Chase Claypool – Claypool continues to be a rookie sensation this season, and with his 31-yard touchdown reception from Ben Roethlisberger in the second quarter to give the Steelers a 10-3 lead, he became the first rookie to score 10 touchdowns in his first 10 games of his career since 1960. Claypool had a nice sideline grab earlier in the second quarter for 10 yards and a first down. Claypool finished the game with four receptions for 59 yards (14.8 average) and a touchdown. Claypool also drew two defensive pass interference penalties that combined for 50 yards. Claypool is the first wide receiver in the Super Bowl era and the fourth in league history with at least 10 touchdowns in his first 10 career games.
Diontae Johnson – In the first half, Johnson had eight receptions on 10 targets for 97 yards (12.1 average). It’s the second straight game that Johnson had an impressive first half. He had six receptions for 116 yards (19.3 average) and a touchdown in the first half last week against the Cincinnati Bengals. Roethlisberger targeted Johnson a lot on the outside, as cornerback Tre Herndon struggled in coverage against Johnson. Roethlisberger completed a 20 and 23-yard pass to Johnson on the Steelers’ second scoring drive in the second quarter that ended with a Benny Snell Jr. 1-yard touchdown run to put the Steelers up 17-3. Johnson made a great second effort on a bobbling 23-yard reception to set the Steelers up at the Jaguars’ 1-yard line. Johnson finished the game with 12 receptions for 111 yards (9.3 average) on 16 targets. Johnson led the team in each of those categories (receptions, receiving yards and targets). Johnson has had over 100 yards receiving in back-to-back games. Johnson's 12 receptions and 16 targets were both career highs.
Minkah Fitzpatrick/Tyson Alualu – With the Steelers leading 10-3 late in the second quarter, the Jaguars were driving and had the ball at Pittsburgh’s 11-yard line. Jake Luton’s pass intended for Tyler Eifert was deflected by Tyson Alualu at the line of scrimmage and Fitzpatrick came up with the interception and returned it 37 yards to the Steelers’ 39-yard line. It was a huge play by the defense in the red zone as Jacksonville looked to tie the game. It was Fitzpatrick’s second interception in the red zone this season, with the other coming against the Cowboys in Week 9. Fitzpatrick was in the right spot at the right time and had a nice return, but Alualu’s ability to get his hands up and time it perfectly to deflect the pass was the biggest factor in forcing the turnover. Roethlisberger orchestrated a seven-play, 61-yard scoring drive that was capped off by a 1-yard Snell touchdown run to give the Steelers a 17-3 lead following the Fitzpatrick interception. Fitzpatrick picked off Luton again late in the fourth quarter to give him two interceptions for the day. Fitzpatrick finished the game with five total tackles (three solos), two passes defended and two interceptions.
James Conner – After three consecutive games of rushing fewer than 50 yards, the run game was better today and rushed for 106 yards. It was their first 100-yard rushing performance as a team since Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns. Conner had a solid performance with 89 yards rushing on 13 carries (6.8 average). Conner had a 25-yard run off the left side in the first half and had a 17-yard run on fourth-and-1 in the third quarter. On both runs, Conner bounced it to the outside.
Terrell Edmunds – Steelers fans have been calling for more splash plays from Edmunds; well, he delivered today with two interceptions on Luton. Edmunds has played well this season, but his play isn’t always noticeable because he doesn’t get many interceptions, pass breakups, forced fumbles and tackles for a loss, but he was all over the field today. Edmunds finished the game with four total tackles (two solos), two passes defended and two interceptions. Edmunds' first interception of the game was a gimme as Luton overthrew Eifert, but he made a nice play on his second interception, jumping up with one hand to tip the pass and ultimately secured the grab with both hands. The last time Edmunds had an interception was in Week 3 of the 2018 season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Steelers forced four turnovers in the game (all interceptions) and now lead the league in takeaways with 21.
Bud Dupree – Dupree had his way with left tackle Cam Robinson in the game and had a sack along with two quarterback hits on Luton. Dupree also had three total tackles (two solos), a tackle for loss and a pass defended. The Steelers lead the league in sacks with 38.
Stephon Tuitt – Tuitt had the first sack of the game for the defense in the third quarter. Tuitt now has seven sacks on the season, which is a career-high. With Tuitt's sack, the Steelers now have at least a sack in 67 consecutive regular-season games, which is the second-longest streak in NFL history. The NFL record for consecutive regular-season games with at least one sack is 69 by Tampa Bay (Oct. 10, 1999, Nov. 9, 2003). The Steelers are the first team with three different players with at least seven sacks through the season's first 10 games since Buffalo in 2014.
Eric Ebron - Roethlisberger threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ebron in the fourth quarter to put the game away and give the Steelers a 27-3 lead. Ebron on the day had four receptions for 36 yards (9.0 average) and a touchdown. Ebron has developed a nice rapport with Roethlisberger. Ebron has scored a touchdown in three of the last four games. All four of Ebron's touchdowns this year have come inside the red zone.
Offensive line – For the third straight game, the offensive line didn't allow a sack. They also only allowed three quarterback hits against the Jaguars. Coming into today’s game the offensive line gave up just 10 sacks, which was the second-fewest in the league. It's the first time in Roethlisberger's career that he's gone three straight games without being sacked
The secondary – The defense gave up just 206 total yards and three points in the game, both season-lows. Fitzpatrick and Edmunds both had two interceptions apiece (four turnovers overall for the defense), and Luton threw for just 151 yards and had a quarterback rating of 15.5. It was to be expected for the defense to dominate Luton, as he is a rookie sixth-round pick out of Oregon State and was making his third career start.
Losers
Slow start – After they got a field goal on their first drive of the game, the Jaguars tried a surprise onside kick, and Marcus Allen came up with the recovery that gave the Steelers the ball at the Jaguars’ 46-yard line. The offense managed to get just one first down and settled for a field goal attempt. The snap was low and Boswell's kick was wide left from 45 yards. It was Boswell’s first missed field goal of the season and he made 25 consecutive field goals prior, dating back to Week 11 of last year against the Browns. The Steelers couldn’t capitalize off the good starting field position at the Jaguars’ 46-yard line following Allen’s onside kick recovery. The offense couldn’t get any rhythm in their first couple of drives. They ran the ball OK at times, Conner broke off a 25-yard run to the left side, but it was still way too inconsistent. Roethlisberger threw a lot of out patterns and often got his passes deflected or batted at the line of scrimmage. You can see on the CBS broadcast that Roethlisberger displayed frustration after his pass got broken up on third down, and they had to settle for a field goal in the second quarter that tied the game at 3-3.
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