Game Prelude

Jacksonville came to Pittsburgh riding a four-game winning streak and leading the NFL in takeaways. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence had been well-protected by his offensive line, and Travis Etienne had scored two touchdowns in three straight games.

The Steelers’ running game was going up against a stout defense. And everyone knew Pittsburgh could not afford to give the ball away. Most folks I spoke with hoped for a close game that might give Pittsburgh a chance to steal a win from the favored Jaguars.

Attending Fourth Home Game

I attended my fourth home game in Pittsburgh with high school classmate Bernie Locraft. Despite the rainy weather, fans arrived hours before kickoff. Tailgates scattered throughout the stadium area were cooking. The Renegade Tailgate was packed. No matter what the weather, we were all together, hoping for the best for our Black and Gold.

The Steelers claim 67,225 fans attended the game. I say claim since the organization stopped announcing actual attendance in the last year or two. Now they conflate tickets sold with attendance like the rest of the league. But the stadium did look very full after kickoff.

Steelers Alumni

I did get to meet former Pittsburgh tight end Matt Spaeth at the Champions Club. Plus, James Harrison, Gerry “Moon” Mullins, and Aaron Smith were there along with family representatives for the late Ray Mansfield to honor their induction into the Steelers Hall of Honor.  Loved how Deebo came out scowling though he later cracked a smile.

I’ve streamlined the game reviews a bit. Joe Clark does a great summary of key points in the game.

Steelers Offense

The Steelers’ ineptitude on offense continues. Just 10 points scored.

Steelers Drives

The Steelers opened the game with four straight three-and-out drives. The only scoring drive of the first half began at their own 2-yard line. The score yielded a field goal after gaining 93 net yards. Diontae Johnson slipped in the end zone while adjusting to Kenny Pickett’s pass, which was launched a little late.

So, the Steelers were behind by three instead of taking a one-point lead. Pickett managed to get the Steelers within field goal range before being knocked out of the game after a Jacksonville defender drove him into the ground. But Boswell’s second attempt after an offsides penalty from 61 yards fell short. Steelers were down 9-3 at the half.

Mitch Trubisky started slow in the second half while playing in place of Pickett but threw a touchdown pass to George Pickens to bring the Steelers within one score, 17-10, late in the third quarter. However, he threw an interception to Allen Robinson II, who was triple covered. Trubisky threw one last interception with a desperate toss to the end zone as time expired.

Play Calling or Execution?

Fans continue to hammer Matt Canada on his offensive scheme and play calling. But consider that Diontae Johnson missed two passes on the first two drives on third down. A third punt was caused by a great defensive play that broke up a pass targeting George Pickens. Then Pickett checked down on a 3rd-and-7 play with Calvin Austin III down the field in single coverage. In the second half, Trubisky was sacked for a 9-yard loss. Then Pickens made a fantastic sideline catch with his toe just barely out of bounds.

Add Pickett missing Johnson in the end zone and Trubisky throwing into triple coverage when he could have thrown deep to Johnson or at least checked down to keep the drive alive in a one-score game. If a handful of those player miscues avoided, the outcome of the game likely different.

Steelers Defense

The defense kept Pittsburgh in the game in the first half, but it gave up a 56-yard touchdown and late field goal that iced the game for Jacksonville.

Jaguars Drives

The Steelers’ defense forced field goals on three Jacksonville drives. Plus, they forced a fumble and Damontae Kazee intercepted Trevor Lawrence in the end zone to end potential scoring drives. Jacksonville drove into Pittsburgh territory to open the second half, but Nick Herbig stripped the ball away from Jags RB Tank Bigsby. So, three takeaways prevented more scores. Unfortunately, the offense only scored three points off them. Ironically, those points came after Kazee stepped out of bounds at the 2-yard line instead of kneeling in the end zone.

Opportunistic Defense Hampered by Mental Lapses

The defense is opportunistic with three takeaways. But mental lapses hampered the team. Kazee stepping out of bounds on the two following his interception was overcome, but the miscommunication in the secondary on Travis Etienne’s 56-yard touchdown reception dug a deep hole. The defense could not counter the quick passing attack with Trevor Lawrence targeting tight end Evan Engram to control the clock in the second half and putting the Jaguars in scoring position. Losing Minkah Fitzpatrick early in the first quarter did not help.

Steelers observers often blame time of possession and the defense getting tired for second half letdowns. Indeed, Jacksonville possessed the ball for 34:16 compared to 25:44 for the Steelers. But the lapses don’t all occur at the end of the game.

Besides, after watching the World Cup rugby final between New Zealand and South Africa, teams are limited to eight total substitutions during a match. That means seven players must play the entire 80-minute match with relatively few stoppages. Some of the forwards weigh between 265-300 pounds. If these athletes can run, tackle, get up, push, and play continuously, I believe there is no excuse for NFL football players that play no more than half the total snaps of a game. There must be too much of an imbalance between their anaerobic and aerobic conditioning.

Special Teams

Special teams are an underappreciated facet of the game. One big play can shift momentum or even decide the game.

I break down special teams into three phases: kickoffs, punting, and scoring (field goals and extra points.) Here is an overview of the special teams play during the game:

KICKOFFS

Chris Boswell kicked off three times. He slipped on his first and the short kick was returned the 21 yards to the 37-yard line. Boswell kicked the other two to the goal line. Jamal Agnew allowed the first to touch back, but he returned the second 27 yards to the 27.

Brandon McManus kicked off six times. He kicked the opening kickoff to the 7-yard line. Godwin Igwebuike wisely fair caught the kick to advance the ball to the 25-yard line under the new rules. I hate this rule. Igwebuike had room to run. But it was a sloppy day. If he had good blocking maybe he would have gotten past the 25. But if Jacksonville penetrates and gets to the returner then the offenses starts behind the 25. But instead of players contesting where the ball will be marked, the rules do it for them. Igwebuike did return a kickoff from four yards deep in his end zone and reached the 32-yard line near the end of the half. That led to the controversial penalty on Boswell’s field goal attempt.

THE STATS

Advantage Jaguars.

PUNTING

Pressley Harvin III punted six times, averaging 42.8 yards. But his net average was driven down to 37.2 yards a punt by two terrible efforts. His first punt went out of bounds at the Jacksonville 47-yard line after just 33 yards. The Jaguars scored their first points off this favorable field position. His last punt went out of bounds after just 29 yards at the Jacksonville 44. The Jaguars scored their only touchdown on the next play. Just when I thought Harvin had established some consistency, he shanked two that led to scores. Three of his four other punts were returned indicating he outkicked his coverage or didn’t have the hang time to prevent a return.

Logan Cooke punted three times. Calvin Austin III fair caught the first one at the 11-yard line. A short 40-yarder touched back. But his final effort went down at the 2-yard line.

THE STATS

Advantage Jaguars.

FIELD GOALS and EXTRA POINTS

Chris Boswell converted a 55-yard field goal that appeared to cut the Jacksonville led to 9-6. But the referees flagged Isaac Seumalo for offsides. Apparently his helmet has to be behind the ball. The replay showed a clear neutral zone except perhaps a Jaguar defender on the end. Mike Tomlin was clearly upset on the sideline. Following the game, NFL officials said it was a clear violation.

To my knowledge, that penalty has not been assessed on a field goal attempt this season. I’d love to see the alignments on field goal attempts to see how often this occurs and whether it has ever been penalized. I’d wager we would find many field goals with offensive linemen with their helmets beyond the edge of the ball with no flag thrown. Nevertheless, the play stood. Boswell attempted a 61-yard field goal that was short but not by much. He would have set a new personal record at Acrisure if he converted it.

Brandon McManus made all four of his field goal attempts. Plus, Jacksonville converted a 2-point conversion to go up 17-3 in the third quarter.

THE STATS

Advantage Jaguars

YOUR HOT TAKES DURING THE GAME

Thank you, Ross McCorkle, for keeping us up to date on the game’s first- and second-half live update and discussion threads. Steelers Depot respondents contributed 1,417 first half comments. Respondents added  1,629 more second half comments.  Here are the top three comments from each half. I don’t know the algorithm used by Disqus but here is how they stacked it up:

The top three first-half comments covered a variety of topics.

The top three first-half comments dealt with the poor play and officiating.

Rob S had the best comment of the first half and the game by observing “I have never seen an offsides by the kicking team on a field goal ever in my life. I would bet my life that I will never see it again.”

The_immaculatedeception witnessed a miracle: “It’s amazing, I didn’t think you could have a dumpster fire in the rain.”

BigDickSwangin is in need of a cure. “Imma stop watching the first half of games…all it does is piss me off.”

Down just 9-3. But it feels like it should be more.

In the second half, 3Ghost had the top comment by observing young players stepping up.  “Y’all see Benton’s get off on that play. He won as fast as Watt. No place to step up.”

Chris92021 had two comments in the top three. First, “If anyone of us were as bad at our respective jobs as Canada has been for 3 years, we would have been fired. Welcome to the Steelers, where the coaches have job security that only Supreme Court justices can brag about.” And then, “That woman official needs to be investigated. She was the one that threw the flag on the offside on the field goal too.”

Hope the banter on the live update and discussion threads helped keep your sanity during a disappointing game.

CONCLUSION

The officiating was atrociously one-sided. But I do not believe it cost the Steelers the game. Nor do I believe it was an offensive scheme or play calling issue. The Steelers players simply did not measure up in key moments. Kenny Pickett did not read the field quick enough. Defensive backs miscommunicated to allow a touchdown. Diontae Johnson dropped passes on two third downs in a row. Mitch Trubisky threw a desperation interception into triple coverage with the team down just 17-10.

For me, worse than the loss were injuries to Minkah Fitzpatrick and Kenny Pickett on a short week. The Steelers need to quickly work out what went wrong among themselves. Then flush the memory of this defeat. And get ready to play against the Tennessee Titans. Their rookie quarterback threw four touchdown passes. And Derrick Henry ran strong with over 100 yards.

Whoever is at quarterback Thursday night, whether it is Kenny, Mitch or even Mason Rudolph, the Steelers have to take what the opposing defense gives them. Catch catchable balls. Communicate coverages in the secondary. And finish with a win. Here we go.

Your Song Selection

I always like to include a bit of music. Right now, we might think we know how to solve the problems for the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers. But the reality is the team is still searching for answers. Just a of couple days to find some. Here is Searching for Answers performed by Descape & the Veer Union.