Strong second half performance not enough in 17-13 loss to Steelers

After the first 19 minutes and two seconds of the game the Steelers had jumped out to a 17-0 lead. A 46 yard field goal from Josh Scobee cut the lead to 14, but the Steelers went into halftime with a comfortable two score lead on the back of 315 yards of offense compared to just 68 yards by the Jaguars.

The Jaguars did their best to make things interesting in the second half though, recording 141 yards of offense, including an 18 yard touchdown pass from Blaine Gabbert to Jason Hill at the end of a 17 play drive to cut the lead to a single score. The Jaguars defense stifled the Pittsburgh offense, allowing just three first downs and 55 yards of offense.

Ultimately, the Jaguars offense couldn't do enough in the 4th quarter to get the win. Following two consecutive three and out drives, the Jaguars managed to get in field goal range when Gabbert hit Marcedes Lewis for a 21 yard gain, but the drive again stalled and the Jaguars settled for another Scobee field goal with 4:22 remaining.

In a last ditch effort, Gabbert and the Jaguars drove the ball to the 48 yard line of the Steelers, but were unable to come away with a desperation hail mary heave.

Here are a few positives/negatives off the top of my head:

Positives:
- Cameron Bradfield played very well at left tackle and could have a legitimate future with the Jaguars.
- John Chick gets off the line extremely fast and beat Max Starks on two crucial 3rd down plays that both resulted in sacks.
- Nick Harris isn't terrible
- Greg Jones > LaMarr Woodley

Negatives:
- Will Rackley isn't ready to be a starting player in the NFL yet. He gets beat often and was responsible for a crucial sack on the final drive.
- If that's a healthy Aaron Kampman, then he has lost all burst off the line. The Jaguars should just stick with Chick and Mincey on pass rushing downs.
- Cecil Shorts is probably done returning punts. He allows the ball to bounce far too often.

RIP Dan Wheldon