Jet Report Card

QUARTERBACKS: D

Chad Pennington (21-33, 182 yards, 1 INT, 65.5 rating) wasn’t at his best. His worst play was probably a short third-down pass to WR Santana Moss that was behind the receiver and failed to keep a key drive alive.

RUNNING BACKS: C

Curtis Martin (19-77 rushing, 4-29 receiving) ran for some tough yards. LaMont Jordan (5-30 rushing, 1-6 receiving) wasn’t used often enough.

WIDE RECEIVERS: C

Moss (4-31) wasn’t enough of a factor. Justin McCareins led the way with five catches for 82 yards, including one excellent 30-yard catch on the sideline.

TIGHT ENDS: C

Anthony Becht had two catches for 15 yards and had a holding penalty called on him, and Chris Baker had two grabs for 8 yards. Blocking was decent.

OFFENSIVE LINE: C

Pass-blocking was fairly good, with Pennington sacked three times. RT Jason Fabini had a holding penalty and LG Pete Kendall had a false start.

DEFENSIVE LINE: C+

DE Shaun Ellis had a forced fumble. NT Jason Ferguson had seven tackles and the Jets’ only sack. DE Bryan Thomas had four tackles, two for losses.

LINEBACKERS: C+

Jonathan Vilma was a force with 17 tackles. The play against the run was only OK as Pittsburgh grinded out nearly 200 yards.

SECONDARY: B

SS Reggie Tongue had an 86-yard INT return for a TD, along with seven tackles. FS Erik Coleman had six tackles and a fumble recovery. Overall, a good job on the Steelers’ WRs.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B+

Moss had a 75-yard punt return for a TD, averaging 16.6 yards on five returns, and he made a heads-up recovery of a deflected punt. Jerricho Cotchery had 22.6 yards on five KO returns.

KICKING GAME: F

K Doug Brien missed potential game-winning FG attempts of 47 and 43 yards in the final two minutes of regulation. P Toby Gowin was awful, particularly early, with a 38.5-yard gross average and a 31-yard net on six punts.

COACHING: C

Herman Edwards had his team believing it would upset the Steelers, and it nearly did. The play-calling before the second FG attempt was too conservative, but that also falls on offensive coordinator Paul Hackett. Defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson had a strong game.