Steelers score 3 TDs in final 17 minutes to rally past Jaguars

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Down by 16 points and held scoreless with barely a quarter of football remaining Sunday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers could have kept wilting in the hot Florida sun, content to play out the string and head home knowing they still occupied first place in the AFC North.

Given that they were being manhandled for a third time in two years by the Jacksonville Jaguars, would anyone have blamed them for chalking up another loss to the team that ended their 2017 season?

"Any other team would have caved,” guard Ramon Foster said. "I think that says a lot about our guys.”

Instead of caving, the Steelers responded and got the sweetest type of revenge. They scored three touchdowns and stunned the Jaguars, 20-16, when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger pushed the ball across the goal line for a 1-yard touchdown with 5 seconds remaining.

The final two scores came in the final 2:28 and sent Jacksonville (3-7) to its sixth consecutive defeat.

"This felt good, especially with how last year ended,” center Maurkice Pouncey said. "I think every guy on this team wanted this win majorly. We wish we could have played it out a little differently. We didn't do well in the first half.”

Correction: The Steelers (7-2-1) didn't do well deep into the third quarter. Roethlisberger threw three interceptions, and the Jaguars turned two of those picks into 10 points and a 16-0 lead. There was 2:09 left in the third quarter when Leonard Fournette scored on a 2-yard plunge against a Steelers defense that to that juncture was powerless to stop the run.

"It's a crazy feeling,” Foster said. "It was one of those, 'No, no, we can't be doing this again.' ”

The game was following the lines of the 30-9 regular-season loss to Jacksonville rather than the 45-42 playoff defeat. Roethlisberger, intercepted five times in that October defeat, had 60 yards passing and an 11.23 passer rating. This, after he was a perfect 158.3 in a 52-21 win over Carolina just 10 days earlier.

"I don't get mad at myself when I throw interceptions because of the stats or anything like that,” Roethlisberger said. "I get mad at myself because I feel like I let my guys down.”

In the final 17 minutes, Roethlisberger responded with a 78-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown and an 11-yarder to Vance McDonald. Roethlisberger was 17 of 24 for 254 yards with no interceptions after Fournette's touchdown.

"It's the trust that starts with (No.) 7,” McDonald said. "When the ball is in his hands, we always have a chance.”

Two plays after Fournette's touchdown, Roethlisberger found Brown running wide open down the middle of the field. The 78-yard catch-and-run with 1:17 left in the third provided a glimmer of hope.

"Even after that, we never really got it going,” Roethlisberger said. "It wasn't like we went on a tear and started connecting.”

On the next two possessions, the Steelers went three-and-out and then turned the ball over on downs at the Jacksonville 43 with 6:53 remaining.

But a defense that was shredded for 172 rushing yards through three quarters suddenly was impenetable. Jacksonville not only didn't gain a first down on their next four drives, they totaled minus-15 yards on eight runs, two sacks and two passes.

"We played our gaps better, we were more sound,” defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said. "We cleaned up some stuff we were doing.”

The Steelers got the ball back with 5:06 remaining. Roethlisberger led them on an eight-play, 80-yard march, finding McDonald in the back of the end zone with 2:28 left. The big play was a twisting back-shoulder catch by JuJu Smith-Schuster for 21 yards.

The defense forced another three-and-out, stopping Fournette for 1 yard on a third-and-5. After a punt, the Steelers got the ball at their 32 with 1:42 and remaining and one timeout at their discretion.

A 35-yard reception by Smith-Schuster put the ball at the Jaguars 27. Roethlisberger threw deep to James Conner, who dropped a sure touchdown as he was running alone down the left side.

A 25-yard completion to Brown on third-and-10 set up the Steelers at the 2, and Roethlisberger spiked the ball with 22 seconds left.

A facemask penalty on cornerback D.J. Hayden wiped out his interception in the end zone. A holding call negated an incompletion, giving the Steelers another first-and-goal from the 1 with 8 seconds left.

Working out of the shotgun, Roethlisberger took the snap and moved to his right. Realizing his first two targets were covered, Roethlisberger turned toward the end zone and dived for the goal line.

"I don't think that's the first option,” guard David DeCastro said. "But if it works, it works.”

All that was left was for the Steelers to put a bow on their sixth consecutive victory, one that lifted them two-and-a-half games ahead of Baltimore (5-5) and Cincinnati (5-5). Coach Mike Tomlin beat on his chest as he walked off the field. A fitting tribute since his team finally beat the Jaguars.

"Style points were quite ugly or few,” Tomlin said, "but we got the job done.”

Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at jrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tribjoerutter.