Ben Roethlisberger was far from perfect until the fourth
quarter, and that was all that mattered for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
One week after Roethlisberger had a perfect quarterback
rating; he overcame three interceptions and a 16-0 deficit by leading two late
scoring drives. He lunged in from the 1 for the winning score with 5 seconds
left for a 20-16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
The Steelers (7-2-1) won their sixth straight and likely
ended any playoff hopes for the Jaguars, who eliminated Pittsburgh in the
divisional round last year.
The Jaguars (3-7) dropped their sixth in a row in a game
they controlled until the final five minutes.
Leonard Fournette ran for 95 yards and caught two passes for
46 yards that led to the Jaguars’ only touchdown when he launched himself from
the 4 and scored for a 16-0 lead with 2:09 left in the third quarter.
Roethlisberger, who now has 10 turnovers in his last three
games against Jacksonville, took over from there.
He got safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. to bite on a pump fake and
found Antonio Brown open deep in the middle of the field for a 78-yard
touchdown.
Still trailing by 10 points with just under six minutes
remaining, Roethlisberger found tight end Vance McDonald in the back of the end
zone to cut the lead to 16-13 with 2:28 remaining.
Pittsburgh kicked off and the Jaguars went three-and-out,
and then Roethlisberger led a 68-yard drive. He hit JuJu Smith-Schuster on the
left sideline for a 35-yard gain to the 27 that at least got the Steelers in
field goal position.
James Conner, throttled in the running game, dropped a sure
touchdown when he got behind linebacker Telvin Smith Sr., turning his eyes to
goal line as the ball bounced off his hands. No matter. Roethlisberger hit
Brown over the middle to the 2, and after a pair of penalties, Roethlisberger
rolled to his right and surged across the line on a 1-yard score that was
upheld on review.
Roethlisberger was 27 of 47 for 314 yards, 170 of them in
the fourth quarter.
The Jaguars held the ball nearly twice as long, with 13
rushing plays on a 15-play drive early in the game. But all they managed in the
first half were three field goals from Josh Lambo. It was the first time in 33
games the Steelers had been blanked in the first half.
Blake Bortles was largely ineffective, throwing for just 104
yards and getting back six times. His biggest gains were to Fournette out of
the backfield, and the Steelers stopped Jacksonville cold in the fourth quarter
to get enough chances to win.
STEELER SACKS
Pittsburgh came into the game tied for the league lead with
31 sacks and got to Bortles six times. Javon Hargrave and T.J. Watt each had
two.
Watt now has 17 career sacks, the most by a Steelers player
in his first two seasons since Keith Willis, who had 15 in 1982 and 1983.
RAMSEY SHINES
One week after Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey tweeted after
a loss to the Colts that “when I’m gone from here, y’all gone miss me,” he had
his best game of the year. Ramsey had two interceptions, none bigger than in
the end zone over Brown.
With the Steelers trailing 9-0 in the third quarter,
Roethlisberger threw to Brown over the middle. Ramsay reached over Brown’s
helmet and juggled the ball before pulling it in. He tried to run out of the
end zone, stumbled and kept going until he was ruled down by contact.
Ramsey also broke across the middle on Brown and made a
diving pick; somehow keeping the ball off the turf on a play initially ruled
incomplete but overturned on review.
RUNNING GAME
James Conner came into the game with 771 yards rushing, tops
in the AFC. He didn’t have much room against Jacksonville, gaining 25 yards on
nine attempts.
UP NEXT
STEELERS: The
Steelers travel to the Mile High City next Sunday to face the 4-6 Broncos.
JAGUARS: The
Jaguars also hit the road as they travel to Buffalo to face the 3-7 Bills.
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