COIN TOSS: Steelers win the toss and elect to receive.
7:16 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers moved the ball on the game's opening possession, but it was in spite of their offensive line. Five of the six plays were passes, but Mitch Trubisky was running for his life on each attempt. Trubisky completed two of those four attempts – 4 yards to Benny Snell and 29 yards to Chase Claypool – and the Steelers ended up with a fourth-and-3 from the Jaguars 35-yard line. Chris Boswell's 53-yard field goal attempt bounced off the left upright.
7:25 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers' second offensive possession was much like the first, only this time Mitch Trubisky was sacked on third down to send Pressley Harvin on to the field to punt. On the first series, Trubisky was able to escape when Dan Moore Jr. was beaten by Josh Allen, but this time Allen got home and completed the sack for an 8-yard loss. Harvin's punt traveled 41 yards and the Jaguars took over at their 29-yard line.
7:39 p.m. – What Went Wrong: Jacksonville's second possession ended with a 53-yard field goal by Ryan Santoso that capped a 10-play, 37-yard drive that ate up 5:50 of the game clock. The Jaguars converted their first two third-down opportunities they faced on the drive – a 16-yard pass to Marvin Jones converted a third-and-7, and then a 16-yard run by Trevor Lawrence converted a third-and-8. A holding penalty on OT Cam Robinson helped stall the drive, and the Jaguars settled for that Santoso field goal with 2:16 left in the first quarter.
FIRST QUARTER: Jaguars 3, Steelers 0
7:59 p.m. – What Went Wrong: Jacksonville went on a 14-play, 83-yard drive, but then had to settle for a red zone field goal – this one from 25-yards out by Ryan Santoso – to give the Jaguars a 6-0 lead with 6:06 remaining in the first half. Trevor Lawrence completed 5-of-7 for 61 yards on the drive, and what was telling was that the Jaguars faced only two third-down situations on the possession.
8:08 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers fifth possession of the game was a three-and-out, and again a gaffe by the offensive line was a contributing factor. With Kenny Pickett at quarterback, the Steelers were hurt by penalties – an illegal motion penalty (both Chase Claypool and Gunner Olszewski were in motion at the same time) ended up being a 4-yard loss when Pickett took a knee as whistles were blowing – and then a 19-yard completion to Claypool was nullified by a holding penalty on James Daniels. After a 47-yard punt by Pressley Harvin, the Jaguars took over at their 30-yard line.
8:27 p.m. – What Went Right: It started with the defense turning the ball over on downs when Damontae Kazee came up to drop Evan Engram after a short gain failed to convert the fourth-and-6. Starting at the Pittsburgh 37-yard line, Kenny Pickett drove the Steelers 63 yards in five plays and capped it off with an 11-yard pass to Benny Snell for the touchdown. On the drive, Pickett completed 4-of-5 for all 63 yards, and the one incompletion was a spike to stop the clock. Following Chris Boswell's PAT, the Steelers led, 7-6, a lead they would take into halftime.
HALFTIME: Steelers 7, Jaguars 6
8:46 p.m. What Went Right: At halftime, Coach Mike Tomlin's assessment was that his team was leading, 7-6, because of good performances in situational football. That continued into the third quarter when the defense got off the field with a three-and-out during the opening possession. Derrek Tuszka made the tackle on a running play for a 1-yard gain and then batted a pass down at the line of scrimmage.
9:01 p.m. – What Went Wrong: It took until midway through the third period, the offensive line's mistakes cost the Steelers points, and also the lead. A 51-yard punt by Logan Cooke was downed at the Steelers 1-yard line, and on the second play of that series, defensive tackle Dawuane Smoot defeated John Leglue and got to Mason Rudolph, who unloaded the ball in an effort to avoid a safety. But Rudolph was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone, which awarded the Jaguars 2 points and an 8-7 lead with 9:15 remaining in the third period.
THIRD QUARTER: Jaguars 8, Steelers 7
9:17 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The ramifications of being handled at the line of scrimmage continued to haunt the Steelers. Facing a fourth-and-1 at the Jaguars 45-yard line in the final seconds of the third quarter, Coach Mike Tomlin elected to go for it. The play was a jet sweep to Gunner Olszewski, but tight end Kevin Rader was driven into the backfield that destroyed the play. Olszewski ended up losing the football, and Adam Gotsis recovered for Jacksonville at the Jaguars 48-yard line.
9:26 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Jaguars extended their lead on a 3-yard touchdown scramble by quarterback C.J. Beathard with 12:17 left in the fourth quarter, and the score was aided by a couple of costly penalties on the Steelers. A first-and-10 at the Steelers 34-yard line became a first-and-10 at the Steelers 19-yard line when OLB Delontae Scott was flagged for roughing Beathard after an incomplete pass. Then a holding penalty on Tre Norwood allowed Jacksonville to convert a third-down situation and extend the possession. The Jaguars led, 15-7.
9:38 p.m. – What Went Right: The kickoff following C.J. Beathard's touchdown run was returned for 38 yards by Anthony McFarland to set up the offense at its 35-yard line. Nick Sciba's 38-yard field goal capped the drive and cut the deficit to 15-10 with 6:20 remaining in the fourth quarter. But because of the inefficiency of the offensive line, the offense had to resort to the dink-and-dunk style that characterized the 2021 season, with Mason Rudolph completing 7-of-8 but for only 38 yards.
9:47 p.m. – What Went Right: Just when it appeared the Jaguars were on the verge of scoring the points that would ice the outcome, Justin Layne intercepted an E.J. Perry pass and returned it 35 yards to give the ball to the offense at the Pittsburgh 48-yard line with 3:03 remaining.
9:55 p.m. – What Went Right: The offense converted the field position delivered by Justin Layne's interception. Mason Rudolph completed 4-of-6 for 52 yards, including the 1-yard touchdown to Tyler Snead. Tyler Vaughns caught two passes on the drive for 46 yards. Following a missed 2-point conversion attempt, the Steelers held a 16-15 lead with 1:56 left in the fourth quarter.
FINAL SCORE: Steelers 16, Jaguars 15
