Week 6 Recap – Steelers vs Jaguars: A Tale of two Halves

Entering week 6, the Pittsburgh Steelers were trying to define themselves by putting together a consistant string of wins. Last week they looked as dominant as they had all season, whereas in the few weeks prior, they had an abundance of problem areas and injuries. The Jaguars all but forfeited their season before it even began when they released veteran QB David Garrard, in assumption that rookie Blaine Gabbert would be the future of the franchise. Pittsburgh went in as the heavy favorite, with the match-up of their stingy defense supposedly proving too much for a QB with so few starts under his belt. Though this game was far from over until the final seconds.

This game opened just as last week's dominant Steeler win had, with Pittsburgh running the ball and making plays. This time though, it was usual starter Rashard Mendenhall who was doing the running, as he returned after missing last week with a quad injury. After stopping Gabbert's Jags on the opening drive, the Steelers marched down the field with Mendenhall and scored on a 5 yard run. Steelers QB Roethlisberger started off sharp as well, hitting several pass plays on their ensuing drive to receivers Ward and Sanders and underrated TE Heath Miller. On that same drive, Ben hit star wideout Mike Wallace for a 28 yard touchdown.

After another Jags drive stalled quickly with no production and plenty of pressure impeding the young Gabbert, the Steelers capitalized again, following up a 68 yard run by Mendenhall (the longest of his NFL career) with a Shawn Suisham field goal, making it 17-0. With Lamar Woodley leading the 'steel curtain' defense and earning multiple sacks for the second consecutive week, it seems as the Steelers would shut the door on this one by halftime, but that was not to be.

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The Jaguars best player (star RB Maurice Jones-Drew) answered with several nice runs, leading to a Jacksonville FG. A mismanaged clock by the Steelers prevented them from adding points, making the halftime score 17-3. This Jaguars run would continue, taking advantage of a Steelers 'roughing the kicker' call and converting a second 4th down on that drive, ending in a Jason Hill 18 yard TD catch. Things then went from bad to worse for Pitt, as guard Doug Legursky went down to injury, adding to an already injury-laden and slim offensive line.

The Steelers meltdown in the second half was nearly as big as their success in the first, as Big Ben repeatedly missed open receivers deep downfield. There were four different throws of over 30 yards that Ben missed deep, and he had a run in the second half where his nearly perfect completion percentage took a 1-for-8 turn. Add to that, the 96 yard day for Jones-Drew, and this led to the Jaguars with the ball with 1:01 remaining, down by just three. After a valiant effort by the maligned Gabbert, his 48 yard heave was broken up with no time left as the clock struck zero. Though the Steelers outgained the Jags by over 250 yards in the first half, they nearly saw it slip away, clinging to a 17-13 win. CB Ike Taylor and star do-it-all Troy Polamalu joined Woodley in having a phenomenal game for the Pittsburgh defense, which held strong on the final drive of the contest. RB Mendenhall finished the game with a season-high 146 on the ground.

Jacksonville now tries to salvage some hope in their single-win season thus far, as the Steelers look to correct their second-half shutout as they battle atop the AFC North.

By Jason Burke
Pro Football Fans Pittsburgh Steelers Correspondent