Pittsburg, PA
Jets vs. Steelers: Russell Wilson leads Pittsburgh to convincing win over New York in Davante Adams' first game with new team
At last week’s NFL owners meeting, after his New York Jets pulled off a trade for Davante Adams less than 24 hours after falling to 2-4 on the season, owner Woody Johnson proclaimed that his team was “going to kick … you can fill the word in
Maybe that starts next week.
This season the Jets were expected to be Super Bowl contenders, or at least break the longest playoff drought in American professional sports, while the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to finally see their streak of non-losing seasons end. But there’s a reason the Jets are the Jets and the Steelers are the Steelers.
The results didn’t change for the Jets after adding Adams. They still look lost this season, falling to 2-5 with a 37-15 defeat to the Steelers.
The Steelers didn’t look any different either, despite a quarterback change. They’re 5-2, and 1-0 with Russell Wilson as their starting quarterback. Wilson replaced Justin Fields and after a slow start, he made plays and led the Steelers to their highest point total of the season.
It wasn’t a good outing for the Jets. Maybe they’ll make another trade this week.
Wilson got his first start for the Steelers and it didn’t begin that well. It took Wilson a while to get in a rhythm. Or, it took him a while to realize George Pickens is fantastic on contested catches. Once Pickens made a few plays, Wilson settled in.
The Jets had the early lead though. Breece Hall and Tyler Conklin scored touchdowns and the Jets led 15-13 going into halftime. But it’s the 2024 Jets; eventually it all unraveled.
Rodgers had a couple of tough luck interceptions to undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. On the first one Bishop made a great play, turning and reaching out at the last second with one hand to bring in the pick. On the second, Rodgers delivered a good ball to the normally reliable Garrett Wilson, but the ball bounced off Wilson’s chest and right to Bishop. He returned that one to the 1-yard line. Wilson scored on a quarterback sneak the next play.
The second half was impressive for the Steelers. It would have been easy for Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin to stick with Justin Fields after the team’s good start to the season, but he has been dug in on Wilson being his quarterback since the team acquired him. Fields got to start because Wilson had an injured calf, but Tomlin went back to him when he could. It’s hard to argue with the results.
Meanwhile, the Jets can’t push any right buttons this season.
Jets’ season slipping away
The Jets fired Robert Saleh. They lost to the Buffalo Bills their next game. They traded for Adams. They lost to the Steelers their next game.
They keep digging their hole deeper. New York wanted to make a run with Rodgers. They seemed to be down to one last shot with Rodgers after the quarterback tore his Achilles in the season opener last year. Nothing has looked right for the Jets all season. Rodgers has had some flashes of his former greatness but overall the team has been too sloppy to win. The defense, which had been very good the past two seasons, hasn’t been as dominant. Everything with the Jets seems a bit off.
Meanwhile, the Steelers just keep winning as usual. Wilson has been the subject of countless jokes after he failed with the Denver Broncos and he didn’t look good in the preseason, but Tomlin knew what he was doing when he made the change. He kept referencing Wilson’s successful résumé, and on Sunday night Wilson looked more like that player who was a star with the Seattle Seahawks. Maybe Wilson will fall apart like he did in Denver, but the first look at him with the Steelers was positive. He looked like a quarterback who at very least can spread the ball around and boost Pickens, the team’s top playmaker.
Things always seem to work out for the Steelers. The opposite is true for the Jets. Maybe that’s not a coincidence.
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Jets offensive lineman Xavier Newman carted off the field
After the interception, Newman was hit on a block by Patrick Queen. No penalty was called on the play. Newman went down on the Jets’ sideline and the whole team surrounded him as he was being loaded onto a backboard and moved to a cart to be taken off the field.
Newman had replaced Alijah Vera-Tucker at guard. Vera-Tucker left the game with an injury in the first half. NBC Sports’ Melissa Stark did report during the broadcast that Newman was conscious while being put on the backboard and onto the cart
SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 9: Guard Xavier Newman #65 of the New York Jets stands on the sidelines during the national anthem prior an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, at Levi’s Stadium on September 9, 2024 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images) -
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Halftime: Jets 15, Steelers 13
The Beanie Bishop interception of Aaron Rodgers at the end of the first half changed the complexion of the game as the Steelers were able to cash in with a touchdown and turn a two-score lead into a one score game heading into the locker rooms for the break. Davante Adams has three catches for 30 yards as he’s being worked into the offense, but has been on the field for the entire first half. In the other major debut of the night, Russell Wilson has thrown for 145 yards and a touchdown for Pittsburgh — In three of his six starts this season Justin Fields threw for 145 yards or fewer for the whole game.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – OCTOBER 20: Davante Adams #17 of the New York Jets is tackled by Joey Porter Jr. #24 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium on October 20, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) -
Pittsburg, PA
Analysis: Most Pittsburgh‑area communities are losing residents — here’s why that might be OK
Pittsburg, PA
Colorado Rockies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates game discussion: Bubba Chandler vs. Kyle Freeland
The Colorado Rockies (28-47) had the day off Thursday after an uneven road trip that took them from Las Vegas to Wrigley Field. They dropped two of three to the Athletics, with the lone win coming in a wild 23-9 game, then went to Chicago and again lost two of three.
That leaves the Rockies at 6-9 in June with a -7 run differential. Even that number is softened by the 23-run outburst against the Athletics. Colorado has been pesky and more competitive, which is an improvement from last month, but the results are still the results: they enter tonight with the worst record in baseball — if only by a game.
Cole Carrigg has brought energy since arriving, and Sterlin Thompson is coming off a two-homer game at Wrigley. There are plenty of reasons to keep watching. The problem is that the old bad-team tropes are still there: blown leads, rocked starters, missed chances, defensive mistakes, and poor execution. The Rockies have been in more games, but they are still too often finding ways to let winnable games get away.
Now they get the Pirates at home.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (38-37) arrive at Coors Field in fourth place in the competitive NL Central — and only 1.5 games out of a wild card spot. Pittsburgh gets plenty of attention for its hyped rotation, led by Paul Skenes, but the offense has been much improved. The Pirates rank third in MLB in batting average, third in on-base percentage, fourth in OPS, fifth in runs scored, and sixth in stolen bases.
Kyle Freeland takes the mound to open the homestand for the Rox. The left-hander enters at 1-7 with a 7.98 ERA, 49 strikeouts, and a 1.70 WHIP over 58.2 innings.
The fastball has been the biggest issue. Freeland is leaving too many four-seamers over the middle of the plate, and hitters have punished it. Opponents are slugging .794 against the pitch, which is especially damaging because he still throws it roughly 27-29% of the time.
That continued in his last start, when Freeland allowed six runs on 10 hits over 5.2 innings. He gave up 12 hard-hit balls, with both the cutter and four-seamer taking damage. The cutter was his most-used pitch in that outing, but it did not solve the contact problem. His sweeper has been his best pitch, holding hitters to a .171 batting average and .371 slugging percentage with a 32.8% whiff rate.
The Rockies do not need Freeland to be perfect tonight, but they need him to avoid the middle-middle mistakes that have turned innings quickly this season.
Pittsburgh will counter with Bubba Chandler, a 23-year-old right-hander who enters at 2-7 with a 4.76 ERA, 68 strikeouts, and a 1.38 WHIP over 68.0 innings.
The record is not pretty, but the stuff is real. Chandler averages 98.5 mph with his four-seam fastball and topped out over 101 mph in his last start. He has used the fastball nearly half the time this season, pairing it most often with a changeup and slider.
The slider has been his best bat-missing pitch, generating a 37.9% whiff rate on the season. The changeup has also been effective, holding hitters to a .186 batting average and .288 slugging percentage. Chandler has walked 43 batters, so the Rockies’ best chance may be making him work instead of chasing their way out of innings.
Kyle Karros has been swinging it well lately, hitting .370/.442/.565 over his last 15 games and raising his season wRC+ to 90. Willi Castro has two home runs, nine RBI, and a .680 slugging percentage over his last seven games, while T.J. Rumfield is hitting .321 with a .750 slugging percentage and two home runs in his last seven games.
For Pittsburgh, Bryan Reynolds has been especially hot, hitting .414/.469/.828 with three home runs over his last seven games. Brandon Lowe leads the team with 18 home runs and 49 RBI while slugging .511, and Endy Rodríguez has played well from behind the plate while posting a 149 wRC+ in 76 plate appearances since returning to the lineup in mid-May.
For Colorado, the task is straightforward: get a steadier start from Freeland, make Chandler throw strikes, and turn the recent flashes from the lineup into enough sustained pressure to win a winnable game.
First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. MDT
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150
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The decision to trade catcher Joey Bart to the Braves gives the Pirates a solution to a problem that soon needed to be made.
Bart had been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis, working his way back from a left foot infection that kept him out of action for over a month.
With Bart nearing a return, the Pirates were going to have to figure out what to do at catcher with Henry Davis and Endy Rodríguez splitting time behind the plate in his absence.
Given how Rodríguez has been swinging the bat since he was recalled from Indianapolis to replace Bart on the active roster, there was no way the Pirates could’ve sent him down. In 23 games, the 26-year-old has a .267/.413/.467 batting line with three doubles, three home runs, eight RBI, two steals and a robust 19.7% walk rate.
Davis, meanwhile, has struggled to an anemic .138/.242/.285 batting line with four doubles, five home runs and 17 RBI in 47 games. While he hasn’t offered much with the bat, he’s been responsible for two defensive runs saved and leads MLB with a 55% caught stealing rate.
Now that Bart has been traded, Rodríguez and Davis will remain the catching tandem at the big-league level with Rafael Flores Jr. as the top backup option with Indianapolis. Flores is considered Pittsburgh’s eighth-best prospect on MLB Pipeline.
For the first time in the big leagues, Rodríguez is realizing the potential that once made him one of the top 100 prospects in baseball. Because of that, he should get the majority of the playing time with Davis continuing to catch Paul Skenes’ starts and filling in when needed.
As for the return, the Pirates known what to expect from Hunter Stratton, who spent nine seasons in the organization and made 47 appearances with the team from 2023-25.
The bullpen has been an obvious weak spot for the team this season, and while it was somewhat surprising to see the Pirates assign Stratton to Indianapolis, he improves the pitching depth and will almost surely be called upon at some point this year.
In 60 career big-league appearances between the Pirates and Braves, Stratton is 3-2 with a 3.75 ERA and two saves. The right-hander spent most of the 2026 season with Triple-A Gwinnett and went 2-4 with a 4.38 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 24.2 innings across 21 appearances.
One more important note about the trade is that the Pirates saved some money in the deal, which could be used later in additional trades to add to an already record-setting payroll. Stratton is a pre-arbitration player, while Bart is making $2.53 million this season.
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