How The National Media Is Picking Steelers Vs. Jets

A weekly article we post that gives a brief overview of how national media members view the Pittsburgh Steelers’ odds. Just a skinny summary of notable names who are picking for or against Pittsburgh. We’ll see who gets it right most often. If they offer a score prediction, we’ll include that too. When applicable, I’ll toss in the predictions from Dave Bryan and myself just to see how we stack up.

Today, predictions for the Steelers’ Week 7 game against the New York Jets.

Those Picking The Steelers
Eric Edholm/NFL Network: Steelers (27-14)

Mike Florio/Pro Football Talk: Steelers (22-20)

Vinnie Iyer/Sporting News: Steelers (20-17)

Daniel Jeremiah/NFL Network: Steelers (24-23)

Bucky Brooks/NFL Network: Steelers (24-20)

Those Picking The Jets
Maurice Jones-Drew/NFL Network: Jets (24-18)

Chris Simms/Pro Football Talk: Jets (24-16)

Nate Davis/USA Today: Jets (25-16)

Pat McAfee/Pat McAfee Show: Jets

Pete Prisco/CBS Sports: Jets (23-17)

Dave Bryan/Steelers Depot: Jets (24-23)

Colleen Wolfe/NFL Network: Jets (24-14)

Sam Farmer/LA Times: Jets (20-17)

Alex Kozora/Steelers Depot: Jets (31-27)

A.J. Hawk/Pat McAfee Show: Jets

Totals
Those Picking The Steelers: 5

Those Picking The Jets: 10

Quick Notes
– Russell Wilson is 3-1 lifetime against the Jets, winning by an average margin of 22.7 points per game. But he lost his last game against them, falling 31-21 in 2023 with the Denver Broncos.

– Including the Super Bowl, Aaron Rodgers has thrown for 935 yards, 8 touchdowns and no interceptions against the Steelers. His QB rating is an excellent 102.9 against Pittsburgh.

– For as much as the Steelers are perceived as a strong primetime team, Sunday nights haven’t been their strength. Since 2019, they’re just 4-6 on SNF, including Week 5’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys. That includes a 1-2 home record (which really just tells me how often they’re on the road for these matchups, 70 percent of the time).

– The last time Pittsburgh lost two SNF games in the same season was 2018, falling to the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers. Pittsburgh played at least two such games in 2019, 2021 and 2023.

– Despite being the NFL’s longest-tenured coach at 17 seasons, Mike Tomlin has coached only two games against a true interim head coach, replacing one who was fired. Both of those games came in 2022 and the Steelers won both. Pittsburgh beat Jeff Saturday and the Indianapolis Colts 24-17 and Steve Wilks and the Carolina Panthers 24-16 three weeks later.

Of course, he also coached against the Cleveland Browns and acing head coach Mike Priefer, replacing Kevin Stefanski who tested positive for COVID. That game did not…end in a win.