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Bruised Steelers face another physical meeting with Jags

Oct 1, 2008 - 12:27 AM PITTSBURGH (3-1) AT JACKSONVILLE (2-2), 8:15pm EDT

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers need a week off. Strike that - they needed one last week.

The NFL schedule, however, has other ideas. What it has in store for the Steelers is yet another brutal matchup against one of their nemeses, as they head south to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday night.

Then, and only then, can Pittsburgh finally get a one-week reprieve to lick its wounds.

But the Steelers can't take much more punishment - they're being held together by duct tape as it is. Sure, they're 3-1 and have a leg up on their AFC North competition - but as first-place teams go, they're in a precarious position.

Franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is nursing a bruised right shoulder. Two-time Pro Bowl running back Willie Parker is out with a strained knee and his backup, first-round pick Rashard Mendenhall, suffered a season-ending injury when he fractured his right shoulder in Monday's 23-20 overtime win over the Baltimore Ravens.

With rushing duties being left to backup Mewelde Moore - who hasn't had 20 carries in a game since 2005 - the bulk of the Pittsburgh offense will likely be left up to Roethlisberger and his tender throwing arm. He has not thrown more than 25 passes in a game this year, but with his backfield almost completely depleted, he will likely spend a lot more time in the pocket on Sunday.

Considering the kind of damage he's taken the last few weeks, that's not necessarily a good thing.

The fifth-year veteran has been sacked 11 times over his last two games, including eight in a 15-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles two weeks ago, during which he also injured his right hand. Another showdown against the Jaguars doesn't bode well, either - in the teams' two meetings last season, Roethlisberger was under heavy pressure throughout and got sacked 11 times combined.

The Steelers have lost each of their last four meetings to the Jaguars, including a first-round playoff defeat in January. The former AFC Central rivals have met in all but one season since splitting into separate divisions in 2002 and nearly every game has been a dogfight.

Pittsburgh's last victory over Jacksonville was in 2004, as Jeff Reed's 37-yard goal with 18 seconds remaining lifted the Steelers to a 17-16 win.

This year's Jaguars have relied on the heroics from their own kicker. Pegged as potential Super Bowl contenders before the season, they stumbled to an 0-2 start but have been saved by Josh Scobee. The fifth-year kicker booted game-winning field goals in the final minute each of the last two weeks.

The Jaguars' highly touted defense ranks just 24th in the league through four weeks, managing just five sacks and five takeaways, while quarterback David Garrard has already surpassed his 2007 interception total (three) with four picks this season.