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From the Press Room: Steelers vs. Jaguars

Disappointing result: It was a tough day at Acrisure Stadium for the Steelers, losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-10, while also losing quarterback Kenny Pickett and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in the first half. 

"Disappointing result for us," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "Didn't do enough over the course of the 60 minutes to secure victory. Thought we were closing the distance in the second half. Had a miscommunication and gave up a long score. We turned the ball over on the other side.

"You're not going to close distance and finish ball games giving up chunk plays and turning the ball over. So that was a major component of it. 

"From an injury perspective, Minkah has a hamstring, wasn't able to return. Kenny had a rib injury, wasn't able to return. Had some other bumps and bruises, but I think everybody else returned."

Tomlin said he has no indication yet on Pickett's status moving forward, and they have a short week to prepare to take on the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium. 

"We don't have a lot of time to absorb the result of this," said Tomlin. "We've got a short week. So, we'll do so quickly and quickly turn our attention on planning toward Tennessee. 

"As unfortunate as the outcome of this game is, it is final. We'd better turn our attention toward the next opportunity on the short week, and those are our intentions."

The offense struggled to move the ball early, with four straight three and outs to open the game.

"We missed a big play down the middle early," said Tomlin. "We missed another corner route early. We've just got to execute better at the early portions of football games obviously. 

"The early portions of the game doesn't decide the outcome. It doesn't. It usually doesn't. It didn't today. Obviously, you want more fluid starts, but it didn't determine the outcome of the game.

"I thought the critical things were the things that transpired in the second half. The long score, the turnover, the things you can't do as you're leaning in on the last portion of a football game."

No time to sulk: The Steelers defense created two turnovers in the first half and took the ball away on the first drive of the third quarter. 

After that, though, the Jaguars were able to maintain drives, scoring 11 second half points to secure the win. 

It was all about them continuing to move the chains.

"Continue to convert. Continue to move the chains," said linebacker T.J. Watt of what happened. "I think it was pretty obvious we had a problem stopping it." 

Watt knows they don't have much time to change things around as they take on the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night. 

"No time to sit and sulk. We have a game on Thursday," said Watt. "That's part of the beauty of the NFL. We have to move past it, but at the same time, we also can't just can it. We have to look at the film and learn from it."

One thing that won't be fun to watch on film is seeing safety Minkah Fitzpatrick leave the game injured. Fitzpatrick injured his hamstring in the first half and didn't return. 

Watt said it has to be the next man up mentality when a player like Fitzpatrick goes out.  

"Any time you lose an All-Pro player, a guy who is a leader in the back and a leader in the defense is a big blow, but it's one that we have to be able to manage," said Watt. "Whether it's with one guy, whether it's with two or three guys, we always preach the next man up mentality. Everybody's in the meetings. Everybody's at practice. 

"It's all about the next man and what he's able to do and fill in that spot."

Pushing it down the field: There's a fine line at times between trying to make a play and forcing one that just isn't there.

Backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky admittedly got caught on the wrong side of that line on Sunday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium.

"Forced the throw on my part, trying to make a play downfield," Trubisky said of the interception he threw on second-and-3 from the Steelers' 27-yard line with 9:26 left in the fourth quarter and the Steelers trailing the Jaguars, 17-10.

The pass was intended for wide receiver Allen Robinson, who had drawn a crowd by the time it arrived, and it was eventually intercepted by Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard at the Jacksonville 41.

The Jaguars turned the turnover into a seven-play, 40-yard drive for a field goal and a two-score advantage that ultimately stood as the final margin in the visitors' 20-10 triumph.

"They were playing a lot of (Cover) 2 in the second half, us playing behind," Trubisky continued. "We needed to push the ball down the field a little bit.

"(The defense was) clouding to (wide receiver) George (Pickens) a lot. I was trying to get the ball to 'A-Rob.' It was a force. Good play by them.

"That's on me, I've got to be better, take what they gave me. Especially with us only being down seven at that point, I should have probably checked it down and hopefully move on from there."

Trubisky had delivered what was needed in relief of starter Kenny Pickett (ribs) on the eight-play, 75-yard drive in 4:12 that ended with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Pickens that brought the Steelers to within 17-10 with 53 seconds left in the third quarter.

Trubisky was 5-for-6 passing for 60 yards on the march and also contributed an 8-yard scramble.

One of the completions was an improvised, extended-play, 12-yard connection with wide receiver Dionate Johnson that moved the chains on third-and-2 from the Steelers' 48.

"We had one good drive where we went down and scored," Trubisky said. "It's got to be more consistent than that."

And the critical turnovers have to be avoided.

"Forcing the throw, absolutely," Trubisky said. "I've got to be smarter. I'm out there trying to win the game. We're not just trying to run the ball or check it down every time. That was a force on my part, but I wanted to come in and try to make plays for this offense.

"Maybe on that instance I was doing too much, and that's where you get in trouble. I wanted to push the ball down the field, and that was the wrong thing to do on that play. Got to learn from it.

"Maybe if I don't turn the ball over, it's a little closer. Defense played really well again. We've got to be more consistent on offense. Just continue to go out there, execute, and make plays."

Bringing you the action: For fans who don't want to miss any of the action, NFL+ is here, which means you can now watch the Steelers live and on the go! Watch live local and primetime regular season games on mobile, plus NFL RedZone, NFL Network, live audio and more - all in one place. Start your free trial today here.

Game action photos from the Steelers' Week 8 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Acrisure Stadium

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