Steelers lose control of playoff destiny with road defeat to Jets

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Hopeful of securing the AFC’s fifth playoff seed just one week earlier, the Pittsburgh Steelers suddenly find themselves in a situation murkier than the swamp outside MetLife Stadium after a 16-10 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday.

The higher wild-card seed was removed from consideration with a home loss against Buffalo last Sunday night, and after what transpired this weekend, the Steelers no longer control their postseason aspirations for the No. 6 spot as they prepare for a Week 17 visit to Baltimore.

The back-to-back losses dropped the Steelers record to 8-7, the same as the Tennessee Titans. Although the Titans also lost Sunday, they nudged ahead of the Steelers in the tiebreaker and can clinch the final wild-card spot with a win next weekend at Houston. The Steelers could back into the playoffs even if they lose to the Ravens, who already have clinched home-field advantage in the AFC, but they would need losses by Tennessee, Jacksonville and Oakland in Week 17.

“At least we’ve still got a chance,” guard David DeCastro said.

The Steelers will enter the regular-season finale with uncertainty at quarterback, continuing a season-long theme. Devlin Hodges was benched in the second quarter after throwing two interceptions, but he had to re-enter the game in the fourth after Mason Rudolph, who had steered the Steelers back from a 10-0 deficit, injured his left shoulder.

On a day when the offense managed one touchdown for the seventh time in the past eight games, Hodges didn’t produce any points on his six drives. Rudolph led the Steelers to 10 points in the final 1 minute, 18 seconds of the first half but was ineffective on his next three drives before exiting.

Given Rudolph’s uncertain health — coach Mike Tomlin didn’t provide specifics, and the quarterback wasn’t made available for interviews — Hodges could start by default against the Ravens.

“Mason’s health is an element of the equation now,” Tomlin said, “so stay tuned.”

The Steelers also could be without Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey, who left in the third quarter with a knee injury, and running back James Conner, who exited in the first half with an injured thigh.

“That’s why there are 53 men on the roster,” defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said. “You’d think we’d be more emboldened to deal with that because of the guys going down throughout the year. It’s not like guys aren’t ready for these moments.”

Hodges was 3-0 as a starter before his struggles against Buffalo and New York. At one point, dating to the fourth quarter against the Bills, Hodges had thrown four interceptions on five possessions.

“I’m still going to be confident,” Hodges said. “I can’t let these last two games get to me. I’ve got to learn from them and learn from this and go out there with the confidence I can get the job done. I’ve gotten the job done before, and I’ve got to do it again.”

Hodges completed 11 of 17 passes for 84 yards, and he was sacked three times. His interceptions ended drives on the first and third possessions, with the latter one coming in the end zone. That was when Tomlin turned to Rudolph, who hadn’t played since early in the second half Nov. 23 at Cincinnati.

Rudolph completed 14 of 20 attempts for 129 yards. He led a field-goal drive that cut the deficit to 10-3 with 1:18 left in the half. After a T.J. Watt strip sack and fumble recovery gave the ball to the Steelers with 28 seconds remaining, Rudolph threw a tying 29-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson with 0:04 left in the half.

“There wasn’t much more he could have done or not done,” guard Ramon Foster said. “We all know he can play.”

That brief spurt, however, represented all of the points the Steelers would score. The Jets, meantime, moved ahead on Sam Ficken’s 37-yard field goal in the third quarter and extended their lead on his 42-yard try with 3:11 remaining in the game.

“It’s frustrating, especially having Mason come in there like that and being able to score on those last two drives,” DeCastro said. “It gave us great hope. We had a lot of hope, but the second half was bad.”

Hodges relieved Rudolph with 13:25 remaining. On his first possession, the Steelers had the ball at the Jets 29 on second down, but Hodges was sacked for a 9-yard loss before a fumble lost another 8 yards, putting the ball out of field-goal range.

Another sack short-circuited the next drive, a three-and-out. The Steelers got the ball back at their 40 with no timeouts and 1:27 left, but it stalled at the Jets 44. A third-down pass to James Washington was broken up in the end zone, and Hodges hurried a fourth-down pass over the head of JuJu Smith-Schuster.

“I don’t think it’s a question that I can’t get it done,” Hodges said. “It’s that in the past two weeks I haven’t got it done. I don’t think I’m a bad player. I’ve been playing bad. I have to do better.”

So do the rest of the Steelers, who could see their season end short of the playoffs for the second year in a row.

“We shouldn’t be in that situation,” linebacker Bud Dupree said. “We had opportunities early in the season and now to go out and win games to take ourselves out of that position. Even with all the adversity we had the whole year, we still had control of our own destiny, and we failed at that.”