By Teresa Varley
Steelers.com

The Steelers made a valiant comeback effort, tying the game late in the fourth quarter, but Jacksonville came right back down the field and scored, defeating the Steelers 29-22 at Heinz Field.

The loss drops the Steelers to 9-5 on the season and has them tied with the Cleveland Browns, although they hold the edge in the AFC North because of head-to-head competition.

All-around, it was a performance that did not please head coach Mike Tomlin.

 

“I will be straight to the point this afternoon. We are not playing well enough to win right now,” said Tomlin. “That is the reality of it. We can’t look to anyone else to solve our problems. The answers to our problems are right in that room. That is what I just told that football team.”

 

Ben Roethlisberger completed only 16 passes for 146 yards, but had three touchdown passes, setting a Steelers record for most touchdown passes in a season with 29. He was often under pressure, getting sacked five times.

 

The Jaguars running back combo of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew hurt the Steelers defense that couldn’t find a way to stop them as they combined for 216 yards. Quarterback David Garrard completed 17 passes for 197 yards and threw three touchdowns, and escaped without a sack. The Steelers had one interception, but dropped several other opportunities.

 

”It is about fundamental football in all phases. It really is,” said Tomlin. “We have to tackle better. We have to be more gap-sound against the run. We have to catch interceptions if we have an opportunity to do that. We have to keep the ball in front of us. Offensively, we have to block people better. We have to finish our plays better. We have to protect our passer. Receivers have to get open. The quarterback has to get rid of the ball. We have to catch the ball if we have an opportunity to do that.

”It is basic, fundamental football. There is no mystical answer in this thing. When you play well, you do the basic elements of football well. When you don’t, you do them poorly. We did them poorly today; at least we didn’t do them well enough to win and that is the reality of it. We have a short week. We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves.”

 

It was a slow start for the offense as Willie Parker was stopped for no gain on his first two carries of the game. On third-and-10, Roethlisberger was sacked for an eight-yard loss, forcing them to punt.

 

Taylor and Jones-Drew gave the Jaguars an early punch, with Taylor carrying for 15 yards on his first two carries and Jones-Drew adding a four-yard run. The Jaguars kept moving the ball when Garrard hit Matt Jones for 16 yards to the Steelers 25-yard line.

 

The defense tightened when Deshea Townsend broke-up a pass intended for Dennis Northcutt. Garrard hit Jones-Drew for a six-yard gain, but James Farrior and Ike Taylor came on for the tackle to prevent him from converting the first down. Josh Scobee got the Jaguars on the board with a 36-yard field goal in the windy conditions.

 

Things got moving for the Steelers on their next drive. Roethlisberger had short completions to Santonio Holmes and Parker, before taking it himself for a four-yard gain and first down. Parker came right back and sprung free for a 16-yard gain to the Jaguars 42-yard line. But just as fast as things got moving it grinded to a halt when Roethlisberger was sacked for a nine-yard loss on third down.

 

A quick burst on the Jaguars next drive was quickly negated by a holding penalty and then the defense brought pressure and blanket coverage to shut them down.

 

The Steelers couldn’t muster anything on offense again, with two long passes to Holmes incomplete and another three-and-out for the black and gold. The Jaguars didn’t fare much better on their ensuing drive, going three-and-out when Troy Polamalu made a shoe-string tackle to stop Garrard a yard short of the first down. The Jaguars were forced to punt and Adam Podlesh’s errant kick went just 13 yards, giving the Steelers prime field position at the Jacksonville 31-yard line.

 

Parker got things rolling with a 13-yard carry off of left end. After two incomplete passes, Roethlisberger went right down the middle where Brent Hawkins tipped the pass and Heath Miller then pulled it in for an 18-yard touchdown and a 7-3 Steelers lead.

 

Jacksonville threatened when Garrard had a seven-yard completion to Northcutt and Taylor got into the open field for a 38-yard run down the right sideline to the Steelers 35-yard line. The threat ended fast. Garrard went back to the air, but three incomplete passes stalled their drive.

 

The Steelers got a break on their next series when Roethlisberger was sacked, fumbled at his own 15-yard line, but was able to fall on the ball and get the recovery. The drive ended with another punt, but the Steelers averted disaster with Roethlisberger’s quick reaction.

 

The Jaguars mixed it up on offense on a late second half drive, Garrard starting it off hitting Northcutt for a 10-yard gain. Jones-Drew had back-to-back five-yard carries, and a 15-yard roughing the passer call was tacked on to give Jacksonville a first down at the Steelers 33-yard line. After a few short gains the Jaguars were faced with fourth-and-one, and on the second effort Jones-Drew converted with a two-yard gain.

 

Taylor got the call on the next two plays, rattling off five-yard carries on both for another first down at the 12-yard line. Garrard ran the bootleg and hit Ernest Wilford for a 12-yard touchdown to give the Jaguars a 10-7 lead going into the locker room at halftime.

 

Jacksonville came out in the second half and moved the ball down the field slow and steady. After going 0-6 on third downs in the first half, they converted on four third-down conversions as well as converting twice on fourth-and-one on the drive. Garrard capped the 20 play, 74 yard drive with a three-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Williams, while taking 9:40 off the clock. The extra point was no good, giving Jacksonville a 16-7 lead.

 

It wouldn’t be the same kind of luck for the Steelers. Roethlisberger was sacked for a nine-yard loss on the first play of the drive. Parker went off right guard for a five-yard gain, but on third-and-long Roethlisberger’s pass to Nate Washington was incomplete.

 

While the Jaguars ran over nine minutes off the clock on their previous drive, on their next one they were only on the field for a matter of seconds. It took just one play, and 10 seconds, for Garrard to find Northcutt deep for the 55-yard touchdown to extend their lead to 22-7 in the third quarter. Josh Scobee’s point after was no good for the second time.

 

After another drive that went nowhere it was the Steelers defense that would come up with a big play. Anthony Smith intercepted Garrard and returned it 50 yards to the Jaguars 12-yard line. The Steelers made it count when Roethlisberger connected with Hines Ward for an 11-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 22-14.

 

The defense came up with a key stop of the Jaguars to give the Steelers a chance to get back in the game. Parker came up big with runs of 13 and 27 yards, the second on a lateral from Roethlisberger as he avoided a sack. Jacksonville got their fifth sack of the game, knocking Roethlisberger for an eight-yard loss. They got it right back and then some when Roethlisberger hit Holmes for an 18-yard gain and the first down. Roethlisberger went deep to Washington who made a leaping catch for the 34-yard touchdown to cap the eight-play, 84-yard drive. Cedrick Wilson got the handoff from Roethlisberger and hit Holmes for the two-point conversion, to tie the game at 22-22 with 5:45 to play. 

 

Jacksonville was able to take the ball down the field and Taylor took it in from 12-yards out for a touchdown, to give the Jaguars a 29-22 lead.