Victory in Jacksonville overshadows mistakes made by Steelers on offense, defense

By getting two scores in the final 6 minutes, 20 seconds Saturday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers turned an eight-point deficit into a 16-15 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The win was the second in a row for the Steelers in the preseason, but, in coach Mike Tomlin’s opinion, all it did was cover up the warts that existed on both sides of the football at TIAA Bank Field.

An offensive line that had difficulty protecting the quarterback and failed to produce a running game, combined with the defense allowing lengthy drives while the starters were on the field, took the shine off the comeback.

“They controlled the football game,” Tomlin said. “But we won the game, so we’ve got to take responsibility for that positively and negatively. Down in and down out, we didn’t perform well enough. We didn’t perform at a high enough level to control the game. I thought their defensive front in the environment, in particular, controlled the game.”

That was evidenced by the Steelers rushing for 24 yards on 14 carries, a paltry 1.7 average. A week earlier, the Steelers rushed for 185 yards and averaged 6.9 yards per carry.

Take away an 11-yard gain by wide receiver Steven Sims and a 10-yard scramble by quarterback Mitch Trubisky — one of several times he was forced to flee the pocket — and the Steelers totaled 3 yards rushing on 12 attempts.

Trubisky also was sacked for an 8-yard loss by Arden Key and pressured six times on 10 dropbacks.

Related:

• Tim Benz: Steelers go 2 for 3 on Mike Tomlin's checklist in Jacksonville. The miss was a big one
• Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph throw TD passes in Steelers' 16-15 victory at Jacksonville
• 'It's all love' for Jack in Jacksonville return
• Mark Madden's Hot Take: Steelers have to manage Kenny Pickett's future sensibly

Left tackle Dan Moore allowed a sack and three pressures. Left guard Kendrick Green was responsible for two of the times quarterbacks got hit, and center Mason Cole allowed two hurries. Moore and right guard James Daniels were flagged for holding in the first half. John Leglue allowed the pressure that resulted in a safety when Mason Rudolph was called for intentional grounding in the end zone.

The Steelers also were called for an illegal shift and an illegal formation, and Diontae Johnson was cited for pass interference.

“No excuses. We’ve got to come out and execute the plays,” Trubisky said. “It doesn’t matter what they run. We recognize what they run out there, and we’ve got to go out there and execute and make the plays happen. I feel like we left a few out there.”

The offense managed two first downs on the three series Trubisky played. Tomlin was hoping to give first-round pick Kenny Pickett a longer look in the first half, but the defense’s inability to get off the field prevented that.

Although Jacksonville was held to two Ryan Santoso field goals, the Jaguars gained 189 yards in the half and possessed the ball for more than 19 minutes.

“We were getting third and longs, and we have to close out on third downs,” inside linebacker Myles Jack said after making his return to Jacksonville, where he spent his first six NFL seasons. “I feel like we were winning on first and second down. It’s just those third downs that got us. At the end of the day, we were bending and not breaking and giving up three. That’s not bad.”

Jacksonville converted 5 of 9 third-down chances in the opening half and was 10 of 20 overall. On the third series, the Jaguars moved 83 yards in 15 plays and consumed 8:02 off the clock. Outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who chipped in a sack, and free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick were out of the game by that point, but the Steelers still had cornerbacks Cam Sutton, Ahkello Witherspoon and Levi Wallace, plus strong safety Terrell Edmunds, on the field. Jack also was out there along with a defensive front that included Larry Ogunjobi.

“You never want to have (those kind of) third downs,” Ogunjobi said. “You want more pressure on the quarterback. It takes a while to get a feel for the rushers and how everyone is moving. Rushing the passer is an art. We were able to see how guys were rushing, but it all comes together with repetition and time.”

Making his first appearance of the preseason, Ogunjobi logged 22 snaps. He started alongside nose tackle Tyson Alualu, who also played in his first game. Defensive captain Cam Heyward sat out with a foot injury.

“The biggest thing was getting my feet wet and seeing how everything felt so you can build off the performance,” said Ogunjobi, who underwent ankle surgery after a January injury. “I’m going to be critical of myself on film and then get back to doing what I do.”