Pittsburgh Steelers Football: Winners, Losers from Steel Curtain's Win vs. Jags

The Pittsburgh Steelers were victorious against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Heinz Field on Sunday afternoon.  Taking an early lead on the Jaguars, the Steelers overcame a lethargic second half, holding off a late-game effort by their visiting opponent.

With a huge rushing effort by Rashard Mendenhall and game week antics that upset Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who were this week's winners and losers?

Winner: Rashard Mendenhall

Despite the production by Pittsburgh's running backs against the Titans last week, Rashard Mendenhall proved that he's still the feature back of this offense.

With 146 yards on the ground, Mendenhall showed that his feet can be as productive as his mouth.  He outrushed his counterpart Isaac Redman by 124 yards, and helped the Steelers gain an early lead that proved insurmountable for the Jaguars' offense.

Despite what critics may say about Mendenhall, he showed tremendous effort after sitting out with a hamstring injury last week.  He quieted fans who whispered that the Steelers didn't lose anything while Mendenhall was gone.  Did those fans realize the offense was missing this?

Winner: Jacksonville Defense

Despite giving up 185 yards rushing and 185 yards passing, the Jacksonville defense gave their offense a chance to upset the Steelers down the home stretch of the game.

The defense gave up 17 points in the first half, but held strong the rest of the game.  Unfortunately, Jack Del Rio's offense didn't have enough steam to put the ball in the end zone on the game-ending "Hail Mary."

The Jaguars defense has proven its part, disrupting Ben Roethlisberger and his ability to pass effectively.  It's subject to the inability of the Jacksonville offense to produce results, however.  If this team is going to struggle, it won't be the defense's problem.

Losers: Pittsburgh Defense

Not only did the Pittsburgh defense nearly give up the game to a winless quarterback in rookie Blaine Gabbert, but it also lost its top playmaker in Troy Polamalu, who left the game with a concussion.

Pittsburgh fans are all too familiar with the potential duration of concussion injuries, as they've watched star Pittsburgh Penguin Sidney Crosby sit out of hockey for an extended period of time with the same issue.  If the Steelers lose Polamalu in addition to the other injured Steelers, this team could be on the brink of collapse unless Roethlisberger can produce magic on offense.

Fortunately, the defense was able to knock down a Hail Mary attempt to win the game, so all was not lost.

Losers: Jacksonville Radio Hosts

Earlier in the week, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked to be a guest on a Jacksonville radio show.  Though Tomlin expected insightful questions about Sunday's game, he was prodded about a divisional playoff game that happened four years ago between the Jaguars and Steelers.

The radio hosts asked Tomlin if he complained to the NFL after losing to Jacksonville twice in one season, especially the upset loss in the division.  Tomlin replied, "No."  Then, the hosts continued to heckle him about the game.  Tomlin asked if the radio hosts had any real questions to which they giggled, and Tomlin hung up.

Not only did the hosts look moronic, but they also had to endure a Jaguars effort that came up short.  They've also had to endure a Jaguars team that has consistently fallen each year since that 2007 game while the Steelers have been to two Super Bowls.

Who's laughing now?

Honorable Mention

Winner:  Mike Tomlin

His team has been injury plagued and he's had to deal with clowns on the radio, but that hasn't stopped the Steelers coach from remaining professional and winning games.

Loser:  Jack Del Rio

Can a team fall any further than the Jaguars?  Whether they meant to or not, the Jacksonville radio hosts highlighted a crossroads for two franchises.  While the Steelers may have lost their divisional game in 2007 to the Jaguars, they've taken the road to success.  By contrast, the Jaguars have taken the road to failure.  That failure will ultimately fall on Del Rio.  Today's loss was one step closer to the end for the Jaguars' coach.