Jacksonville Jaguars Hold on for a Close Playoff Win Over Pittsburgh Steelers

The Jacksonville Jaguars came into the wildcard playoff game a favorite over the Pittsburgh Steelers. At halftime, that seemed to be a pretty good prediction.

Early in the second half, Jacksonville led 21-7. Ben Roethlisberger soon put his lackluster first half behind him, though, and almost rallied his team to a second-half comeback. In the first half, Roethlisberger through three interceptions - contributing to Jacksonville's lead.

Secondhalf Comeback

Jacksonville went into halftime with a 21-7 lead over Pittsburgh. When Ben and the Steelers came back out, they rallied for a tremendous second half to re-take the lead.

Pittsburgh outscored Jacksonville 22-7 in the second half, building up a 29-28 lead. Roethlisberger threw for a couple of touchdown passes while pushing his team into the late lead in the playoff wildcard game.

Crunch Time for Jacksonville

With about five minutes left, Jacksonville had possession of the ball and was down by one point. After a first down, the drive stagnated.

Jacksonville was faced with a 3rd and 7. The Jaguars were unable to convert, as Garrard was sacked for a big loss.

The resulting punt gave the ball back to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the Jaguar defense came up with a big stop. Ben Roethlisberger tried to scramble for a thirdy down conversion and failed. The Jaguars used a time out to stop the clock, and they regained possession with a couple of minutes left.

Final Drive for Jacksonville

Early in the drive, Garrard attempted a long pass down field and almost connected with his receiver. A completion would have put the Jaguars within field goal range, but the pass was ruled incomplete.

The Jaguars coach, Del Rio, challenged the call to no avail.

As the clock wound down to the 2 minute warning, Jacksonville faced a third and short around the midfield mark. The Steelers sent plenty of pressure, and the Jaguars failed to connect on a short pass to the tight end.

Last Attempt by Garrard

With about 90 seconds left, the Jaguars faced a fourth and two. Garrard ran a design quarterback draw 30 some yards for the first down. He put the ball down around the ten yard line - easily in field goal range.

Jacksonville ran the clock down a bit, milking all of Pittsburgh's timeouts, and easily made a field goal. With a 31-29 lead and about 35 seconds on the clock, the Jaguars kicked off to the Steelers and dug in for one more defensive stop.

On the first play of the Steelers' drive, Roethlisberger was sacked and fumbled the ball. Jacksonville recovered the fumble, ending any hope of a Steeler's comeback.

It seemed like an easy win for Jacksonville, but Roethlisberger's rally almost carried the Steelers to a playoff wildcard victory. Pittsburgh fell short by a bit, though, as Jacksonville won the game with a fourth down conversion, a last minute field goal, and a great defensive strip.