Steelers drop to 4-3 win and still no signs of life on offense
by Bo Marchionte
Published October 29, 2023, 05:53 PM
Pittsburgh, PA – Jacksonville was facing a tough task coming to Acrisure Stadium as a 2.5-point favorite against the Steelers. Head coach Mike Tomlin was 18-5-3 as the home dog which might make you think Pittsburgh was in fact the team that would prevail.
The Jaguars battled through crummy weather conditions as rain fell throughout the entirety of their 20-10 win over the Steelers who fell to 4-3 as Jacksonville improves to 6-2 on the season.
Two-time NFL tackling leader (2021-22) Foyesade Oluokun stopped short of saying it was a statement game afterwards by stopping at “state” and revising it to “prove it game” after the victory.
“I’d say a prove it game,” Oloukun said after his nine-tackle performance. “They kind of have that mentality of being the Steelers and who they are. We stayed gritty and stayed physical the whole game and the tape is going to show that.”
The bend but do not break approach finally caught up to Pittsburgh who were winners of their last two games. The defense was once again brilliant as the offense continued to wallow in the mire plagued by three and outs and the inability even after sevens games to resemble an identity offensively.
Like in previous weeks it was the savviness of the defense that forced two turnovers in the red zone that avoided an early lopsided score. Possessing a 6-0 lead in Pittsburgh, the Jaguars offense turned the football over twice on the last play for the first quarter and roughly four and a half minutes into the second quarter.
“We had some mistakes in the red zone, but we overcame those today,” said five-time Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff after the win. “All their games come down to the wire. A lot of our games come down to the wire. The defense kept us in the game.”
Pittsburgh was able to capitalize off the Jaguars second turnover. Kenny Pickett led the Steelers to a 12-lay 61-yard drive that ended on the Jacksonville five-yard and led to a Chris Boswell field goal. Prior to the drive that began at the 10:15 mark in the second quarter Pittsburgh did not have a single first down in the game, while Jacksonville had 11.
It’s the amazing disappearance act from the offense that we’ve seen since last season. Kenny Pickett exited with a rib game right before the half and did not return. He finished with 73 yards passing of 10 of his 16 completions with a long of 16-yards. Truth be told despite the struggles of his replacement Mitchell Trubisky.
Trubisky stepped in after the half and led the Steelers to their first touchdown drive of the game after he connected with receiver George Pickens for his third touchdown catch of the year. The score before the end of the third quarter closed the score to 17-10 with Pittsburgh gaining momentum trailing by one score.
“Didn’t do enough over the course of the 60 minutes to secure victory,” Tomlin said post-game.
In the Steelers win over the Los Angeles Rams 24-17 last week the half-time score was 9-3 with the Rams leading heading into the half. The exact circumstances unfolded this week as Pittsburgh trailed 9-3 to Jacksonville but couldn’t make up the difference to get the win.
The combine stat line between Pickett/Trubisky reads 43-of-25 for 211 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The striking thing while eyeing up the final stat sheet is the Steelers longest play was 22-yards on the Pickens touchdown. Their next longest play was 16-yards by Diontae Johnson.
Pittsburgh failed miserably when comparing them to Jacksonville in the same category. The Jaguars had longs of 56, 34, 29 and 27 yards.
It’s a short week for Pittsburgh who plays Tennessee Thursday night. The Titans found lighting in a bottle with rookie Will Levis winning in his debut over the Falcons by throwing four touchdown passes against Atlanta.
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com
