The Pittsburgh Steelers got their preseason off to a good start Saturday, beating the Jaguars by a 31-25 score at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville. Pittsburgh is now 1-0 in the preseason while the Jaguars fall to 0-1. The Steelers return home next week to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Jaguars won the coin toss and elected to receive. After a false start penalty on the first play, Jacksonville was quickly in a 4th and 1 scenario. They kept the offense on the field, and Dyami Brown took a jet sweep seven yards to pick up the first down. From there, Jacksonville put a nice drive together, getting big pick-ups through screen passes to Travis Etienne and Travis Hunter. A block in the back penalty put the Jaguars in 1st and 20, and they couldn’t get out of that hole. Cam Little kicked a 41-yard field goal to give Jacksonville a 3-0 lead.
The Steelers got the ball and put together a great drive of their own. They came out firing, with Mason Rudolph throwing the ball each of the first four plays and moving the chains a couple of times in the process. Troy Fautanu would get called for an illegal hands to the face penalty, leaving the Steelers in 2nd and 19. Rudolph responded with a big completion to Scotty Miller, and Kaleb Johnson picked up a first down on 3rd and 4. A few plays later, Rudolph hit Darnell Washington over the middle for a 19-yard touchdown pass.
Washington did get penalized for dunking the ball through the goalpost. But Ben Sauls made the 48-yard extra point, giving the Steelers a 7-3 lead.
Austin Trammel gave the Jaguars good field position on their next drive, returning the kick to Jacksonville’s 42-yard line. Jacksonville picked up a first down on 3rd and 2, but a nice tackle for a loss from Brandin Echols helped force the Jags into a 3rd and 13 soon after. Nick Mullens was able to convert, finding Joshua Cephus for an 18-yard pickup. Jacksonville dink and dunked its way down the field, but Cole Holcomb helped force an incomplete pass to Tank Bigsby on 3rd and 5. Cam Little would go on to kick a 40-yard field goal, cutting Pittsburgh’s lead to 7-6.
The Steelers’ third drive started well, with Kaleb Johnson picking up a first down around the outside on 2nd and short. However, things fell apart shortly after that. Mason Rudolph was sacked by Dawuane Smoot for a 10-yard loss after holding onto the ball for far too long. An incomplete pass and a short completion to Scotty Miller forced Pittsburgh to punt the ball away.
Jacksonville’s next drive was short as well. The Jaguars picked up a first down with a 15-yard completion. A few plays later, they found themselves in 3rd and 4. Mullens looked for Trenton Irwin down the sideline, but Echols made another nice play breaking up the pass, nearly bringing in the interception. Jacksonville would punt, with Ke’Shawn Williams being tackled at Pittsburgh’s 15-yard line.
The Steelers got the ball halfway through the second quarter, and Skylar Thompson entered the game. His first drive went unceremoniously. Thompson found Connor Heyward for nine yards, but Kaleb Johnson lost three on the next play. Pittsburgh didn’t convert on third down, and Dylan Cook was flagged for a holding penalty on the play, which was declined. The Steelers decided to punt on 4th and 1.
Jacksonville’s next drive was just as lackluster. Irwin beat Beanie Bishop down the field, but dropped Mullens’ pass. Mullens then underthrew Parker Washington on third down, leading to a punt.
With four minutes and some change left in the first half, the Steelers ran Kaleb Johnson three times en route to a first down. After the two minute warning, the Steelers let Thompson throw the ball, and it paid off. Thompson hit a 22-yard completion to Miller, then a 26-yard strike to Max Hurleman. A play later, Hurleman reeled in a three-yard touchdown from Thomspon. Sauls made the extra point, giving Pittsburgh a 14-6 lead.
Jacksonville got the ball with 24 seconds left in the half. The Jaguards managed to scrape their way to their own 48-yard line. Then, Little hit an incredible 70-yard field goal, which would be the longest in NFL history if not kicked in a preseason game.
The Steelers led the Jaguars at halftime by a score of 14-9.
Pittsburgh got the ball to start the second half. They ended up in a 4th and 1 at their own 44-yard line. They decided to go for it, running Kaleb Johnson to the right. He struggled to even get to the line of scrimmage, and Jacksonville took possession.
Jacksonville almost squandered that field position, with Mullens being intercepted by Cameron McCutcheon. However, Isaiahh Loudermilk roughed the passer to negate the play. Mullens hit Irwin a couple of times to get into the red zone, then found Irwin in the end zone from 11 yards out. Jacksonville went for the two-point conversion, but Mullens’ pass sailed out the back of the end zone, keeping the Jaguars’ lead at 15-14.
The Steelers came out firing on their next drive. Thompson made a few big throws, including a completion to Williams for 29 yards and a pass to Roc Taylor for 16 yards. Pittsburgh got to Jacksonville’s 11-yard line, and Thompson found Trey Sermon on a screen pass. Sermon walked into the end zone, and Sauls made the extra point to give Pittsburgh a 21-15 lead.
John Wolford took over at quarterback for Jacksonville, and the Jaguars quietly went three-and-out on his first drive. Getting the ball back, Skylar Thompson picked up where he left off, finding Roc Taylor for a 22-yard completion as the Steelers eventually worked their way inside Jacksonville’s 10-yard line. On 3rd and goal, Danny Striggow strip-sacked Thompson, but Evan Hull recovered it for the Steelers at the 18-yard line. Sauls made a 36-yard field goal to extend the Steelers’ lead to 24-15 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Jacksonville got going quickly on their second drive, with Kyler McMichael missing a couple tackles. Wolford found Dorian Singer for gains of 21 and 15 yards, and got the ball to the Steelers’ eight-yard line. Bhayshul Tuten then scored, with the Jaguars physically outmatching Pittsburgh and pushing the pile for five yards into the end zone. The extra point cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 24-22.
Pittsburgh’s next drive revolved around the run, specifically Lew Nichols. He marched down the field, grinding the clock down in the process. However, that progress was stopped with a four-yard loss from Hull late in the drive, which forced Pittsburgh into a 3rd and 14. Jacksonville’s defense then bailed them out with an illegal contact penalty, giving Pittsburgh a first down. Thompson then capped off the drive and his excellent day with a bomb to Williams down the sideline for a 26-yard score. The extra point gave Pittsburgh a 31-22 lead.
Seth Henigan checked in at quarterback for Jacksonville, getting the ball with just over five minutes left in the game. Henigan made a couple nice throws, and Little hit another long field goal, this one from 52 yards out to cut the lead to 31-25. With 2:34 left on the clock, Logan Woodside checked in at quarterback. Pittsburgh ran the ball three times and failed to pick up a first down.
Jacksonville got the ball at their own 18-yard line with 1:49 on the clock and no timeouts. Henigan hit a couple of checkdowns, including a 21-yard completion down the sideline. Jacksonville moved the ball down to the Steelers’ 28-yard line, but the Jaguars were tackled in bounds to run out the clock and give the Steelers the 31-25 win.
Next week, the Steelers play at Acrisure Stadium for the first time as they host the Buccaneers. A few days before the game, the two teams will have a joint practice as well.
