What we learned from Steelers season-crushing loss versus the Jacksonville Jaguars

Steelers, Mike Tomlin
Steelers, Mike Tomlin / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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The Steelers defense kept it close but could not overcome big plays by the Jaguars offense

Let's put the final score aside for a minute and talk about these statistics: the Steelers defense gave up a total of three-hundred and seventy-seven yards for an average of nearly six yards per play. We also gave up over a hundred yards rushing again.

The Jaguars offense possessed the ball for a little over thirty-four minutes, meaning the defense was on the field for over half of the game. Part of the reason we gave up only twenty points was the fact that the defense was able to generate three turnovers and were able to 'get home' three times via the sack.

If you didn't watch the game, you should because the defense played pretty well, but gave up a huge play that resulted in a Jaguars TD that essentially put the game out of reach. Tomlin was asked about it during the post-game press conference and described it as a 'miscommunication'.

How can you have a 'miscommunication' seven games into the season? That's unacceptable and frankly, that's on the coaching staff. Once Minkah Fitzpatrick went down with an injury, that should have prompted Tomlin and Teryl Austin to alter the defensive calls, but, apparently, that was not the case.

Let's see what else we learned.