EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- There was nothing wrong with the Steelers yesterday that good pass protection, a good running game, receivers who could hang onto the ball, a run defense that could tackle and special teams that did not fold at the most inopportune moment could not have helped.

Perhaps it was a blip from an otherwise good team, but the Steelers played their worst game of the season and the bottom-feeding New York Jets made them pay for it.

Mike Nugent kicked a 38-yard field goal in overtime as the Jets stunned the heavily favored Steelers, 19-16, in Giants Stadium for only their second victory of the season.

Nugent had kicked a 28-yard field goal with 23 seconds left in regulation as the lethargic Steelers came from behind to take a 16-13 lead in the fourth quarter only to fritter it away.

The loss dropped the Steelers' record to 7-3 while the Jets improved to 2-8.

"I think we all had a part in this loss -- offense, defense, special teams -- it was a total team loss," receiver Hines Ward said.

It was stunning in its lack of composition. The Jets' nine sacks this season were the fewest in the NFL, yet they sacked Ben Roethlisberger seven times. The Steelers had not allowed a 100-yard rusher in their previous 34 games, yet Thomas Jones gouged them for 117 -- "Thomas Jones ran the damn ball on us!" coach Mike Tomlin stated emphatically. The Jets had the worst run defense in the NFL, yet Willie Parker managed just 52 yards on 21 carries and the Steelers had 112 total.

"When you do those things -- you don't stop the run, you can't run the ball effectively, you can't protect your quarterback -- you have a high probability of losing," Tomlin said.

And that No. 1 defense! No. 1 against the rush (151 yards yesterday), against the pass (162 and a touchdown), No. 1 overall and No. 1 in points allowed. The bottom line did not look that bad with the Jets scoring 19 points in more than four quarters, but the Jets also drove 76 yards on that defense to kick the tying field goal with 2:03 left.

"We weathered the storm," Ward said about his team falling behind, 10-0, in the first quarter. "We had the lead -- 16-13 -- in the fourth quarter. Good teams find a way to put teams like that away. We're a good team, we're not a great team. The great teams find ways to overcome that, finish strong, and today we didn't do that."

It should come as no surprise that the Steelers' special teams had another hand in this one. From his 20 in overtime, Daniel Sepulveda punted 39 yards low and down the middle. Leon Washington fielded it, ran past Najeh Davenport and kept running 26 yards to the Steelers' 26 to set up the winning field goal.

"Mistakes," Roethlisberger said, "killed us, and we have to find a way to correct them."

Jeff Reed kicked three field goals in the second half to give the Steelers a 16-13 lead in the fourth quarter, their only lead of the game. His third field goal came with 8:41 left and, just as they had the previous Sunday against Cleveland, it looked as though the Steelers would pull one out after falling behind early.

It especially appeared that way when cornerback Deshea Townsend intercepted Kellen Clemens' pass and returned it 23 yards to the Jets' 45 with 7:50 to go.

But what looked like the revival of the 1980s New York Sack Exchange caught up to Roethlisberger again when defensive end Shaun Ellis knocked the ball away from the Steelers' quarterback as he tried to pass. Ellis recovered the fumble at the Steelers' 46 with 5:53 to go in the game.

The Steelers, however, still led by three when the Jets took over on their 14 with 2:23 left.

It was time for the NFL's No. 1 defense to put this game away. Instead, they let the Jets right back in it.

It took New York 13 plays to tie it as they moved 76 yards and scored on Nugent's short field goal. The Jets might have won it right there because they had a first down at the 5, but a spike to kill the clock, two incomplete passes and a penalty made them settle for the tying field goal and overtime.

"I know a lot of guys missed some tackles," Townsend said. "We allowed them to get extra yards."

The Jets won the coin toss and the Steelers held, then the Jets held the Steelers for 2 yards on three plays, setting up that fateful punt from the 20.

But, as Tomlin said, this loss wasn't about that one punt and return.

The Jets surprised the Steelers early by scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, then added a field goal in the first quarter for their 10-0 lead.

After taking an opening pooch kick, the Jets pulled off a flea-flicker when halfback Jones flipped the ball back to his quarterback, Clemens. He threw the ball to wide open Laveranues Coles, who took it 56 yards to the 1, the longest pass play against the Steelers this season.

Tight end Chris Baker caught a 1-yard pass from Clemens for the touchdown and a quick 7-0 Jets lead.

The Jets drove 69 yards on the NFL's No. 1 defense on nine plays near the end of the quarter to take a 10-0 lead on Nugent's 25-yard field goal. That drive got legs when Ike Taylor was penalized 41 yards for pass interference.

The Steelers' offense joined the party with a long drive in the second quarter that ended when Roethlisberger threw what amounted to a wide-receiver screen to Holmes on the left. Holmes ran behind blocks by Ward and Heath Miller on the left for a 7-yard touchdown.

Ward was involved in two big plays on that 72-yard drive. He tipped a pass while fighting for the ball with a Jets defender that Holmes then caught for a 25-yard gain. Two plays later, Ward caught a 22-yard pass to the Jets' 21.

Roethlisberger threw his only interception of the game with 2:19 left in the first half (he would finish 15 of 25 for 195). His pass for Nate Washington hit cornerback David Barrett in the back and safety Kerry Rhodes came down with the rebound.

The Jets used that interception to score on a 19-yard Nugent field goal and had a 13-7 halftime lead.

The Steelers scored on their first three drives of the second half but could not score a touchdown as Reed kicked field goals of 37, 33 and 48 yards.

They finally led, and it looked as though they would escape with another scare and maintain their position as the No. 2 seed in the AFC.

Instead, they slipped to 7-3, just one game ahead of second-place Cleveland in the AFC North Division.

And don't look now, but more problems lie ahead. Next Monday, they must face the winless Miami Dolphins.