Steelers Get a Big Win in Jacksonville

           The Pittsburgh Steelers entered Sunday night’s game not even close to one hundred percent, but no one could measure the amount of determination they showed to get an impressive 26-21 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  The win puts the Steelers’ record at 4-1 as they sit alone atop the AFC North.  The Steelers will now head in to a much needed bye week, before heading to Cincinnati to take on the rival Bengals October 19^th.

           After weeks of not being able to consistently move the ball down the field, the Steelers’ offense did it with relative ease Sunday night.  The offensive line played very solid for the second straight week, only allowing three total sacks.  Ben Roethlisberger looked comfortable all night, and he had plenty of time to scan the field and find his open receivers.  Roethlisberger was just in a zone on Sunday night.  He was 26-41 for 309 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, a rating of 100.6.  The Pittsburgh running game also performed well against the Jaguars.  Mewelde Moore carried the ball for 99 yards on 17 attempts, one of the carries came on the final drive for the Steelers, Moore broke to the outside for a 27-yard gain. Gary Russell carried 6 times for 25 yards.  The primary role of Najeh Davenport was to return kickoffs; he gained 70 yards on 3 attempts.

           The Steelers’ defense continues to impress week after week.  The defense held Jacksonville to just 49 yards in the first half.  The combination of Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor was ineffective against the dominating Pittsburgh defense.  By game’s end, Jones-Drew and Taylor rushed for a combined 26 yards.  The defense sacked quarterback, David Garrard, three times and forced a fumble.  The Jaguars converted a dismal 3 of 13 on third downs.  The defense of Pittsburgh controlled the tempo of the game and was the key component to the Steelers’ victory on Sunday Night Football.