The Jacksonville Jaguars suffered yet another blowout loss after falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 27-3. The blowout marked the Jags’ ninth consecutive loss, and on a more embarrassing scale, it also marked Shad Khan’s 100th loss as the team’s owner.
When looking back at the game, not much went right for the Jags outside of their opening drive where they went down the field via a nine-play drive and kicked a Chase McLaughlin field goal. After that, the Steelers went on a 27-0 run and proved to the nation why they are undefeated.
Needless to say, the Jags struggled all around but they were flat out putrid on offense. Jake Luton struggled mightily completing 16-of-37 passes for 151 yards, four picks, and a passer rating of 15.5. He also took some shots in the pocket and had eight passes deflected, many of which came at or near the line of scrimmage.
The rookie has such a rough outing in his third start to the point where coach Doug Marrone will be left with a decision to make in terms of who will be the starter Week 12. Per Marrone, Gardner Minshew II wasn’t at 100% this week though he was ruled questionable Friday, which will lead to the team evaluating him again this week. Regardless, the bottom line is that neither quarterback is the answer past 2020, but the organization will have to cross that bridge later.
If there was one player who fans could say provided something for the offense, it was rookie running back James Robinson, who had 94 yards from scrimmage Sunday. That put him at 1,004 total yards this season. That also made him the first undrafted rookie in league history to accumulate over 1,000 scrimmage yards after their first 10 games.
As for the defense, they did what they could for the offense that had zero touchdowns on the day. They allowed 373 total yards at the hands of the Steelers offense, which isn’t good but better than the totals fans have witnessed in the past. Most were registered through the air as Ben Roethlisberger and company accumulated 267 total passing yards while barely going over 105 rushing yards.
Statistically, linebacker Joe Schobert led the way for the unit with 13 total tackles, eight of which were solo tackles. Cornerback Chris Claybrooks was second on the team with 10 total tackles, also registering eight solo tackles.
Leading the way for the Steelers receivers was Diontae Johnson, who had 12 catches on the day for 111 yards, while Roethlisberger finished the day 32-of-46 for 267 passing yards, two touchdowns, and a pick. Those two touchdowns were passes to receiver Chase Claypool and tight end Eric Ebron. Running back Benny Snell also registered a rushing touchdown.
Defensively, the wealth was distributed as linebacker Vince Williams, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, and lineman Cam Heyward were tied for total tackles with five apiece. Fitzpatrick and linebacker and safety Terrell Edmunds led the team in picks with two apiece.
Up next for the Jags will be the 7-3 Cleveland Browns, who are coming off of a 22-17 win against the Philadelphia Eagles. They will come into next Sunday’s game as six point favorites, winning three of their last four matchups.