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Steelers face mirror image in Jaguars

Jan 5, 2008 - 12:54 PM Jacksonville (11-5) at Pittsburgh (10-6) Saturday 8:00 pm EST

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- A strong ground game, sturdy defense and efficient quarterback play have been the trademarks for the Pittsburgh Steelers for decades.

Pittsburgh looks to continue a long history of postseason success when it hosts the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night in an AFC wild card game.

The Steelers may have one problem with that formula this weekend. In the Jaguars, they will face an opponent which does all three things as well - if not better.

That was evident on December 16, when Jacksonville went into Pittsburgh on a cold, snowy afternoon and grinded out a 29-22 victory behind 147 yards rushing from Fred Taylor.

The final score was not indicative of the superiority of the Jaguars, who handed the Steelers their only home loss of the season.

Jacksonville had a 25-13 edge in first downs and carried a 22-7 lead into the final quarter before Ben Roethlisberger rallied Pittsburgh with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes to forge a 22-22 tie.

Undaunted, the Jaguars marched 73 yards on eight plays for the winning touchdown, a 12-yard run by Taylor, who has torn up the Steelers' defense for 381 yards in his last two games.

"A lot of guys didn't believe that we could come up here, on the road, and play a team like Pittsburgh and win the game," Taylor said. "We just played the game."

Jacksonville ran the ball right at the heart of the league's second-best rushing defense on the winning drive. Taylor's rushing total was the most by an opponent in the history of Heinz Field as the Jaguars finished with 225 yards on the ground. Maurice Jones-Drew, who has scored 26 touchdowns in 29 career games, added 99 yards rushing and receiving.

"We didn't like our performance the last time we played Jacksonville, and that's not taking anything away from them," first-year Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "We know what type of team they are, and we have work to do."

Sparked by five consecutive 100-yard performances from Taylor, the Jaguars had won three in a row and six of seven before last weekend's meaningless 42-28 loss at Houston in which they rested most of their regulars.

One fact does bode well for the Steelers in Saturday's rematch. In the 75-year history of the franchise, they have never lost at home twice to the same team in the same season.

"We're matched up against a great organization," Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio said. "We're expecting a tough, hard-fought football game ... Saturday night under the lights."

Del Rio deserves much of the credit for the Jaguars' success. It was his decision to name an unproven David Garrard over fan favorite Byron Leftwich as the starter entering the season.

Garrard has proven to be the model of efficiency in his first full season under center. Despite missing three games with a high ankle sprain and sitting out the season finale, Garrard completed 208-of-325 passes (64.0 percent) for 2,509 yards.

The most gaudy numbers, however, are Garrard's 18 touchdown passes vs. just three interceptions. He was not picked off this season until December 2 against the Indianapolis Colts.

"We can go into any game and be confident," wide receiver Ernest Wilford said. "David (Garrard) is on fire. By the time we get there, we'll be hitting on all cylinders."

Jacksonville could not be catching the Steelers at a better time.

Pittsburgh dropped three of its last four games, although last weekend's loss to the Baltimore Ravens was meaningless.

Of more concern is that the Steelers have an average of 28.5 points in the stretch after allowing just three opponents to score over 20 points during the first 12 weeks.

Pittsburgh is also without running back Willie Parker, who broke a shin bone in a 41-24 victory over the St. Louis Rams on December 21.

The league's leader rushing at the time, the speedy Parker will be replaced by battering ram Najeh Davenport.

The could put more of an onus on Roethlisberger, who has had a splendid season in earning a trip to the Pro Bowl.

After leading the Steelers to the fifth Super Bowl title in franchise history in 2005, Roethlisberger regressed last season, throwing 18 touchdowns passes and 23 interceptions.

But under Tomlin and a more quarterback-friendly offense this season, Roethlisberger threw for 3,154 yard, 32 TD passes and just 11 picks. He closed the season with a flourish, earning a perfect 158.3 rating in the win over the Rams.