First of all, before I even begin discussing Pittsburgh's loss to Jacksonville on Monday Night Football, I want to make sure that it is abundantly clear that the Jaguars are a premier team. Yet, for some reason, Jacksonville's greatness seems to have been missed by both the media and the casual NFL fan. Regardless, when analyzing the aforementioned game, it would help everyone to remember how superb Jacksonville truly is. In other words, there are no excuses for Pittsburgh's loss. Furthermore, considering how good the Jaguars are, it was not a "bad" loss for the Steelers.
I know, I know: every loss is a bad loss.
Uh...no.
A few years ago when Pittsburgh lost 24-3 to the expansion Houston Texans, Tommy Maddox threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball, all three of which were returned for touchdowns. That, my friends, was a "bad" loss. The Steelers statistically dominated a huge underdog, yet lost.
Conversely, the Jaguars are a great team; they are among the top five best teams in the NFL today, led by the best defensive line in football. I know that there are other teams with more well known "names" and teams that produce more sacks, but Jacksonville simply dominates its competition. They stifle running backs, and while opposing quarterbacks may not get sacked all that often, passers certainly do not feel comfortable standing in the pocket.
Again, when thinking about Monday's game, remember that Jacksonville is really good...because it will help put everything in perspective.
Speaking of perspective, seven months and about as many surgeries after winning the super Bowl, Ben Roethlisberger stepped onto the field on Monday night. Ben is notoriously slow when returning from an injury, and considering he tried to dismantle a car with his face, it should have been expected that Ben would look rusty. And, in case that surgery was not enough of an obstacle to overcome, Ben had his appendix removed...and was also running a fever during the game. I am not trying to make excuses for Big Ben, but were I he, I would have had trouble lacing up my shoes, let alone stepping onto the field against one of the premier teams in the NFL.
Regardless of his ailments, Ben started the game well. He hit Jerame Tuman and Heath Miller for consecutive first downs. Alas, that is pretty much the only offensive highlights from the game.
Still, while Jacksonville dominated Pittsburgh, with five minutes left in the game, the Steelers were only one drive away from taking the lead. Furthermore, had Ward made a miraculous catch on an errant third-down pass during the first half, the game might have turned out quite differently. Had Ward been able to make a diving catch on an overthrown deep pass in the third quarter, the game could have been much different. Had Troy Polamalu intercepted a Byron Leftwich pass with five minutes remaining (instead of dropping the interception), the game would have definitely been different. In other words, as bad as the Steelers played, they were one great play away from winning the game.
In summation, this game reminded me of the Monday Night Football game last season against the Indianapolis Colts, where Ben returned from injury, could not scramble, and threw passes that were slightly off-target. Then, two months later, the Steelers beat that same Colts team in the playoffs. In other words, while the Steelers were dominated by the Jaguars this past Monday night, come playoff time, the results could very likely be different. Again, this is not a stab at Jacksonville; they are a great team...but, so was Indianapolis last year.
