Under Mike Tomlin, nothing comes easy for Steelers when they visit Jacksonville

Mike Tomlin bristled at the notion earlier this week of his Pittsburgh Steelers playing a trap game Sunday at Jacksonville.

He has good reason to feel that way.

No matter that the Steelers are the only undefeated team in the NFL. One look at the Steelers’ history of games at TIAA Bank Field under Tomlin’s watch is proof he can’t take the 1-8 Jaguars lightly.

Since Tomlin became Steelers coach in 2007, he has made three trips to Jacksonville, taking with him a team that had a superior record to the Jaguars. Although the Steelers won all three games, each victory was too close for comfort.

What do a Ben Roethlisberger dive, Brice McCain interception return and a big rushing day from Mewelde Moore have in common? Each helped the Steelers eke out a win in the series.

In 2018, the last time the Steelers visited the north Florida outpost, they were 6-2-1 and the Jaguars were 3-6, having lost five in a row. Yet, the Steelers trailed 16-0 with two minutes left in the third quarter. To that point, Roethlisberger had thrown three interceptions — conjuring memories of his five-interception game against Jacksonville at Heinz Field a year earlier — to go with 60 passing yards and an 11.23 passer rating.

Roethlisberger rallied the Steelers with three touchdowns in the final 17 minutes. He completed 17 of 24 passes for 254 yards that included a 78-yard touchdown to Antonio Brown and an 11-yarder to Vance McDonald with 2 minutes, 28 seconds to play.

Roethlisberger then won the game with his feet. With the ball at the Jacksonville 1 and time winding down, he took a shotgun snap and, seeing no receivers open, lunged for the goal line. Five seconds remained when Roethlisberger landed.

Final: Steelers 20, Jaguars 16

Said Tomlin: “Style points were quite ugly or few, but we got the job done.”

•••

Four years earlier, the Steelers were 2-2 and the Jaguars 0-4 when they met in Week 5. If you had tight end Michael Palmer and cornerback McCain scoring the only touchdowns, try your hand at playing the Powerball.

The Steelers went ahead for good, 10-3, late in the second quarter on Roethlisberger’s 1-yard pass to Palmer, whose catch was his only one that year and the last in an obscure five-year NFL career.

The winless Jaguars hung around, though, and trailed by a point entering the fourth quarter. It wasn’t until McCain, playing his only season for the Steelers, intercepted a pass by rookie Blake Bortles and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown that the outcome was secured.

Final: Steelers 17, Jaguars 9

Said Roethlisberger: “No matter how ugly or pretty it is, you find a way to win.”

•••

When the Steelers needed to come from behind in the final minute to win Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa after the 2008 season, they used a script from their first trip to Florida that year.

The Steelers were 3-1 when they visited the 2-2 Jaguars in October. Although Roethlisberger didn’t practice all week because of a shoulder injury, he started and finished with 309 yards passing. Moore, starting in place of an injured Willie Parker had 99 yards rushing on 17 carries.

Roethlisberger’s third attempt was returned 72 yards for a touchdown by Rashean Mathis to put the Steelers in a 7-0 hole. They took the lead in the third quarter, but a David Garrard touchdown pass to Marcedes Lewis early in the fourth pushed the Jaguars ahead, 21-20.

Roethlisberger directed an 11-play, 80-yard drive late in the game. On third-and-8, before being slammed to the ground, Roethlisberger got off an 18-yard completion to Hines Ward. A few plays later, Roethlisberger completed the comeback with an 8-yard fade to Ward.

Final: Steelers 26, Jaguars 21

Said Tomlin of Roethlisberger: “That’s how he plays football. He’s one of the best in the world at what he does.”

•••

The Steelers didn’t fare nearly as well in Jacksonville before Tomlin’s arrival. It took six tries before Bill Cowher managed to win a road game in the series.

When the two teams occupied the former AFC Central, the Jaguars owned a 6-1 home record against the Steelers. The first home win in franchise history in 1995 and a Monday night victory two years later gave Jacksonville early bragging rights.

Momentum in the series began shifting in 2002 when Jacksonville moved to the AFC South. Jeff Reed kicked six field goals, and the Jaguars couldn’t convert a tying 2-point conversion with 1:16 left to allow the Steelers to escape with a 25-23 win that year.

In 2004, the Steelers took a 10-1 record into 6-5 Jacksonville, yet they needed a 37-yard field goal by Reed with 18 seconds left to escape with a 17-16 win. Then a rookie, Roethlisberger made the first lengthy winning drive of his career, taking the Steelers 54 yards in the final two minutes to set up the field goal.

“He just said, ‘Keep your composure,’ ” Parker said.

Those words might come in handy Sunday, given the nature of the Steelers-Jaguars rivalry in Jacksonville.