Late Block Earns Jags A 3-0 Start
There must be something about the night air that brings out the gremlins in kicking games.
The Jacksonville Jaguars welcomed those gremlins Monday night, beating Pittsburgh 30-21 when the Steelers botched a field goal attempt on the final play of the game, Clyde Simmons blocked it and Chris Hudson returned it 58 yards for a touchdown.
It’s the second Monday night in a row it happened. Last week, the Philadelphia Eagles botched a snap and were unable to get off a game-winning field goal attempt in Dallas.
“Don’t ever take anything for granted,” said Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin. “One thing I’ve noticed this year are the number of errors that take place in field goal protection and field goal coverage. I had a good feeling we could block it.”
The play overshadowed a battle of the Bs - Pittsburgh’s Jerome Bettis and Jacksonville’s Mark Brunell, who returned from a knee injury earlier than expected and threw for 306 yards for Jacksonville. With the help of a roughness penalty on Pittsburgh’s Nolan Harrison, Brunell drove the Jaguars into position for Mike Hollis’ 27-yard field goal with 4:14 left that gave them a 23-21 lead.
It was the third home win in three tries over Pittsburgh as Jacksonville (3-0) joined Denver, New England and Tampa Bay (all 4-0) as the NFL’s unbeaten teams. It was the Jaguars’ seventh straight regular-season win, dating back Nov. 17.
Brunell, who watched as Rob Johnson and Steve Matthews won the first two games, threw for one touchdown as Jacksonville lost a 17-7 halftime lead, then rallied to go ahead 23-21 before the final play.
The Jaguars added the final extra point after many players had left the field. Unlike overtime, NFL rules require a team to attempt a conversion on a touchdown at the end of regulation - even if the game is already decided.
It was Bettis who rallied the Steelers (1-2), rushing for 114 yards, 97 in the second half as the Steelers took a 21-20 lead.
But it was Brunell and Jimmy Smith who overcame the second-half heroics of Bettis. Smith had 10 catches for 164 yards.
Jacksonville controlled the first half, holding the ball for more than 21 of the 30 minutes and scoring off two turnovers.
Then the Steelers turned to Bettis. They went 80 yards in 13 plays off the opening kickoff of the second half, 44 of the yards by Bettis.
Then, after Hollis’ 45-yard field goal extended Jacksonville’s lead to 20-14, the Steelers struck again.
Will Blackwell’s 52-yard kickoff return gave Pittsburgh the ball on the Jacksonville 48, and from there the Steelers took seven plays to score - on Kordell Stewart’s 1-yard pass to Mark Breuner on the first play of the fourth quarter.