Steelers eventually rev up, trounce Jaguars to reach 10-0

In a matchup of teams heading in opposite directions, the outcome at TIAA Bank Field on Sunday afternoon was not unexpected.

All the Pittsburgh Steelers had to do to improve to 10-0, however, was overcome another sluggish start against an inferior opponent.

The Steelers needed 17 points in the second quarter to come back from an early deficit, and they didn’t put away the one-win Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-3, until the middle of the fourth quarter.

Coach Mike Tomlin said earlier in the week the Steelers wouldn’t take the Jaguars (1-9) lightly. So it didn’t surprise him the Jaguars took a lead into the second quarter or they remained within two scores entering the fourth.

“This is the NFL,” Tomlin said. “We don’t anticipate rolling out of tunnels and people laying down for us. These are going to be competitive games. … We step out of tunnels ready for a 60-minute fight each and every week.”

With a 10th consecutive win secure, the Steelers will put their perfect record on the line Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens, who lost in overtime to Tennessee to fall to 6-4. The AFC North champion two years running and the preseason favorite, the Ravens find themselves in third place in the division.

“It definitely gets our attention for the long haul,” said safety Terrell Edmunds, who had two of the Steelers’ four interceptions against rookie Jake Luton. “Right now we have to focus on 1-0. We know they are going to come in with a chip on their shoulder coming off a loss, so we have to come out and play our game because we know they are going to try to knock us down.”

One week after the Steelers held the Cincinnati Bengals to 10 points, they limited the Jaguars to a field goal on the opening drive and nothing else over the final 55 minutes, 57 seconds. The Jaguars managed just 206 yards, a season-low against the Steelers and the fifth time this season they held an opponent below 300.

The Steelers typically have their way against rookie quarterbacks, and it was no exception against Luton, a sixth-round pick. He completed 16 of 37 attempts for 151 yards and four interceptions, which gave him a paltry 15.5 passer rating.

Bud Dupree and Stephon Tuitt each had sacks in the second half, extending the Steelers streak to 67 consecutive games with at least one, which is two shy of the NFL record. Like Edmunds, Minkah Fitzpatrick had two interceptions, with two of the four turnovers leading to Steelers touchdowns.

“There is definitely still more to work on,” Fitzpatrick said. “These are two teams we should have beat like that. We’re a very talented team, and we should win those games like that.”

The offense wasn’t nearly as dominating even though Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes and the running game resurfaced after a three-game absence.

Roethlisberger threw a 31-yard TD pass to rookie Chase Claypool, his 10th score of the season, in the second quarter and a 20-yarder to tight end Eric Ebron in the fourth.

Claypool became the first wide receiver in the Super Bowl era and fourth in NFL history to score 10 touchdowns in his first 10 games. Diontae Johnson didn’t find the end zone, but he caught a career-high 12 passes for 111 yards.

Johnson was targeted 16 times. By comparison, the other four receivers were targeted a combined 20 times.

“It’s me getting open and doing what I do, and Ben putting the ball where it needs to be,” Johnson said.

The Steelers got points on three consecutive possessions in the second quarter but had their first three drives of the second half end in punts.

“We’ve got to put more points on the board,” Roethlisberger said. “I know the scoreboard says what it does, but there were too many times we punted today. We didn’t do enough. Offensively, we’re happy we got the win, but we know we’ve got to be better.”

Roethlisberger completed 32 of 46 attempts for 267 yards. While he threw an interception in the end zone to end the first half, he wasn’t sacked for the third game in row. That’s a career first for Roethlisberger, who has thrown 148 passes since his last sack.

After the Steelers were held to fewer than 50 rushing yards for three consecutive games, they totaled 106 against the Jaguars while possessing the ball for more than 36 minutes. James Conner had 89 yards on 13 carries, and Benny Snell scored on a 1-yard run.

Conner broke off a 25-yard run and had two others that went 17 yards.

“We’re not going to crack that nut on the first swing,” Tomlin said about the running game, which entered the game ranked No. 24. “It’s going to take continual work and effort on our part to continue to work on our warts. And that’s not our only wart.”

The Steelers will have just one day of practice — and three days of prep time overall — to correct any other deficiencies before they play the Ravens on Thanksgiving night.

“We want to wear it the proper way,” Tomlin said of the team’s 10-0 record. “We want to step into stadiums and be prepared to fight and compete each week and understand we’re going to get people’s best shot.”