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Week 5 Game Recap: Pittsburgh Steelers 26, Jacksonville Jaguars 21
What you need to know
| Pittsburgh Steelers |
QB Ben Roethlisberger enjoyed great pass protection for the first half of the game, allowing him to get the ball downfield in both the deep and intermediate passing game. The game plan had the Steelers passing often and early, evidenced by nearly 30 passing attempts in the first half alone. In the second half, the play calling became very conservative and Roethlisberger could not get much time to make any big downfield throws under an improved pass rush, getting sacked three times. Pittsburgh had been victimized badly by blitzing schemes over the last few games, but they showed they could handle it a bit better in this game.
RB Mewelde Moore, starting in place of several injured Pittsburgh running backs, was very effective by bouncing plays to the outside and getting to the edge of the defense. He just missed 100 rushing yards. Ben Roethlisberger also tried to get him the ball out of the backfield where they connected on a few plays. Backup RB Gary Russell was not a major factor, but chipped in with six carries and one target.
WR Santonio Holmes was noticeably out of synch early with Ben Roethlisberger in the passing game. On more than a few occasions, Holmes either stumbled or ran a pattern that the quarterback did not expect, one resulting in an interception which was returned for a touchdown. When he did connect, Holmes was able to make some significant yards after the catch evidenced by his 16 yards per reception average.
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
QB David Garrard was unable to sustain any drives early in the game, connecting on only three passing attempts in the first half. However, his team just kept plugging away and he did engineer a scoring drive in the fourth quarter taking a brief lead. His overall numbers were decent, but he struggled.
RB Fred Taylor was bottled up in the first half due to an effective Steelers' run defense. He did not show much of a burst and had less than two yards per carry. Playing from behind in the second half limited his touches. Backup RB Maurice Jones-Drew proved to be a less than effective replacement, with five yards on his first four touches. His ankle was sprained later in the third quarter. He ended up with only 30 total yards.
WR Mike Walker led all Jaguar pass catchers with over 100 yards. He was the focal point of the pass offense for much of the game. He did come up with some clutch catches over the middle and kept drives alive, but had a bad drop on the Jaguars' final drive.
What you ought to know
| QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pass: 26 - 41 - 309 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 2 - 0 |
Pittsburgh wanted to establish a short and intermediate passing game early and was able to move the ball effectively during the first quarter. Ben Roethlisberger was in perfect rhythm in the second quarter getting ample time and able to get the ball to both wide receivers and tight ends. The signature plays were made while his team was behind in the fourth quarter and Roethlisberger was able to get out of the arms of a Jacksonville rusher twice and find WR Hines Ward for a key first down each time. Ending up with over 300 yards, Roethlisberger took a lot of very serious hits and owners need to keep an eye on him, but the upcoming bye week should help him heal up.
| RB Mewelde Moore, Rush: 17 - 99 - 0, Rec: 3 - 17 - 0 (4 targets) |
Due to injuries to RBs Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall, Mewelde Moore got the start. He was able to get going early with an 18 yard run on the first play of the game and had 50 yards in the first half. Moore ended up with 99 yards rushing and 17 yards receiving. It seemed Jacksonville was surprised with his speed and he got to the outside several times. Moore was involved in the passing game and could be a decent fantasy play if given another opportunity.
| WR Hines Ward, Rec: 7 - 90 - 1 (11 targets) |
Hines Ward had several balls thrown his way including the game winning TD with two minutes remaining. He caught a few short and intermediate passes in the first half and did get three targets in the red zone. Ward is showing no signs of slowing down and looks to be a solid play most weeks. He is still the focus of the passing game in Pittsburgh.
| WR Nate Washington, Rec: 6 - 94 - 1 (7 targets) |
WR Nate Washington did most of his damage on deep patterns. Jacksonville was thin in the secondary and Washington made the most of it. One double move allowed him to badly beat the defender and he took it all the way on a 48 yard touchdown. He also made two clutch catches in the fourth quarter to keep the final drive alive.
| WR Santonio Holmes, Rec: 4 - 65 - 0 (9 targets) |
Like Hines Ward, Holmes was the target of Roethlisberger's attention throughout of the game, but unlike Hines, he is not totally in synch with his QB. A stumble coming out of a break led to a pick which CB Rashean Mathis took back for a TD. On a few other plays, it seemed as if he ran a different pattern than was expected, including a misses opportunity in the end zone. Holmes's speed does get him a lot of separation and he takes advantage of the cushions.
| TE Heath Miller, Rec: 5 - 45 - 1 (7 targets) |
Miller dominated the Jacksonville in the middle of the field. Linebackers were simply unable to cover him and his catches kept drives alive. He got two red zone looks taking one into the end zone in the first half, registering the first TD of the game for Pittsburgh. He was also targeted on a two point conversion in the fourth quarter which was incomplete. It seems like he is forgotten sometimes in the play calling, as the offense goes away from him in long stretches.
| PK Jeff Reed 2 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points |
Reed hit a 38 yard field goal and another 23 yarder in the first half and two XP's. He had no other FG opportunities.
| PIT Rush Defense |
The Steelers held the Jaguars' rushers to under two yards a carry. Some of that can be attributed to Jacksonville's offensive line injuries, but the Steelers defense has been playing well all season, despite injuries to two starting defensive linemen. The play of SS Troy Polamalu was evident in the run game and he made some key plays in short yardage.
| PIT Pass Defense |
The Pittsburgh pass rush was solid recording three sacks and several other QB pressures. LB Lamar Woodley brought pressure most of the game and registered two sacks. LB James Harrison had a sack and a forced fumble. The Jaguars could not produce a deep threat all night.
| QB David Garrard, Pass: 18 - 32 - 200 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 12 - 0 |
Garrard connected on two third and long completions to extend the first drive. A deep ball to Matt Jones garnered a pass interference call and set up the first TD score. After that however, the Steelers' pass rush and good open field tackling limited the Jaguars' offense in the first half to just 50 total yards in the first half with the offense running just 17 plays. Garrard came out throwing after halftime, spreading the ball around, but a big holding penalty stopped the first drive and a deflected pass on fourth down ended the next one. Despite getting out gained over two to one at one point, a 24 yard TD pass play found TE Marcedes Lewis and gave the Jaguars a brief 21-20 lead. The final drive ended with a pass batted down at the line. Garrard looked to take off and run just a few times, his longest was about eight yards.
| RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 10 - 19 - 0, Rec: 2 - 6 - 0 (3 targets) |
Taylor was limited all day. An injury to C Brad Meester coming into the game really effected the interior line blocking. Taylor had multiple tacklers in his face, saw no real cutback lanes and could not make anyone miss. He had only a limited role in the passing game.
| RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Rush: 5 - 7 - 1, Rec: 6 - 23 - 0 (7 targets) |
Maurice Jones-Drew was never a factor. He had less than three yards per touch and could not make any plays. Defenders seemed to be on him, even in the flats when he caught the ball. He was slowed by a sprained ankle in the third quarter, but even before that, he is not the same back owners have been used to seeing over his career.
| WR Mike Walker, Rec: 6 - 107 - 0 (8 targets) |
Walker produced for QB David Garrard for most of the game. His longest reception was 32 yards and he did show some run after the catch ability. It's hard to call him a true number one receiver in this offense just yet given his output in this game matched his total catches in the previous four games. He also had a drop that would have extended the Jaguars' final drive
| WR Matt Jones, Rec: 2 - 25 - 0 (6 targets) |
Jones was involved in the first half, making a 15 yard catch and drawing a pass interference penalty in the end zone on a deep pattern which lead to a Jacksonville touchdown. He was unable to get anything going in the second half.
| WR Reggie Williams (1 targets) |
Williams did not catch a pass.
| TE Marcedes Lewis, Rec: 1 - 24 - 1 (4 targets) |
Lewis connected on a 24 yard TD catch when he got behind the Steelers zone. He did not make another catch.
| PK Josh Scobee 0 - 0 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 3 points |
Scobee connected on his three extra points. He had no other opportunities.
| JAX Rush Defense |
The Steelers posted five yards rushing per play. Jacksonville was not able to contain RB Mewelde Moore who had 99 yards on just 17 attempts. Backup RB Gary Russell, just signed from the practice squad, had 25 yards on six carries. If anything, Pittsburgh should have run the ball more.
| JAX Pass Defense |
The Jaguars' pass rush was ineffective and the Steelers' passing game clearly dominated play in the first half. Pittsburgh gained 300 yards in the first half, mostly through the air. A four man rush allowed QB Ben Roethlisberger to step up in the pocket seemingly at will to buy time and extend the play. Halftime adjustments were effective in slowing down Pittsburgh, until the final drive. They ended up with three sacks.
