By Phillip Heilman
November 18, 2018
Ben Roethlisberger scores the game-winning touchdown on Sunday in Jacksonville.
As one teammate after another walked past him and out of a hushed locker room, running back Leonard Fournette sat in total disbelief. His shin pads remained on, as if the second-year running back still believed he had a few more carries left in him.
Nearby, linebacker Telvin Smith held an impromptu pep talk with cornerback A.J. Bouye. Their chat was brief, but the message was one of obvious encouragement directed toward a talented player who has had a mostly down season.
In a room that so often last year was full of chatter and blaring music after important victories, the post-game mood following the Jaguars’ stunning 20-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday was befitting of a team that knows it is dead.
The Jaguars (3-7) have lost six straight games and now find themselves at least two full games behind everyone else in the AFC South after falling to the Steelers (7-2-1). They are four back of the first-place Houston Texans with six games to play, though at this point, it’s pretty much useless to keep counting.
Useless when the Jaguars keep finding ways to lose. Last week, their own comeback attempt fell painfully short at Indianapolis. On Sunday, a crowd of 67,683 at TIAA Bank Field saw the Jaguars blow the fifth-biggest lead in franchise history and largest since a 17-point lead evaporated against the Colts in the 2016 season finale.
“That’s a rough one,” strong safety Barry Church said. “I’ve been in a lot of battles, but when they end like that, it just stings a little bit more. So close. Right on the cusp of victory. And then next thing you know, it’s gone. It sucks.”
The Jaguars were on the cusp of victory until Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger aborted what appeared to be a designed shovel pass to lumber into the end zone from 1 yard out and give his team the decisive score with 5 seconds remaining.
But to understand how the Jaguars ended up in that position, it’s important to go back to the 6:47 mark of the fourth quarter. It was at that point the Jaguars re-took possession at their 44 after Pittsburgh running back James Conner dropped a pass from Roethlisberger on fourth-and-6.
The Jaguars led 16-6, and much like in their AFC title game loss to the New England Patriots in January, could have ended the game with a productive series.
Instead, Fournette (28 carries for 95 yards) ran for a loss of 1 and no gain, and quarterback Blake Bortles had a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage by nose tackle Javon Hargrave. Bortles was a pedestrian 10-of-18 passing for 104 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, and his limitations were felt late in the game.
The Steelers responded with an 80-yard drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown catch by tight end Vance McDonald. Over the past three games, the Jaguars have given up seven touchdowns to opposing tight ends.
Still leading 16-13, the Jaguars went three-and-out (runs of 4, 1 and 1 by Fournette) to give the Steelers possession with 1:42 remaining. Coach Doug Marrone said the Jaguars considered a pass play on third-and-5, but they “wanted to run the football and put it in our best player’s hands.”
It didn’t work, and the Steelers took advantage.
Needing a field goal to tie, they never took their foot off the gas.
JuJu Smith-Schuster hauls in a pass late in the Steelers' win in Jacksonville on Sunday. (Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers)
Roethlisberger hit receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (working against Bouye) for 35 yards to ignite the drive and found receiver Antonio Brown for 25 yards on third-and-10 to move to the Jaguars’ 2 with 23 seconds remaining.
Roethlisberger hit receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (working against Bouye) for 35 yards to ignite the drive and found receiver Antonio Brown for 25 yards on third-and-10 to move to the Jaguars’ 2 with 23 seconds remaining.
The Jaguars briefly looked to have produced a game-winning takeaway when cornerback D.J. Hayden intercepted Roethlisberger in the end zone, but Hayden was hit with a blatant face mask penalty against receiver Ryan Switzer.
Hayden was flagged again on the next play, setting up Roethlisberger’s score.
“He pushed me, so I grabbed him,” Hayden said of the face mask call. “It was a long play, and I was out there just trying to make a play. If I would have never grabbed his helmet, we probably would have won the game.”
Roethlisberger finished 27 of 47 for 314 yards with two touchdowns (McDonald’s plus a 78-yarder to Brown after free safety Tashaun Gipson lost his positioning over the middle of the field) and three interceptions.
Two of those interceptions were by cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who brushed off an ESPN report published Sunday morning that the Jaguars were likely to consider trading him in the offseason to play an unbelievable game.
Ramsey intercepted Roethlisberger with a sprawling effort in the second quarter and picked off a pass intended for Brown in the end zone in the third quarter. Church also had an interception, but if the Jaguars had held on to win and build some momentum prior to next week’s game in Buffalo, Ramsey would have been the clear star.
“I’ve been pretty pissed off, I’m not going to lie to you,” Ramsey said. “I have. I’ve been battling with my emotions, trying to hold them in. But you know I truly believe I don’t have any bad days. I have hard days sometimes.”
Sunday felt like a truly hard day for the entire team to come to grips with. Marrone even gave players Monday off, a reward generally only seen after victories
“Emotionally, we did put a lot into it, and I think that’s why, I told the players, ‘Hey, tomorrow take a step back.’ You know what I’m saying?” Marrone said. “Just take a step back. Come back on Tuesday. We’ll be ready to go and try to gear this thing up and put it all together and go out there and play well and take pride in what we do.”
At this point, the Jaguars are essentially only playing for pride, and they know it.
That’s why Fournette sat looking off into the distance after the game while Smith tried to instill some confidence in Bouye. Across the locker room, other players debated moments in the game and tried to make sense of what’s next.
For now, it’s finishing out the season. Then, the Jaguars need to figure out who stays and who goes in 2019 as they try to build another contender.
Phillip Heilman: (904) 359-4063
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