PITTSBURGH -- It's fitting that the Jaguars were in Pittsburgh during the week of Halloween. The Steelers' boogeyman of sorts in past years, Jacksonville once again was a thorn in Pittsburgh's side during Sunday's 20-10 win.
In addition to the loss, the Steelers lost starting quarterback Kenny Pickett to a rib injury late in the first half. Pickett didn't return to the game as Pittsburgh's offense was led by Mitch Trubisky from that point on.
Jacksonville largely dominated the game, but several miscues allowed the Steelers to stay in it. In the end, Jacksonville managed to overcome three turnovers and Pittsburgh's resilience to move to 6-2 on the season while remaining in first place in the AFC South.
The Jaguars took a 9-3 halftime lead despite committing two turnovers deep in Steelers territory. They also missed a chance to take an early 10-0 lead when cornerback Tre Herndon dropped a sure pick-six on Pittsburgh's second possession.
Jacksonville's game-winning score was courtesy of running back Travis Etienne, whose 56-yard catch-and-carry stretched the lead to 17-3 with 5:05 left in the third. Jacksonville essentially put it away on their on Brandon McManus' fourth field goal following Andrew Wingard's pick of Trubisky, who had given the Steelers life moments earlier on his touchdown pass to George Pickens.
Here's a closer look at what transpired in Pittsburgh
Why the Jaguars won
Jacksonville managed to overcome their mistakes while forcing their own. The Jaguars took the lead, never surrendered it and never allowed the Steelers to take back momentum.
The Jaguars enjoyed a stellar game from Lawrence, who threw for 292 yards despite absorbing several shots from Pittsburgh's defense. He had a lot of success throwing to Evan Engram and Calvin Ridley, who caught a combined 16 passes for 171 yards.
Defensively, the Jaguars made the Steelers one-dimensional while putting the game in the hands of the quarterbacks. Expecting a pass on nearly every play, the Jaguars played back and didn't allow the Steelers to make any big plays downfield.
Jacksonville's dominant day included a perfect kicking performance from McManus, who made field goals of 50, 51, 38 and 37 yards.
Why the Steelers lost
Once again, Pittsburgh's offense struggled to do anything early on. The unit produced just seven yards in the first quarter and didn't record its first first down until the 9:33 mark in the second half. Specifically, the Steelers' offense continues to struggle on third down. The 27th ranked offense in the NFL on third down coming into the game, Pittsburgh was just 3 of 11 on third down against the Jaguars.
While their defense kept them in the game, the unit did fail to come up with a stop late in the game. It also allowed too many big plays that included several key third down conversions by Jacksonville.
Injuries also contributed to the Steelers' loss. Along with losing Pickett, Pittsburgh lost Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in the first half with a hamstring injury.
Turning point
Pittsburgh was in position to tie the game after forcing a punt with 10:14 left. But Wingard's pick set up the Jaguars' game-clinching scoring drive. Wingard played well in relief of injured starter Andre Cisco, who was inactive.
Play of the game
Engram's 34-yard catch-and-run was huge as it set up the Jaguars' final points, but the nod here goes to Etienne, whose touchdown catch came after he was ruled as questionable to return with an ankle injury.
Quotables
"I don't think we've ever thrown the ball to the running back out there. Gotta give a lot of credit to Travis for staying ready and knowing what the look was. They played a Cover 2. The corner jumped our out (Ridley), and Travis was just rolling down the sideline. ... That's a tough play for the running back. Him being able to haul it and score was a huge play for us." -- Lawrence on his game-winning touchdown pass to Etienne.
"I was pissed. I had a lot of stuff going through my head. 'Why aren't we moving the ball? What's the issue?' But at the end of the day, like I said, we've just got to keep playing, keep believing in one another." -- Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson on Pittsburgh's ongoing issues on offense, specifically early in games
What's next
The Steelers have a short week before they host the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night. The Jaguars will enter their bye week before welcoming the 49ers to town in Week 10.