Everybody loves a good old revenge game, and the Jets’ home matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019 figures to be one of the best of the season.
Le’Veon Bell, who has agreed on a four-year, $52.5 million deal with the Jets, gets the opportunity to exact his vengeance on the Steelers very early into his Jets career. Although the 2019 NFL schedule hasn’t been finalized yet, the AFC East is slated to face the AFC North, meaning the Jets take on the Steelers at MetLife stadium at some point this season. With the high-profile nature of Bell’s saga, it wouldn’t be surprising for Jets-Steelers to end up as a Monday or Sunday night primetime game.
Bell’s story was one of the biggest and most intriguing of the 2018 season. After the Steelers offered him a five-year, $70 million contract with $33 million in guaranteed money in July, Bell sat out the entire season in search of a better deal and reportedly had no contact with the Steelers throughout the holdout. The Steelers went 8-6-1 without Bell and missed the playoffs.
Now, Bell and the Jets face a depleted version of his former team in 2019. Not only will the Steelers be without Bell again, but they also traded away All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown to the Raiders for draft picks.
Bell will almost certainly be the focal point of a Jets offense featuring Sam Darnold at the helm with pass-catchers Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa, Chris Herndon and newly-signed wideout Jamison Crowder.
With Adam Gase running the offense, you can bet New York’s first-year head coach will give the Steelers a healthy dose of his newest weapon when the two teams go at it next season.
