Steelers get off to the worst start possible against Jaguars
Update: The Jaguars now lead 21-0.
That didn’t take long.
The upstart Jacksonville Jaguars opened Sunday’s divisional-round game against the favored Pittsburgh Steelers about as well as any of the dozen Jaguars fans in existence could’ve hoped for.
On the Jaguars opening possession, quarterback Blake Bortles marched down the field, slicing up the Pittsburgh defense.
In fact, Bortles nearly caught up to his total passing yards from the AFC wild card game in his first drive.
Bortles threw for 87 total yards against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild-card game. He threw for 53 on his first drive against the Steelers.
Jacksonville, very much embracing the role of underdog, even took a big gamble in the first quarter.
On fourth-and-goal, instead of taking the chip shot field goal, the Jaguars chose to go for it on fourth down.
One heroic leap from Leonard Fournette later, the Jaguars drew first blood to take a 7-0 lead.
On 4th-and-goal…@_fournette DIVES for the @Jaguars TD! #JAXvsPIT #NFLPlayoffs
📺: @NFLonCBS https://t.co/a4EmjVmg2I— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2018
A few possessions later, the Jaguars, who had picked off Ben Roethlisberger five times in their previous meeting, notched another interception against the longtime Steelers starting quarterback.
This time, it was linebacker Myles Jack who made an athletic interception on the sidelines.
The @Jaguars defense is at it again.@MylesJack INTERCEPTION! #JAXvsPIT #NFLPlayoffs
📺: @NFLonCBS https://t.co/S8iGZy6D4q— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2018
That led to Leonard Fournette’s second touchdown run of the day.
WOW.@_fournette is IN for his second TD of the day! #JAXvsPIT #NFLPlayoffs
📺: @NFLonCBS https://t.co/hyixyAj8KS
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2018
After review, the tiptoeing Fournette was ruled in for a touchdown.
Things only got worse for the Steelers from there. Down 14-0, the Steelers went for it on fourth-and-inches while in field goal range.
They promptly lost yardage and gave the ball back to a Jaguars team that is quickly gaining momentum.
The Steelers face an early two- touchdown deficit heading into the second quarter. Things could not have gone any worse for the storied Steelers franchise in the opening quarter against the Jaguars.
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