Mendhall breaks off a run vs Jags
While the Steelers first two games at home were more like first round knockouts, Sunday’s 17-13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars was a little more like a 12-round win by majority decision.
The Steelers survived a gutsy effort by rookie QB Blaine Gabbert, and played more not to lose over the final 20 or so minutes as the Jags tried to comeback from a 17-3 halftime deficit.
The win didn’t come without some casualties, as the black and gold lost guard Doug Legursky during the win, and then in the fourth quarter safety Troy Polamalu left when he was knocked in the head stopping a third-down run by Jags running back Maurice Jones-Drew.
Jones-Drew, who has had huge games against the Steelers in the past, rushed for 96 yards for the Jaguars (1-5), who have dropped five straight to match the franchise’s longest losing streak in a decade.
Rashard Mendenhall, who didn’t play last week with a hamstring injury, ran for 146 yards and a touchdown, also putting up a career-high 68-yard run that set up a Steelers field goal that made it 17-0.
The Steelers looked like they were going to run away with it in the first half, leading by 17 and outplaying the Jags in every way. They outgained the Jags 315 to 68 in the first 30 minutes, and Ben Roethlisberger was 11-for-18 for 181 yards with a score in the first half.
The Jacksonville rally started in the third quarter as rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert took the team on their longest drive of the year, a 17-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a TD pass to Jason Hill that cut the Steelers lead from 17-3 to 17-10.
As the Steelers offense stayed mostly stuck in the mud in the second half, the Jags drove down the field and Josh Scobee kicked a 45-yard field goal with 4:17 left to make it 17-13.
The Steelers were able to scratch out a first down, but gave the ball back to Gabbert and the Jags with 1:01 left at their own 23. Brett Keisel got a huge sack, and the rookie’se last-gasp attempt in the end zone was knocked down by William Gay to secure the win.
Gabbert ended 12 of 26 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown, and was sacked five times.
The win over the Jags puts the Steelers at 4-2, and they are 4-2 in the conference, and 3-0 at home. They head to Arizona next Sunday to play the Cardinals at 4:15pm.
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Thomas Crowley
October 16, 2011 at 4:42 pm
Another unimpressive win by the steelers
Peter
October 16, 2011 at 5:17 pm
key word there is “win”. Re-match in 3 weeks.
mark
October 16, 2011 at 5:50 pm
I have to admit, Crowley is right. The Steelers were VERY mediocre today. That 2nd half was atrocious and anyone who thinks that version of the Steelers will beat the Ravens or Patriots is nuts. Letting mediocre or plain bad teams like the Colts and Jaguars hang around is a recipe for disaster and will eventually bite the Steelers in the ass. Yes, they “won” but did this performance bode well for future games against better or elite teams? NO WAY! Ben was horrid in the 2nd half, and the game planning seemed to be just as bad. Where were the short routes that were so effective 7 days ago? What is with the deep passes and low-percentage connections? I will also say that Tomlin’s lack of a challenge 2 weeks in a row was awful and the clock management at the end of the 1st half was equally bad. Just what are the Steelers doing? Another thing, where is Timmons? Yes, he is playing out of position but if the Steelers have enough faith in him to put him there, how about turning him loose and letting his presence be known? It wasn’t until the last Jag drive that he actually rushed the passer and was in the backfield. I wont discuss Suisham, and Sepulveda better start to pin some opponents inside the 15 or 10 instead of touchbacks too. I wont mention that 25 yard punt in the 4th. (wait, I just did!) Anyway, Steelers have issues and if they arent at least 6-4 before there bye week, kiss the January football goodbye.
DrGeorge
October 16, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Offensively, we had Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde today. In the first half, Ben and Bruce Arians were Dr. Jekyll; they played disciplined football; they ran the ball successfully (Mendy had the longest run of his career), which set up the passing game for Ben. The O-line looked great. The Steelers jumped out to a quick and almost effortless 17-3 lead. Then, Ben and Bruce became Mr. Hyde and began playing for stats and the highlight reel; the disciplined approach was jettisoned. In the second half, the Steelers ran only sporadically and passed often and predictably and inaccurately. Ben began holding the ball and scrambling, becoming an inviting target for the Jaguars’ defense and taking sacks. The O-line looked awful. The Steelers didn’t score again. Meanwhile, the Jaguars, who were stymied early, never quit running the ball. In the second half, they ran through the vaunted Steelers for one TD (actually, they should have had two) and put up a field goal, turning a Pittsburgh rout into a 17-13 squeaker. In fact, in the second half, the Jaguars looked more like the Steelers than the Steelers did. In short, Arians and his penchanat for the aerial circus is the problem on offense. The dysfunctinal Jekyll and Hyde approach to offense must end.
On defense, it was the same old thing. I’ve been saying here for two years that the D-line of the Steelers is susceptible to the run. Then, in the Super Bowl,Green Bay sliced up our defensive front and proved me right. Since then, every team with a power running game has found running against us an efficient and effective way to beat us. Jacksonville only narrowly missed joining Baltimore and Houston in proving it again today. I have also been lamenting the fact that our defense is heavily dependent on aging veterans; the young defensive players are not making an impact. That was true again today. The key defensive plays were made by Woodley, Farrior, Polamolu, and Keisel. If we lose one or more of them for a game (any game), our defense will really struggle.
Arizona may not have the talent to exploit our deficiencies next week, but you can bet the Ravens and Patriots can scarcely wait to play us. In fact, the Steelers are going to see a heavy dose of running from every team on their schedule for the remainder of the season. Tomlin must end Arians’ reversion to Mr. Hyde and fix the D-line weakness fast. If he can’t, as Jay intimates above, this will become a very long season for the Steelers Nation.
Jay
October 16, 2011 at 9:29 pm
How about just simply ending Arians’ tenure and firing him! Oh, that was Mark, by the way, Doc!
DrGeorge
October 17, 2011 at 9:29 am
First, my apologies, Mark, for the errant attribution. Obviously I agreed wholeheartedly with your comment.
Second, Jay, I completely agree with your thought on firing Arians, but the timing is wrong. Arians should never have been re-signed for 2011. Now that he is in place, however, it would be disruptive to the team to dismiss him in mid-season. I don’t think Tomlin has the stomach for it, and it probably isn’t necessary. For now, Tomlin simply needs to provide the discipline Arians lacks. He can replace Arians gracefully at season’s end.
Arians is not incompetent. He called a pretty good first half until he got that 17-3 lead. If he had used all three running backs and continued to call the same balance of plays (instead of turning Ben loose to throw 50 yard bombs in the general direction of Wallace), we could have easily put up another 21 points and worn the Jaguars’ lighter defense down to pencil stubs. Arians is capable of doing that. He simply doesn’t. So he must be held accountable. It’s up to Tomlin to take charge and demand that Arians stay within the over all team strategy.
You will note that our defensive collapse in the second half corresponded exactly to Arians’ reversion to the aerial circus. When we pass the ball, we reduce our time of possession, and put our thin defense on the field a lot longer. Not a good scenario for the team. The team should not suffer for the sake of Ben’s ego or Arians’ arrogance. Tomlin should not give a fig about offensive stats. He should care only about winning. And right now, with our makeshift line, running the ball more than we pass gives us the best chance of controlling the clock, keeping the opposing offense off the field, and winning consistently. Tomlin needs to give Arians and Ben less latitude, and if they still revert to the aerial circus, then dismissing Arians for insubordination would be fully justified.
As I see, the issue is not whether Arians should be fired now, but whether Tomlin can manage his own coaches for the greater good of the team.
mark
October 17, 2011 at 7:02 am
If Arians gets Kudos for a great game plan last week against the Titans, he needs to be called out for his planning this week against the Jags. Sure, Mendy carries the ball and plays a nice game. BUT, the passing game suffered after the 1st quarter. Did the lowly Jags figure out a way to stop EVERY member of this offense? I’m not buying that. If the Jags made some adjustments like us couch coordinators think, then where were the counter adjustments by Arians and these offensive weapons? Pathetic display on offense. Reminded me of the Bills game last year. Also, if Gabbert had about 85 yards passing give or take,and MJD had under 100 yards then how the hell did the Steelers find a way to need to sweat this out? Someone give me an answer. I’m madder today than I was after opening day! That was a great time to step on the neck of a poor team and the Steelers didn’t or couldn’t. Harbinger of things to come?