Remember when Sam Darnold said he was seeing ghosts against the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football?
The Steelers want to make that happen again in Week 16.
Darnold was beyond rattled against the Patriots, as New England kept him off balance and running for his life with a variety of blitz packages and defensive formations. He has settled back in since his infamous Monday night admission, but members of the Steelers’ defense believe they can get the second-year signal caller rattled when they come to MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
“That’s the plan,” Pittsburgh safety Terrell Edmunds said on Wednesday. “Just put a lot of people in his face, hopefully make him make some false throws and get turnovers. That’s our gameplan. That’s just how we play the game every week. So that’s how we are trying to carry it out.”
Pittsburgh certainly has the personnel to make Darnold uncomfortable this weekend. TJ Watt is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, while Bud Dupree has undergone somewhat of a career renaissance in 2019. Veteran cornerback Joe Haden is also a key contributor in the secondary, giving the Jets a ballhawk they’ll have to account for at all times.
“We’d like to try to confuse him,” Haden said. “He’s still a [second-year] quarterback. So we’re trying to not just stand out there and let him know what defense we are in. Just trying to keep him on his toes. Once he snaps the ball, get a little movement in, so he has to realize what [type of coverage] we are in during the play. Just trying to hold our disguises and move around and keep him thinking.”
Whether or not Darnold sees ghosts against the Steelers, he’s going to have to play his best football against a Pittsburgh team fighting to keep its playoff hopes alive if he wants to lead the Jets to their sixth victory of the year.
