue riding their run game.

Saving these shots for second and short-to-medium is essential because the risk is mitigated. The Jets can miss a shot in those situations and fall back on a manageable third down for Fields, one where the run is still on the table and the to-go distance is short enough to be converted with a quick throw.

If the Jets miss a shot on first-and-10 or second-and-long, they will be left behind the chains, which is the last place you want Fields to be in his first start of the season against a terrifying defensive line. The Jets’ worst nightmare on Sunday is having Fields drop back for long-developing concepts in obvious passing situations. The pass rush will pin its ears back and almost assuredly get home against the hesitant Fields, with a high chance of forcing fumbles.

But if the Jets’ first-down run game is as efficient as they hope it can be, they should set themselves up for plenty of favorable shot opportunities on second down with six or fewer yards to go. Seizing those shot opportunities will be critical to success throughout the season, especially against an elite defense that will quickly tighten its grip on the Jets’ offense if Fields cannot keep them honest with the threat of the downfield pass game.

3. Be multiple in the run game

We established that it is critical for the Jets to get into second and short-to-medium situations so they can take low-risk shots downfield.

To get there, they must consistently run for 4+ yards on first down. It will be easier said than done against a team fully expecting the Jets to go run-heavy, which Mike Tomlin already told the media.

However, just because you know that a team is going to run the ball, it does not mean you know how they are going to run it.

What can make the Jets’ run game unique is that they have a bevy of options to throw at defenses. It all starts with having a quarterback who is a legitimate threat as a ball carrier. Fields can be weaponized in numerous ways, whether through read options, QB draws, QB sweeps, and so on.

The threat of the quarterback forces the edge defenders and defensive backs to stay honest on the outside. That creates extra room to pound the middle with the running backs.

New York’s running backs offer a well-rounded palate of options. Breece Hall is a shifty, east-west back with home-run speed. Braelon Allen is a battering ram who can usually add multiple yards to the end of a run just by putting his head down. Isaiah Davis can maximize the blocking in front of him with his vision and short-area quickness.

The Jets also project as a team that will heavily utilize jet motion, as Engstrand hails from a motion-heavy Lions offense. In Garrett Wilson and Arian Smith, New York has two wideouts who can be dangerous on jet sweeps and end arounds. It would be wise to call one of these plays early on, as it would force the defense to respect jet motion throughout the rest of the game.

Engstrand must keep Pittsburgh guessing by constantly integrating different looks. It can be appealing to ride Fields, Hall, or Allen if one gets hot, but predictability is the run game’s nemesis. The value of “rhythm” is a myth when it comes to rushing in the NFL. Rest and unpredictability are paramount.

Look at the league’s top run games from the 2024 season. Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley are uber-talented bell cows, yes, but neither reached their apex until they stepped into a run game where they had a QB threat to create more space for them.

The Detroit Lions do not have a QB threat, but they have two excellent running backs who throw completely different styles at the defense, constantly keeping defenders on their toes. Detroit also excelled at using jet motion to create angles in the run game.

For Engstrand, the challenge on Sunday is not just to stick with the run game, but to stick with its multiplicity. If he throws something unique at Pittsburgh on every play, the Jets should eventually find their rhythm on the ground, allowing them to control the flow of the game and set up favorable opportunities for downfield shots.