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Steelers seek fourth straight, face Jets

Nov 18, 2007 - 11:26 AM Pittsburgh (7-2) at NY Jets (1-8) Sunday 4:05 pm EST

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't likely to catch the New England Patriots, but they could be playing for the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs.

Now with a two-game lead in the AFC North, the Steelers seek their fourth straight victory on Sunday, when they visit the struggling New York Jets.

Pittsburgh have may taken control of the AFC North last week by rallying from a 15-point deficit to defeat the Cleveland Browns, 31-28.

When the Indianapolis Colts lost to the San Diego Chargers, 23-21, on Sunday night, the Steelers took over the AFC's No. 2 seed.

Pittsburgh and Indianapolis now have the same record at 7-2, but the Steelers have one less defeat within the conference. One of their two losses came to the Arizona Cardinals.

In its final seven games, Pittsburgh plays only two teams with winning records - New England (9-0) and Jacksonville (6-3).

The Jets and Steelers are meeting for the first time since their dramatic playoff game following the 2004 season.

As the top seed in the playoffs, the Steelers escaped with a 20-17 overtime victory after New York's Doug Brien missed two field goals in the final two minutes of regulation.

Pittsburgh has domimated the series, winning 16 of 18 all-time meetings. However, in their last home game against the Steelers in 2003, the Jets posted a 6-0 victory in a game played in a snowstorm.

New York will be hard-pressed to duplicate that feat on Sunday as the Jets have dropped six in a row to fall out of playoff contention.

Kellen Clemens will be making his second start since taking over for Chad Pennington, who was benched prior to the Jets' last game against the Washington Redskins.

Clemens played well in his first start, completing 23-of-42 passes for 226 yards a touchdown. But the Jets squandered a 14-point lead in the first half and lost in overtime, 23-20.

After a bye last week, the Jets will be facing the league's top-ranked defense. While Cleveland'd Derek Anderson threw three touchdown passes, the Steelers yielded only 163 yards.

Willie Parker, the league's No. 2 rusher, ran for 105 yards and 25 carries against the Browns.

Both of Pittsburgh's losses have come away from Heinz Field, but the Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 24-13, in their last road contest on October 28.