PITTSBURGH -- Trailing by two scores in the fourth quarter and time ticking away on Sunday, New York Jets coach Todd Bowles opted to play it safe. Twice.All it did was cost the Jets a chance to keep the explosive Pittsburgh Steelers within arms reach.Not that Bowles was in the mood to second-guess himself following a 31-13 loss that dropped his team to 1-4. Given a choice, hed kick again. Both times.If it was the same situation, Id probably punt, Bowles said. When you talk hypothetically after you lose a ballgame, it doesnt help anyone. I stand by that decision.And the Jets find themselves standing at the bottom of the AFC East along with the Miami Dolphins. New York was competitive for most of the game against one of the NFLs most dynamic offenses and even led 13-7 late in the second quarter before a secondary missing star cornerback Darrelle Revis cracked .The Steelers roared back to go up 24-13 on a touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown with 14:55 to go. The Jets faced a fourth-and-1 at their own 29 with just over 13 minutes to go when Ryan Fitzpatrick hit Bilal Powell for an 8-yard gain. Bowles challenged the spot, only to see it upheld on replay.Needing about a foot to extend the drive and keep Roethlisberger and company off the field, New York punted.The Steelers promptly moved deep into Jets territory before a fumble by Roethlisberger was recovered by Sheldon Richardson. The Jets made it to midfield when Fitzpatrick missed Brandon Marshall on third-and-2 at the New York 46 with 7:36 to go. Again, Bowles sent on punter Lachlan Edwards. This time, the Steelers went 79 yards in 12 plays, finishing off the Jets with a 5-yard pass from Roethlisberger to Sammie Coates.There was enough time on the clock, Bowles said. We figured we could get them pinned down there and go three-and-out. Thats what we were thinking.Instead, the Jets find themselves find themselves on a three-game losing streak heading to a Monday night trip to Arizona next week.Fitzpatrick, who turned it over 10 times in the previous two weeks, avoided critical mistakes and completed 25 of 38 passes for 255 yards and a 15-yard TD toss to Marshall. Yet he was also on the sideline watching helplessly while the Steelers went on their clinical clinching drive.The veteran refused to blame Bowles, instead pointing the finger at himself for not connecting with Marshall, an incompletion that set up Bowles cautious call.What was going through my head was, `I cant believe I missed that throw on third down, Fitzpatrick said. That whole scenario we shouldnt have been in because I shouldnt have made that poor throw the down before. I know we all have faith and confidence in coach.Maybe, but a year after going 10-6 and narrowly missing the playoffs, the Jets suddenly find themselves with little room for error.People in the media are going to call us out, are going to ask to bench us, including me, said Marshall, who caught eight passes for 114 yards and the second-quarter score. Its a good positon for us. We have one of the most-talented teams in the league. We can either fold it up or continue to stick to it and work. Plenty of teams have been in this positon and come out better on the other side.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFLCheap NFL Jerseys Shop . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. Wholesale Jerseys From China . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.wholesalechinajerseys.net/ . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Authentic Cheap Jerseys . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Cheap NBA Jerseys China . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue.Maryland center Damonte Dodd will miss three games after suffering a sprained left MCL in practice Monday, the team announced Wednesday.Dodd already sat out the Terrapins 79-56 win over Howard on Wednesday night, and he is expected to miss games against Saint Peters and Jacksonville State.An MRI on Tuesday confirmed the knee sprain, and he will be re-evaluated next week. The earliest the 6-foot-11 center is expected back is for a Dec. 20 matchup with Charlotte.Michal Cekovsky started at center for Dodd and matched his career high with 16 points against tthe Bison.ddddddddddddI talk to Ceko more than anybody and coach him harder than anybody on the team, coach Mark Turgeon said. Theres a lot of potential there. He can really score. Hes one of our better defenders, but his timing is not there yet.Dodd, a senior, is averaging 5.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season. He leads the team with 17 blocked shots.Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '