After watching the Steelers take the ball and score on their first drive, I was sure we were going to win. The Steelers moved the ball into the red zone like a well-oiled machine and actually scored a touchdown and not a weak field goal. The only problem after scoring the TD was that we had to kick the ball to the Jags and that meant our horrible kicking coverage unit would be tasked with stopping Jones-Drew.
The team kicked the ball, and just as they feared, Jones-Drew ran down the middle like an indy car on a fastball. I have to give support to Madison, who showed some speed when he ran for Jones-Drew at the 1-yard line. How about kicking the ball high enough for the coverage unit to have enough time to get down to the field and be in position. to make an entrance? Special teams have been killing us all year and they killed us early in the playoff game.
At the end of the first half, the team was down 21-7 and the deficit was the result of 3 interceptions by Ben Roethlisberger. In my opinion, all 3 interceptions were bad shots, including the one thrown at the defensive lineman. It seemed like Ben was trying to do too much and made some bad shots that were easy picks.
At the end of the half, the Steelers had 3 interceptions and 3 punts. The positives were that we had an 80-yard scoring drive and our defense had held the Jags to just 118 total yards and they were holding Fred Taylor down. Even though we were 14 points down, I felt good about our chances in the second half.
I felt like the offense needed to come out in the second half and abandon the running game entirely. Davenport was not effective and is obviously not going to fill Willie Parker’s shoes. Davenport is a close-range brut, but we can’t use him in the role of a runner from all sides. The defense had to keep playing like it did in the first half and if we stopped shooting int, we had a chance in the game.
During the second half, they showed a stat that said Big Ben was either No. 1 or No. 2 in the league in the fourth quarter of comeback wins. I was just worried that Ben might have gotten nervous after throwing 3 horrible spikes. I was also concerned that our special teams might give up more big plays, which would hurt our chances.
The Jags receive the ball in the third quarter and Harrison intercepts Garrard’s pass at the Jaguar’s 45-yard line. That was just what the medic ordered, a Jaguar interception. The problem is that after the interception we drive to the 10-yard line where we have to kick a field goal. I’m tired of field goals! When we’re on the 10-yard line we need touchdowns, not field goals. Now the score is 21-10 when it could have been 21-14 if we had scored a TD.
The Steelers kick the ball to the Jaguars, who cushion the catch at the 18-yard line. We have the Jags deep in their own turf, so now all we have to do is force them to clear and we’ll get a good position at field. The second and seventh, we caught Garrard for a 5-yard loss, but Ike Taylor gets a penalty for a bone-head face mask! That punishment was a murderer. The Jags then go down and score, putting it 28-10.
With a little over 4 minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Steelers start with the ball at their 31-yard line. Big Ben designs a solid 10-play 69-yard drive that results in a TD pass to Santonio Holmes. The score is now 28-17 and I feel better. The Jags get the ball back, but we hold them and they kick. Now we were playing solid football. The offense is scoring and the defense is shutting down the opponent’s offense.
Big Ben designs another solid record in which he throws a td at Heath Miller. The result is now 28-23. Tomlin opts for a 2-point conversion that turns into a Hines Ward catch at the back of the end zone.
2-point conversions are denied due to offensive hold. What a waste of a good 2-point conversion pass play due to a holding penalty. We tried the 2 point conversion again and failed! I thought we should have kicked the field goal after the penalty, but I’m not the coach.
The Jags recover the ball and on the second attempt Garrard is intercepted again by Ike Taylor. I think Garrard only pitched 3 picks in the entire year and had pitched 2 in the game. Taylor showed good movement and speed as he returned the pick to the Jags’ 16-yard line. Now we are in business!
Big Ben brings us to the 1-yard line and Davenport comes in with a TD run. Holy Cow! Now we are winning 29-28. All we have to do is convert a 2-point conversion and we’ll go up to 3. Ben throws Washington incomplete and the score is still 29-28. It felt great because we were up by 1 point and our defense was playing solid. This game was ours!
We kick the ball to the Jags with just over 6 minutes left in the game and our defense comes in by keeping the Jags at 1 on the first down. The key play here was on the 3rd and 7th, Garrard is captured by Woodley while backing up to pass. Good defense! The Jags are forced to clear.
This is where I have a problem with the Steelers play. We got the ball back with just under 4 minutes left in the game and all we need is a couple of first tries and we win. This is a playoff game and if we lose our season is over. We have gained a meager 1 point! A field goal from the Jags wins the game, so we need to make sure they don’t get the ball back. We’ve been moving the ball quite well in the second half, so it shouldn’t be a problem to get a couple of first downs or go down and score again.
On 1st down we ran Davenport to the right for 5 yards. In second down we ran Davenport to the left for -1 yards. I agree with running the ball on the 1st and 2nd chances because there is less chance of losing the ball. He’s third and sixth and I think our chances of converting are excellent. Ben goes into shotgun formation and when the ball breaks, he runs to the left for 1 yard. Why the heck did we run to Big Ben from the shotgun against the Jags defense that fills the race? Hines Ward is almost a guarantee to turn the ball into 3rd and 6th.
The Steelers clear the ball and go 40 yards where it is fielded and returned to midfield. Great! There are 2 1/2 minutes of play left and the Jags have the ball in midfield. Our defense had been playing well, so I thought we had a good chance of stopping the Jags. Garrard killed us on this drive when he rushed for 32 yards on the 4th and 2. A 32-yard quarterback fight on the 4th and 2 is a punch to the face and I felt it sitting on my couch.
A pair of Jones-Drew runs and it was time for a game-winning field goal with 40 seconds left in regulation time. J. Scobee kicked a 25-yard field goal to make the score 31-29. This sucks! We still have a small chance because we get the ball back in 29 seconds and anything can happen. The Jags kick the ball to us and Navenport takes it to the 28-yard line. A couple of good passes and we have a chance to win our own field goal.
Ben lines up on the shotgun and when he takes the center, he loses the ball when he is caught. The game ends in a bag and fumble! Horrible! I had visions of 2 deep passes and then a game-winning field goal attempt by Jeff Reed. It would have been nice if we had given Reed an attempt to kick the winner of the game and he was lost.