Helping their cause: Five Jaguars who improved their stock in second half vs. Steelers

After the Jaguars' first offense and defense finished for the night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was left to the second- and third-team players to make their case to either survive Monday's second cutdown (from 85 to 80 players) or get a bump on the depth chart.

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Here's how five players battling for roster spots or the first team fared after the 16-15 loss at TIAA Bank Field:

Ryquell Armstead

If the Jaguars keep four running backs, it's between Ryquell Armstead or Mekhi Sargent. Armstead had four carries for 7 yards but one of those was an 11-yard gain, and he also caught a pass for 6 yards.

But Armstead made the special-teams play of the game in the third quarter. He hustled downfield on a Logan Cooke punt and dove into the end zone to bat the ball back into play, where it was downed at the 2 by Brandon Rusnak.

Two plays later, Dawuane Smoot came crashing down, beat guard John Leglue and forced quarterback Mason Rudolph into an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone, resulting in a safety for the Jags.

Dawaune Smoot

The sixth-year defensive end shouldn't be worried about making the team but he made several good plays for the night and is pushing Roy Robertson-Harris at one of the team's "big end" positions.

Including the aforementioned safety, Smoot forced a fumble on wide receiver Gunner Olszewski that was recovered by Adam Gotsis and had a quarterback hit.

Smoot said he's been trying to show defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell that he can play both inside and out on the defensive line and make plays from either spot. He was on the inside on the safety and the fumble, but he raced to the other side of the field to make the play on Olszewski.

"I felt like I was able to show the new coaching staff what I could do, he said. "Especially working more inside and outside."

Snoop Conner

The fifth-round rookie running back's stats were relatively modest — seven carries for 19 yards and one pass reception for 10 yards — but he ran hard and will be a nice short-yardage option as James Robinson continues his gradual comeback from last year's Achilles injury.

He had a 9-yard gain on the Jags' first scoring drive and his reception was a key play on a drive into Steelers' territory late in the second quarter.

Xavier Crawford

The fourth-year veteran cornerback broke up two passes on back-to-back plays after the Steelers drove inside the Jaguars' 5 in the fourth quarter. He smacked away passes from Mason Rudolph intended for Cody White and Tyler Vaughns on first and second down, and Rudolph went away from Crawford's side on the next two plays — including the fourth-and-one play for a TD pass to Tyler Snead.

Crawford has been flashing in the past week in training camp but entering the game, wasn't listed on the three-deep depth chart. He will be one of the players sweating out the next round of cuts on Monday.

"It's football ... you're going to have good plays and bad plays," Crawford said. "They tried me but that's what we expected."

As far as surviving the next cut, Crawford isn't anticipating anything.

"I really don't try to think too hard on all that," he said. "I'm trying to do what I can to help the team win. If it shakes out like that, it's a blessing, if not, it is what it is."

Tim Jones

Jones helped his chances at nailing down one of the last wide receiver spots on the roster with five receptions for 70 yards, including a 51-yard pass from EJ Perry to the Pittsburgh 23. Perry was intercepted two plays later to kill the drive.

Jones entered the game running second team behind Zay Jones at one wide receiver spot and there's no reason to think he won't stay there.

Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars rising: Whose stock went up in second half vs. Steelers