2017 Recall: Steelers season ends with disappointing home playoff loss
Steel City Underground presents our 2017 Recall: a brief look back at Pittsburgh Steelers games from last season.
A loss, any loss stings.
The Steelers Divisional Round playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars was beyond disappointing for a number of reasons. As armchair quarterbacks, there were a variety of places we can point fingers and place blame. 42 points of offense weren’t enough to win, but there were a number of disappointing moments in defeat, such as the following.
The very first chink in the Steelers armor occurred when the Jaguars aggressively went for it on 4th down on the game’s opening drive. Being down 7-0 at home right out of the gate, in a game where one team was seeking to avenge an early loss, obviously deflated everyone’s hopes.
Had the Steelers made a stand, things may have been different. Instead, the momentum was with the visiting team and the Jaguars would be ahead the entire game. Nightmares of Ben Roethlisberger‘s five-interception game against the Jaguars were re-lived when a ball was tipped, and picked, by Jacksonville linebacker Myles Jack.
Gifted with great field position, the aggressive Jaguars would score on the very next play.
Already down 14-0, the Steelers attempt to match the Jaguars momentum was stalled with a poor play call, which saw Le’Veon Bell take a pitch and lose four yards.
Following the botched fourth-down conversion attempt, the Jaguars marched down the field. With third down looming, if the Steelers could get a stop, they could hold the Jaguars to only three points, and thus stop the bleeding.
Instead, Pittsburgh gives up four yards to Leonard Fournette and the Jaguars end up with a first and goal. They would go up 21-0 two plays later, further opening the wounds when Vince Williams was injured on the play. (He would later return.)
The Steelers offense finally responded following a 3:11 touchdown drive. The defense also responded, forcing a Jacksonville punt and giving the team hope.
Pittsburgh would drive to the Jaguars 47, before stalling. Roethlisberger would be strip-sacked, with the ball bouncing directly to Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith, who promptly picked it up and ran 50 yards for a TD, lifting the opponent to a 28-7 advantage.
At this juncture, the game appeared out of reach. However, the Steelers offense closed the gap to 28-21 following a score at the end of the 2nd quarter and another on their first drive to start the second half.
What was a foregone conclusion was now within reach of a tie game following a Jacksonville pun. The Steelers offense failed to keep their previous momentum going on a series of plays near the Jaguars 40-yard line. Bell ran for one yard, then caught a pass for no gain, before Roethlisberger failed to connect with TE Vance McDonald for a first down.
Instead of turning the table in their favor, the Steelers would punt the ball back to the Jags nearing the beginning of the fourth quarter. Still down 7 and needing only inches to gain a first down, the Steelers run a pass play. JuJu Smith-Schuster was unable to haul in the deep pass and the Steelers turn the ball over on downs, giving the Jaguars excellent field position near midfield.
Jacksonville would drive 61 yards in a little over two minutes to go up 35-21.
With just under five minutes remaining in regulation, the Steelers had two opportunities to get the Jaguars off of the field on third down. On a 3rd-and-5 they allowed a dump off pass to T.J. Yeldon for 40 yards, then gave up another short pass for 8 yards when the Jaguars only needed 4 on another 3rd down chance.
Then the final nail in the coffin: a 14-yard touchdown pass from Blake Bortles to FB Tommy Bohanon. (Yes, a fullback!)
A fullback who went completely uncovered to put the Jaguars up 42-28.
Incredibly, the game still wasn’t out of reach for the Steelers. Following a wild two minute drive that ended with Big Ben lateraling to Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh only trailed by seven with a little over two minutes left in the game and two timeouts remaining.
Logic would dictate you attempt to stop the Jaguars from getting a first down and use your timeouts to conserve the clock for a potential game-tying or game-winning drive. It would be up to the defense to get the ball back for a Big Ben miracle, one which we’ve seen many times not only in the 2017 season but throughout his career.
Instead, the Steelers attempted an onside kick. Not even a surprise onside kick, as it was obvious as to what they were doing when they lined up. The attempt was botched and gave Jacksonville great field position. (See a pattern here?)
The defense would hold, but the Jaguars only needed a handful of yards to put their kicker in position to add to their lead, which they would do, going up 45-35.
Even more baffling is why the coaching staff didn’t call a timeout following Jacksonville’s first play, which would’ve stopped the clock and preserved precious seconds before the two-minute warning. Rather than conserve clock, Mike Tomlin and company let a total of 18 seconds run off between plays.
You have to think the Steelers had a better chance of allowing Blake Bortles to beat them than take their chances with a bouncing ball off of an onside kick. Also consider that Pittsburgh got a stop after the onside: their field position would’ve been terrible, and they would’ve had no timeouts left to work with.
At the very least, if the defense gets a stop down the field, there’s more room for the offense to work with and presumably with only a seven-point deficit.
Instead, the coaching staff allowed it to become a two-score game. This decision ultimately lost the game, but the Steelers kept giving it away to the Jaguars for the entire four quarters. The city of Pittsburgh would mourn another squandered Super Bowl opportunity as the season would set on the Steelers, who would lose, 45-42.
What Stood Out
Looking too far ahead?
Mike Tomlin spoke before the Green Bay Packers game about a future duel with the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game.
Those thoughts were echoed by Mike Mitchell and Le’Veon Bell in the build-up to the regular season matchup with the Patriots, and into the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Their misfire of messages now looks foolish, as the Steelers watched the remainder of the postseason unfold from home as their bitter rivals attempted to join them by matching their six Super Bowl wins.
Run Defense
The Steelers run defense was awful. They allowed Leonard Fournette and company to chew up 4.7 yards per rush and could never seem to get a stop when they needed it most.
The Steelers allowed a whopping 4 rushing touchdowns in this game.
Ben Roethlisberger
37 of 58, 469 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT, 1 Fumble, QB Rating 110.5
Roethlisberger was mostly on fire in this game, throwing five touchdown passes and another pitch to Le’Veon Bell which also went for six. This may be the game we remember as one of Ben’s finest, despite the final score.
Antonio Brown
7 catches for 132 yards and 2 TDs
There should be an entry for the officiating (or lack thereof) in this game, but all you need to do is watch Antonio Brown making several contested catches while being held, pulled, grabbed, and basically tackled while attempting to catch passes… and still come up with the ball!
Nearly all of which saw the officiating crew swallow their whistles and pocket their flags.
Martavis Bryant
2 catches for 78 yards and 1 TD
We were waiting for Martavis Bryant to be a big factor and he was in this game, with a huge long touchdown reception near the end of the first half. That play kept the Steelers in the game.
Le’Veon Bell
16 for 67 yards and 1 TD, 9 receptions for 88 yards and 1 TD
Well, now we can see why Bell wanted to be paid like a second wide receiver in addition to being a running back. He made a miraculous touchdown catch (as most of them were on this afternoon, as the Jaguars were permitted to play as physically as they wanted).
Bell also added another touchdown rushing (see below) where he breaks several opponents’ ankles on his way to the goal line.
Who’s this guy?
Vance McDonald actually played in this game. When he’s on the field, Vance gives the Steelers a play-making tight end. He proved it by having 10 catches for 112 yards in the loss.
4th-and-1 Play Calling
Twice the Steelers were aggressive and went for it on fourth down with one yard to go.
And both times the play calls were terrible. One was an ill-advised halfback toss that saw Le’Veon Bell lose several yards. The other, a pass play which ended with JuJu Smith-Schuster having his jersey yanked after Big Ben went through his progressions and couldn’t find anyone else open.
This was definitely the game that cemented former Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley’s departure from Pittsburgh.
Play of the Game
There was plenty to be disappointed about in the Steelers 45-42 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars during the NFL’s Divisional Round of the playoffs, however, we should also appreciate some of the great plays that the Steelers offense, and in particular, Ben Roethlisberger, made to keep their team in the game.
The Steelers never gave up and kept firing back. With the Jaguars vaunted defense, the Steelers often had to come up with or extend plays, making professional football look more like a kid’s game.
This play best exemplifies that, when Roethlisberger ran up in the pocket, avoided contact, and then lateraled to Le’Veon Bell, who juked past a defender and dove between two more for a touchdown.
