3 takeaways from Jaguars mixed-bag 16-15 preseason loss vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Jacksonville Jaguars took on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, their third preseason matchup of the year and third loss of the preseason, 16-15. The team has now lost nine of their last 10 preseason contests. Their last victory in the preseason came last year against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 of the 2021 preseason.

Jacksonville sent out the majority of their healthy starters to get a closer look at what they might have by the time the regular season kicks off against the Washington Commanders on Sept. 11.

Of course, a few of the team's front-line players couldn't suit up tonight, including running back James Robinson (Achilles), linebacker Devin Lloyd (hamstring) and defensive back Darious Williams (shoulder). All three players were previously ruled out of Saturday's matchup by head coach Doug Pederson on Thursday.

In the case of Robinson, there's an expectation of him suiting up Week 1, while Lloyd appears likely ready to go soon and Williams' status still up in the air as we quickly approach the regular season. All three players, though, have participated in some capacity during training camp over the last few weeks - a good sign.

Cornerback Shaq Griffin was expected to play in Saturday night's contest, but was held out due to back tightness, Pederson said following the game.

"He had some back tightness this morning when he woke up. So, we tried to get it loose, and … again, the nature of where we are in camp, you just don't want to push guys like that and risk further injury," he said.

Cornerbacks Chris Claybrooks and rookie CB Buster Brown rotated in his spot throughout the contest. The remainder of the team's defensive starters earned playing time.

Offensively, the Jaguars suited up all 11 starters, including free-agent pickup, receiver Christian Kirk, who saw his first action as a Jaguar on Saturday.

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Prior to taking the field on Saturday, Pederson made it known that he wanted to see more from his defensive unit. The starters were only able to log around nine snaps against the Cleveland Browns and this was an opportunity for them to get more work on film prior to the regular season.

"For me I do want to see our starters play a little longer, go a little deeper in the second quarter," said early last week. "Our defensive starters haven’t played a ton in the first two games. They’ve done well, they just haven’t played a whole lot. I want to see them play a little bit more in this game and same with the offense. Again just start seeing the consistency with those two units."

As for Pittsburgh, 10 of their starters would play on offense, while nine of their starters would play on defense, including All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who beat right tackle Walker Little for a sack just before the end of the fourth quarter.

Running back Najee Harris didn't suit up for Pittsburgh.

First-team offense struggles to finish

Jacksonville sent its full offensive starters out in the game with plenty of promise after a couple of successful drives last week against the Cleveland Browns. It was an up-and-down affair for the starting offense, which played the entire first half of the contest.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence was able to lead the team down for three field-goal opportunities, including two connections from kicker Ryan Santoso, making a 25-yard field goal and a 53-yard field goal. He'd miss a 51-yard FG early in the contest on the team's first drive of the game.

Lawrence and the starting offense gained 10 first downs on the night, including several through the air. He was sacked just one time on the night. Lawrence finished the contest after completing 14 out of 21 of his passes for 133 yards. Playing in a game together for the first time, Lawrence and Kirk were able to connect on five throws for 54 yards. Kirk received the most targets among starters with eight on the night.

Still, the theme of the night was that the team simply couldn't finish offensively, settling for three field goals, unable to strike in the end zone. There is some progress that's been made, but there's still plenty of work to be done prior to the regular season starting.

The first-team offense finished with 187 net yards. They converted five out of nine (56%) of their third downs on the night. There was some promise shown throughout the night, including a nice 22-yard reception by Kirk from Lawrence to the 12-yard-line in the second quarter.

Offensive line musical chairs continues

The Jaguars entered the week with some newness on its offensive line. Though veteran offensive lineman Tyler Shatley started the past two games at left guard, the team opted to make a switch, giving third-year guard Ben Bartch an opportunity to earn the starting role. Pederson indicated earlier in the week that the race was neck-and-neck.

"You could start Ben one week and Tyler the next. It’s that close right now," Pederson said at the time.

Pederson and his staff opted to put Bartch out there first against the Steelers, giving him an opportunity to earn the starting nod at left guard. At right tackle, the team's other competition on its offensive line, right tackle Jawaan Taylor and Walker Little rotated throughout the night, with Taylor starting the game and playing one extra drive into the third quarter.

Taylor would play three drives, excluding two plays to end the first half, while Little played just two possessions on the night.

The team will likely want to solidify the starting unit as it prepares to leave for Atlanta next week for joint practices and its final preseason game of the year against the Falcons.

Defense gets more run, stout for most of the game

Though they allowed a late first-half touchdown, the Jaguars' defense played stout for the majority of the contest with nine of the first-team players, including outside linebackers Josh Allen and Travon Walker, cornerback Tyson Campbell, safeties Andre Cisco and Rayshawn Jenkins and defensive linemen Roy Robertson-Harris and DaVon Hamilton and inside linebacker Foye Oluokun received plenty of playing time throughout the night.

Though DL Foley Fatukasi made the start tonight, he exited the game with an undisclosed injury near the end of the first quarter and did not return to the game. When asked following the game whether or not he had an update on him, Pederson said that he didn't at this time, opting to wait until they can get a full medical workup on the veteran defensive tackle.

"We'll see where he's at. Last word I got, he was okay. He wanted to go back in the football game, but we just said, you know, pump the brakes and get healthy," said Pederson.

Although there was a bit of a rotation, Jacksonville's starting unit on defense played a total of 26 plays on the night, including one drive into the third quarter.

They would allow a total of six first downs, including four during the Steelers' final drive of the second quarter heading into halftime. They forced Pittsburgh to punt four times, including three out of their first four drives.

Last week, Jacksonville's starting unit, at least the majority of the starters, played just nine snaps. Getting the team more run defensively was part of the plan heading into the night, allowing them to develop more chemistry as they inch toward the regular season.

The starting defense ended their night on a high note with a nice tackle for no-gain from Campbell against Steelers rookie WR George Pickens.

The Jaguars will take on the Atlanta Falcons for their final preseason game of the year on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 3 p.m. in Atlanta.

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 3 takeaways from Jaguars 16-15 preseason loss vs. Pittsburgh Steelers