/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58325135/904959946.jpg.0.jpg)
The Jaguars’ 45-42 road victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC divisional round on Sunday was less a football game than a collection of unbelievable football moments. There were so many incidents that made the Ringer staff laugh, cry, and vomit that they had to be documented in one place. Here’s every moment worth remembering, in chronological order, from an unforgettable game.
1. Leonard Fournette Goes Jetpacks on the Jags’ Opening Drive
On the opening drive of the game, the Jags march to the Steelers 1-yard line and face a fourth down. Doug Marrone has the Jags go for it, and Fournette makes like a UFO.
Deja vu!@_fournette goes over the top for the touchdown on the opening drive.#JAXvsPIT #DTWD pic.twitter.com/sh7zQblMgk
— z-#Sacksonville (@Jaguars) January 14, 2018
Fournette looks like he is executing a double jump in Super Smash Bros.
Leonard @_fournette with the hang time pic.twitter.com/MgmRgxx4bT
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) January 14, 2018
Jaguars, 7-0
2. The Steelers Do the One Thing They Aren’t Supposed to Do
The narrative entering Sunday was that Ben Roethlisberger’s five-interception game against the Jaguars in Week 5 was a fluke and that the Jags were unlikely this time to force as many turnovers. Then, Myles Jack intercepts Roethlisberger’s fourth pass of the day to give Bortles the ball at the 18-yard line.
The dream continues.@MylesJack gets the INT!#JAXvsPIT #DTWD pic.twitter.com/6YsmtMmlf5
— z-#Sacksonville (@Jaguars) January 14, 2018
Jack’s poise to collect himself and gain possession of the ball on the sideline is *chef’s kiss*
3. Fournette Becomes a Dancing Machine
Fournette can fly, but he can also dance. He takes a handoff from Bortles on first-and-10 from the Steelers’ 18, dodges two tacklers without breaking stride, outruns four Steelers to the sideline, and then expertly tiptoes inside the pylon for the touchdown.
Last time @_fournette was here he had 2 touchdown runs.
— z-#Sacksonville (@Jaguars) January 14, 2018
Today he has two in the 1st quarter.#JAXvsPIT #DTWD pic.twitter.com/npv5BCifcA
Suddenly the Jaguars are out to an early 14-point lead. Take it from Steelers fan Pat Muldowney, social media director of The Ringer.
There's five minutes left in the first quarter and I already had to delete Slack from my phone.
— pat muldowney (@patmuldowney) January 14, 2018
Jaguars, 14-0
4. The Steelers Go for It on Fourth Down, Part 1
After all that chaos, the Steelers choose to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Jaguars’ 21-yard line. The decision is correct, but the play call is infuriating. The Steelers pitch the ball to Le’Veon Bell, who goes right and is immediately swallowed by the Jaguars’ defense for a loss of 4 yards. Trying to run Bell around perhaps the league’s fastest defense rather than up the middle at the line of scrimmage is the first, but far from the last, confounding play call of the afternoon.
5. Antonio Brown Makes His Case for the Hall of Fame
The moment that everyone is ready to write off the Steelers, AB makes it a game again with a silly one-handed grab against perfect coverage from Jaguars cornerback A.J. Bouye in the corner of the end zone.
BUSINESS IS BOOMIN'
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) January 14, 2018
Antonio Brown hauls in the one-hand TD! #Steelers cut in to the #Jaguars leadpic.twitter.com/jW05E80Qtt
It’s the first touchdown Bouye has allowed all season. He had been the league’s most targeted defender without giving up a score (zero TDs on 90 targets) entering the day.
Jaguars 21-7
6. Telvin Smith Is Awarded Seven Points After Stunting on Le’Veon Bell
As if the Steelers aren’t shell-shocked enough down 21-7 at home, defensive end Yannick Ngakoue strip-sacks Roethlisberger and Smith returns it all the way for a touchdown to put the Jags back up by 21 points.
SACKSONVILLE ➡️ TD!@Jaguars defense coming up BIG! #JAXvsPIT #NFLPlayoffs
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2018
: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/vtJpv95oMx
Even better than the touchdown and the incredibly awkward way the ball came out of Roethlisberger’s hand is Smith staring Le’Veon Bell down and pointing at his face for the final 10 yards.
Me when I time a red light turning green perfectly and don’t have to hit the brakes leaving everyone behind at the intersection: pic.twitter.com/CsxaJCTdZq
— Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti) January 14, 2018
Jaguars, 28-7
7. The Steelers Go for It on Fourth Down, Part 2
Undeterred by their previous failure, the Steelers go for it on fourth-and-11 from the Jaguars’ 36-yard line with 32 seconds left in the first half, down 28-7.
4th down.
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2018
32 seconds 'til half.
Big Ben & Martavis connect on a 36-yard TOUCHDOWN! #JAXvsPIT #NFLPlayoffs
: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/TDLySOAXLU
My stream freezes, and 20 seconds later it resets as Martavis Bryant gathers the ball in the end zone. I still don’t know what happened, and neither does Jags safety Tashaun Gipson.
Halftime Score: Jaguars 28-14
8. Le’Veon Bell Earns an Oscar Nomination
As Bell goes out of bounds at the Steelers’ 38 after a 4-yard run, Jalen Ramsey picks up a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. The only problem is that the replay shows that Bell was lightly grazed, to be generous, and then flopped like the adopted child of James Harden and Matthew Dellavedova. Then, a second replay angle shows JuJu Smith-Schuster actually pushed Ramsey into Bell, who then embellished.
Here is the play.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 14, 2018
Bell flops after Jalen Ramsey got pushed into him and the #Jaguars get unnecessary roughness call.pic.twitter.com/MqG6nfA2Tp
Le’Veon is a faker; never forget this.
9. Le’Veon Bell Reminds Us He’s the Most Versatile Player in Football
Bell, who turns 26 in February, said this week he might retire if the Steelers franchise him again this offseason, proves he may be Pittsburgh’s second-best receiver while also being the league’s best running back.
Le'Veon Bell with an amazing touchdown catch, cut the #Jaguars lead to 28-21 pic.twitter.com/VOvSYQJIzH
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 14, 2018
Le’Veon is the realest; never forget this.
Jaguars, 28-21
10. “Bugatti” Bortles Reappears
Jacksonville’s leading rusher from the wild-card round gets a sweet assist from T.J. Yeldon on this 16-yard scamper to convert a third-and-8.
TJ Yeldon (@T_Yeldon) doing work upfield pic.twitter.com/AzLnJQNweg
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) January 14, 2018
11. Everybody Loses Faith in Bortles, Part Infinity
Bortles starts the game 3-for-3 but follows that up by completing only four of his next 13 passes for 30 yards, with no completions coming on passes traveling 10 yards in the air. The feeling that the Steelers will come back is palpable everywhere.
12. The Steelers Go for It on Fourth Down, Part 3
The Steelers once again find themselves with a fourth-and-1 in Jags territory, this time on Jacksonville’s 39-yard line. Once again rolling the dice, Pittsburgh declines to give the ball to Bell, the aforementioned best running back in the league, or have Roethlisberger sneak it up the middle against a surprisingly light Jaguars box.
How is this not an auto sneak? pic.twitter.com/RkGUk3WcmF
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 14, 2018
Instead, Roethlisberger throws an incompletion through the hands of Smith-Schuster, who can’t quite reel the ball in.
14. Blake Bortles Returns (and We Never Doubted Him for a Second)
We all know that Blake Bortles has an elite deep ball, obviously, as evidenced here.
It's Cole outside!@Air4Cole pulls in the 45-yard pass to set up a touchdown!#JAXvsPIT #DTWD pic.twitter.com/Jb6ehkggQK
— z-#Sacksonville (@Jaguars) January 14, 2018
That massive throw leads to ...
15. Leonard Fournette Gets His Trifecta
After leaving just before halftime with an ankle injury, Fournette returns to give the Steelers nightmares.
It's a hat-trick for @_fournette!
— z-#Sacksonville (@Jaguars) January 14, 2018
He’s the first rookie with 3+ rushing TDs in a postseason game since 2008.#JAXvsPIT #DTWD pic.twitter.com/ubMu3g0Ddy
Jaguars, 35-21
16. The Steelers Go for It on Fourth Down, Part 4
On 4th down, with the game basically on the line if they don't get it, Antonio Brown makes an amazing 43-yard touchdown pic.twitter.com/WuPNbshuZN
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 14, 2018
Please remember that AB returned to practice on Monday for the first time in nearly a month after partially tearing his calf, and came back to shred one of the best secondaries of the past decade.
Antonio Brown is amazing and showing MVP sauce. #SteelersVsJaguars pic.twitter.com/fVFt890aCE
— Dan Worthington (@danWorthington) January 14, 2018
It’s hard to describe just how good Brown is, but this is a good place to start.
Rice will always be no. 1 for me, and Moss is definitely 2, but Brown might be 3.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) January 14, 2018
Jaguars, 35-28
17. Bortles Throws His Best Pass of the Game to a Fullback
Jacksonville dials up a play-action on second-and-8 from the Steelers’ 14-yard line, and Bortles floats the most adorable touchdown pass to, of all people, his fullback, Tommy Bohanon, who is uncovered as he crosses into the end zone with 4:19 left in the fourth quarter.
Jaguars extend the lead 42-28 #DTWD pic.twitter.com/52RJXF50jA
— z-#Sacksonville (@Jaguars) January 14, 2018
Jaguars 42-28
17. Roethlisberger Throws a Lateral for a Touchdown
Just a few plays after he rushes for a first down by faking a lateral pass twice on the same run, Roethlisberger throws a backward pass to Bell, who runs in for a touchdown with 2:18 left. Somehow, some way, the Steelers are still in the game.
Big Ben with the backwards pass to @L_Bell26!
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2018
'
He scores and it's a 7-point game! #JAXvsPIT #NFLPlayoffs
: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/YrqTn1D85J
Jaguars 42-35
18. The Steelers Lose the Game Because They Fear Bortles
Down seven points, with more than two minutes left and with two timeouts, the Steelers could kick off, force a three-and-out, use the two-minute warning and two timeouts, and get the ball with more than 90 seconds to try to score a touchdown. All they would have to do is put 10 guys in the box on first and second downs and dare Bortles to win on third-and-long. Instead, they do this:
#Steelers 0-14 with onside attempts in the past 10 yrs & 15 days. Poor decision. Huge win for #Jaguars pic.twitter.com/f1VhKzRZd7
— Fred Salas (@FredSalasLive) January 14, 2018
19. Meaningless Points are Scored
The Jaguars stumble forward 9 yards and kick a field goal to put them up 10 points with 1:45 left, and the Steelers add a touchdown with one second left that puts the final score at 45-42, the closest the game has been since it was 0-0 in the first quarter.
Final Score: Jaguars, 45-42
20. God Is Real, and His Name Is Blake Bortles
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 19, 2017
Winter is here #DTWD pic.twitter.com/XgN9HWt4ZT
— z-#Sacksonville (@Jaguars) January 14, 2018
He vanquished the Steelers.
We did it, J-town. pic.twitter.com/vmtiERvzNT
— Jason Knew The Jaguars Were Quite Good Place (@nbcthegoodplace) January 7, 2018
Tom Brady is next.