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SUPER BOWL CHAMPS SHUT OUT; ROETHLISBERGER STRUGGLES IN RETURN
By the Associated Press
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Ben Roethlisberger walked gingerly off the field near the end of the game, grimacing and grasping his side after another hard hit. The quarterback had returned to Pittsburgh's lineup barely two weeks after an emergency appendectomy, and Jacksonville made him pay for his courage, harassing him and defeating the defending Super Bowl-champion Steelers 9-0 in the lowest-scoring game ever on a Monday night.
``A lot of it was my fault,'' said Roethlisberger, who wore protective padding around his midsection. ``I told Coach, `I'll be OK.' When I get some more practice and get on the same page with the receivers, we'll be good.''
Pittsburgh could not run it either, managing only 20 yards in Willie Parker's 11 carries and 26 yards overall.
Still, the Steelers (1-1) kept it close, and got the ball back with about five minutes to play, down 6-0. But Rashean Mathis intercepted Roethlisberger's slant pass and returned it into field-goal range.
Josh Scobee then kicked his third field goal, a 42-yarder with 4:26 left. He had a 31-yarder late in the third quarter and a 32-yarder earlier in the fourth, and that's all the Jaguars (2-0) would need.
``We moved the ball well, but we did a bad job of scoring points,'' quarterback Byron Leftwich said. ``To move to the next level, we've got to have more than nine points, but we played a tough team, man. The Super Bowl champs. It was a tough, physical game and we came out on top.''
Mathis picked off another pass with 1:44 remaining, sending Roethlisberger walking slowly to the bench. Mathis also sealed the Jaguars' victory at Pittsburgh last year, intercepting a pass in overtime and returning it 41 yards for a touchdown.
The shutout was Jacksonville's first since December 2003, against Houston. It also was the fifth time the defending Super Bowl champion has been shut out; the 1980 Steelers were blanked once, and the 1981 Raiders were shut out three times.
``If you come in here with the mindset of running the ball on us, you may want to rethink that philosophy,'' Jaguars defensive end Paul Spicer said. ``It ain't going to be that easy.''
Jaguars running back Fred Taylor added, ``That's definitely one of the best defensive performances that I've seen since I've been here.''
Roethlisberger might agree. He threw his hands up in frustration after his first interception, then walked off the field with his hands on his side after his next possession, when he took a jolting shot to his midsection after throwing a pass.
He was sacked twice and knocked down several more times.
Steelers Coach Bill Cowher might be questioned for sending Roethlisberger out against Jacksonville's aggressive defense -- especially after his quarterback woke up feeling sick Sunday and had a fever earlier Monday -- but he wanted to get him ready for next weekend's game against division rival Cincinnati. Roethlisberger finished 17 of 32 for 141 yards.
``I forgot how this feeling is,'' Roethlisberger said of losing for the first time since Dec. 4, 2005. ``It's not a fun feeling. But hopefully, it's how you rebound.''
SUPER BOWL CHAMPS SHUT OUT; ROETHLISBERGER STRUGGLES IN RETURN
By the Associated Press
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Ben Roethlisberger walked gingerly off the field near the end of the game, grimacing and grasping his side after another hard hit. The quarterback had returned to Pittsburgh's lineup barely two weeks after an emergency appendectomy, and Jacksonville made him pay for his courage, harassing him and defeating the defending Super Bowl-champion Steelers 9-0 in the lowest-scoring game ever on a Monday night.
``A lot of it was my fault,'' said Roethlisberger, who wore protective padding around his midsection. ``I told Coach, `I'll be OK.' When I get some more practice and get on the same page with the receivers, we'll be good.''
Pittsburgh could not run it either, managing only 20 yards in Willie Parker's 11 carries and 26 yards overall.
Still, the Steelers (1-1) kept it close, and got the ball back with about five minutes to play, down 6-0. But Rashean Mathis intercepted Roethlisberger's slant pass and returned it into field-goal range.
Josh Scobee then kicked his third field goal, a 42-yarder with 4:26 left. He had a 31-yarder late in the third quarter and a 32-yarder earlier in the fourth, and that's all the Jaguars (2-0) would need.
``We moved the ball well, but we did a bad job of scoring points,'' quarterback Byron Leftwich said. ``To move to the next level, we've got to have more than nine points, but we played a tough team, man. The Super Bowl champs. It was a tough, physical game and we came out on top.''
Mathis picked off another pass with 1:44 remaining, sending Roethlisberger walking slowly to the bench. Mathis also sealed the Jaguars' victory at Pittsburgh last year, intercepting a pass in overtime and returning it 41 yards for a touchdown.
The shutout was Jacksonville's first since December 2003, against Houston. It also was the fifth time the defending Super Bowl champion has been shut out; the 1980 Steelers were blanked once, and the 1981 Raiders were shut out three times.
``If you come in here with the mindset of running the ball on us, you may want to rethink that philosophy,'' Jaguars defensive end Paul Spicer said. ``It ain't going to be that easy.''
Jaguars running back Fred Taylor added, ``That's definitely one of the best defensive performances that I've seen since I've been here.''
Roethlisberger might agree. He threw his hands up in frustration after his first interception, then walked off the field with his hands on his side after his next possession, when he took a jolting shot to his midsection after throwing a pass.
He was sacked twice and knocked down several more times.
Steelers Coach Bill Cowher might be questioned for sending Roethlisberger out against Jacksonville's aggressive defense -- especially after his quarterback woke up feeling sick Sunday and had a fever earlier Monday -- but he wanted to get him ready for next weekend's game against division rival Cincinnati. Roethlisberger finished 17 of 32 for 141 yards.
``I forgot how this feeling is,'' Roethlisberger said of losing for the first time since Dec. 4, 2005. ``It's not a fun feeling. But hopefully, it's how you rebound.''