Jacksonville Jaguars Fall to Pittsburgh Steelers 17-9

For the first time in the 2014 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars did their job on the defensive side of the ball, but the home team couldn’t muster up enough offense and fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-9.

In his first home start, rookie quarterback Blake Bortles completed 22 of his 36 pass attempts for 191 yards and 2 interceptions. After a promising start, the offense sputtered through most of the final 3 quarters and could not provide the same level of play as the defense. Here are a few more observations from the Jaguars’ 5th straight loss:

• In his first home start, Blake Bortles looked good for the most part until his indefensible pick-6 in the 4th quarter. He clearly had some trouble navigating Dick LeBeau’s defense, and that’s something he’ll learn to deal with as he plays more games. It wasn’t even really a rookie mistake, it was just a terrible decision at the most inopportune time.
• Storm Johnson was by far the most effective running back in his limited snaps. His big run came off a nicely designed play, but he did a good job of cutting upfield to get the yards that were there. The Jaguars appear to be using a fairly unpredictable rotation at running back to find something that works, but Johnson showed he belongs in the conversation.
• The defense had their best performance of the season, led by some commendable play by the secondary. A good majority of the sacks and pressures credited to the defensive line were a result of good coverage and Ben Roethlisberger holding the ball for too long. The Jaguars still have issues getting pressure on 4-man fronts and covering the middle of the field with their linebackers, but it’s good to see the team play a game where they don’t give up 3 huge plays on busted coverages.
• Allen Hurns has flashed enough to keep him around, but he needs to limit his drops if he wants to be a part of this team moving into 2015 and beyond. He had at least 3 drops on catchable balls and a pretty obvious holding penalty on a nice run play. Hurns will continue to get playing time as a result of the injuries at the wide receiver position, but he has to step up and give Bortles’ the confidence to throw the ball in his direction at crucial moments of the game.
• My main takeaway from the game is the Jaguars play like a very young team because they are a young team. Bortles’ interceptions, the multiple holding penalties, the bad angles on tackles – those are all mistakes that should become less common as the team grows. It’s hard to stay positive when the team keeps losing, but there are good things to take note of.