Steelers Lose Kenny Pickett in Fall to Jaguars

The Pittsburgh Steelers fought back in the second half, but a slow start proved too much to overcome.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers slipped and stumbled through the falling rain at Acrisure Stadium and their sluggish offense matched the dreary weather as they fell, 20-10 to the Jacksonvile Jaguars at Acrisure Stadium while also suffering an injury to their starting quarterback and falling to 4-3 on the season. 

Jacksonville won the toss and deferred, bringing the Steelers offense onto the field first for a quick three-and-out and punt. Diontae Johnson dropped a wide open pass down the middle of the field and after a sack, the Steelers fell well behind the sticks. 

The Steelers were well on their way to returning the favor against Jacksonville on their first drive of the game, but an untimely pass interference penalty on James Pierre gave the Jaguars new life. Pierre bounced back and made a crucial stop on third down against Evan Engram and even drew a facemask penalty that set the Jaguars back another 15 yards. After Trevor Lawrence threw short of the sticks on third down, Brandon McManus knocked a 50-yard field goal through to put the visitors up 3-0.

On their next possession, Najee Harris gained just four yards on a pair of rushes and on third down, Johnson lost his footing running an out route, which ended in a near interception for Kenny Pickett. The Steelers punted yet again as their early offensive woes continued. 

Alex Highsmith and Elandon Roberts combined for a sack of Lawrence to start the next drive, but the celebration was short-lived as Minkah Fitzpatrick went down grabbing his hamstring. He was later ruled out for the remainder of the game. 

After the injury timeout, Lawrence scrambled for 10 yards to get the Jaguars to a third and managable, then hit Clavin Ridley for 26 yards and a first down. That was all the Steelers defense would allow, though. Cole Holcomb wrapped up Travis Etienne for no gain and T.J. Watt batted a desperation pass from Lawrence into the turf. Another short pass from Lawrence came up up short of the sticks and McManus made another field goal from 51 yards out to make it 6-0, Jaguars. 

Pickett connected with Johnson for eight yards to open the Steelers next drive but two plays later and Pressley Harvin was back on to punt after another three-and-out. Pickett just barely missed a third down conversion to George Pickens but Darius Williams flew in for a finger-tip deflection. 

Jacksonville began to find their stride offensively thanks to a 26-yard completion and added roughing the passer call on Keeanu Neal, but Kwon Alexander put a halt to their advance by leveling Engram and forcing a fumble that Holcomb recovered the loose ball on the Steelers' 29 yard line as the first quarter came to a close. 

But the Steelers offense again couldn't manage to generate any push up front and the end result was a fourth consecutive three-and-out.   

The Jaguars wasted no time getting back over midfield and up into the redzone. They picked up chunks of yargade with Etienne's legs then Calvin Ridley beat Chandon Sullivan for a 27-yard reception. But up on the goal line, Lawrence lofted an interception right to Damotae Kazee, who returned the pick back to the Steelers two-yard line. 

The Steelers finally picked up a first down on second and nine when Pickett hit Johnson along the sideline for a 12-yard gain. A pass interference call on Jacksonville agaisnt Calvin Austin added 32 yards and then Johnson picked up 16 more on another sideline grab. Two more Johnson receptions gained 15 yards and the Steelers got to first and goal from the eight-yard line, but the Steelers couldn't conclude the promising drive with six points. Johnson slipped in the endzone and Pickett threw behind his open receiver. They settled for a 22-yard field goal from Chris Boswell and cut the lead in half at 6-3 with 4:01 to play until halftime. 

The Steelers had a chance to get the ball back before the two-minute warning but another penalty on Pierre - this time for holding Kirk - kept Jacksonvolle on the field. The Pittsburgh defense bowed up deep in their own territory and forced another field goal attempt for McManus from 38 yards out whiche extended the lead back to six points at 9-3 with under a minute left. 

Pickett and company retook the field with 59 seconds left with good field position after a 36-yard kickoff return from Godwin Igwebuike. The Steelers got up to midfield with a 12-yard pass to Johnsn from Pickett and a quarterback scramble for nine yards. But Pickett was hit hard on the ensuing play and stayed down holding his midsection. Pickett eventually left the field and headed to the locker room.  

Mitch Trubisky replaced him and ran just one play before Boswell came on for another field goal attempt. He was backed up by an offsides penalty and that proved costly for the Steelers as he hooked the 61-yard field goal attempt wide right. 

Jacksonville came out of intermission moving methoically down the field as Tank Bigsby and Etienne sliced through the Steelers run defense, but a grinding march was cut prematurely short when Joey Porter Jr. and Nick Herbig knocked a fumble loose from Bigsby. Keeanu Neal recovered the fumble and after a review, the Steelers took the ball at their own 36-yard line. 

Trubisky was back in at quarterback to open the second half for the Steelers offense but even with a new signal-caller the result was familiar - a three-and-out, then punt from Harvin. 

Elandon Roberts led off the next Jaguars possession with his second sack of the game, then Joey Porter Jr. blanketed Ridley on an incomplete pass before stoping him short of the first down marker on third and forcing a punt. 

The Steelers offense got moving with runs of five yards from Trubisky and eight yards from Jaylen Warren. Then Trubisky hit Pickens for a big gain down the sideline on a difficult toe-tap catch, but the original ruling of a reception was overturned and the Steelers punted again. 

A poor punt gave the Jaguars starting field position at their own 44-yard line. They capitalized on the good field position in one play - a 51-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence to Etienne squeezed in between Porter Jr. and Damontae Kazee, who raced up from his deep safety spot to try and deflect the pass but missed badly. Etienne ran in the two-point conversion untouchded and the Jaguars led 17-3 with 5:14 to play in the third quarter. 

The Steelers offense finally came alive on the ensuing posession. Trubisky completed five of six passes for 60 yards and a touchdown to Pickens, his first reception of the day. That brought the Steelers within a score at 17-10 with just under one minute left in the period. 

As the quarter turned from the third to the fourth, the Jaguars drove deep into Steelers territory again. But facing a third and 10 from the 32-yard line, Watt stormed into the Jacksonville backfield to sack Lawrence and force a punt. 

After a touchback, the Steelers took over at their own 20-yard line. But it took just two plays for Trubisky to loft a ball into triple coverage that was promptly intercepted by Andrew Wingard at the Jacksonvill 41-yard line with 9:19 left in regulation. 

A 34-yard catch and run from Engram put the Jacksonville offense inside the redzone quickly. A false start penalty on Luke Farrell - his second of the drive - set the Jaguars back in a second and 14 and Etienne was tripped up for a one-yard loss by Miles Killebrew. The Steelers successfully held their opponents to another field goal, which he made, but trailed 20-10 with 4:35 to play in the game. 

The Steelers went no-huddle but only picked up a series of short gains to get up to their own 40 yard line. A sack set them back to third and 16 and after two more incompletions from Trubisky, the Steelers turned it back over on downs with 2:30 to play and Pittsburgh holding two timeouts. 

The Jaguars killed 30 seconds, while the Steelers burned their two remaining timeouts, and reached the two-minute warning before punting back to Pittsburgh. The Steelers offense picked up 65 yards with one last possession but it was ultimately futile as the clock ran out on an afternoon that saw them lose their starting quarterback and the game, 20-10. 

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