Sunday, December 18, 2011

NFL game report: Jacksonville Jaguars 31 - Pittsburgh Steelers 29 (2007 playoffs)











  • Date played: January 5, 2008
  • Broadcast Network: NBC
  • Announcers: Al Michaels and John Madden
  • Who I rooted for when this game originally took place: I thought it was the Jaguars, but apparently not (see below)
  • Who I now wish had won: Jacksonville
  • What happened: Pittsburgh was trailing 28-10 at the start of the fourth quarter but scored three touchdowns and came back to take a 29-28 lead. Jacksonville kicked a field goal with thirty-seven seconds left to win the game.



  • Notable players who appeared in this game for Jacksonville: David Garrard (see photo directly above), Maurice Jones-Drew (see photo at very top) , Fred Taylor, Vince Manuwai
  • Notable players who appeared in this game for Pittsburgh: Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Heath Miller, Santonio Holmes, James Farrior, James Harrison, Troy Polamalu
  • Controversial aspects of this game: None really-- the officiating could have been a bit better
  • Connection between this game and Todd Marinovich: None
  • Unusual things about this game: Maurice Jones-Drew returned a kickoff 96 yards without scoring a touchdown.
  • Turnovers in this game: Three interceptions by Ben Roethlisberger (two by Rashean Mathis-- one of which was returned for a touchdown-- and one by Derek Landri, a defensive lineman); two interceptions in the second half by David Garrard; one fumble by Ben Roethlisberger on the second-to-last play of the game.
  • Important plays in this game: The Steelers scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter to make it 28-23. They successfully completed the two-point conversion, but it was called back on a possibly non-existent holding penalty. They tried again from the twelve yard line but failed. 
  • Other important plays in this game: When Pittsburgh scored another touchdown to make it 29-28, they once again failed to make the two-point conversion. This time no penalties were involved.
  • The most famous and important play in this game: With under two minutes left and trailing 29-28, Jacksonville faced fourth down and two at the Steelers 43 yard line. The Jaguars called a quarterback draw and David Garrard ran the ball all the way down to the 11 yard line. (See video below)

  • Things I remembered incorrectly about this game: I clearly remember watching this game at a pizza place. The Jaguars were wearing their home blue jerseys (not true) and their quarterback was Byron Leftwich (not true-- Leftwich has been cut by Jacksonville before the start of the season). I also clearly remember having secretly rooted for the Jaguars because certain people I was eating with were Steelers fans. A check of my journal entry from the next day, however, reveals the following sentence-- "All four NFL wildcard round playoff games went against me." Other than the eating pizza part, I am not sure what is true anymore.
Below: Byron Leftwich pictured on the Jaguars 2007 schedule















  • What happened next: Jacksonville lost in the next round of the playoffs to the New England Patriots. The following season, the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl.

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