Well, guess it's no early birthday present for the ol' Psychocat this year. I was really hoping for my beloved Steelers to pull out a win over the Jaguars so they could play the Patiorts again in the next round, but once again, the Jaguars had their number. This matchup is starting to remind me of the Patriots-Colts tilts, where for so long the rap against Peyton Manning was that he couldn't bet the Patriots.

For those who might not have watched the game and only read the stats, the logical thing would be to blame Big Ben for the loss. Ben even tried to take the blame for the loss himself, saying that he dug them a hole they couldn't get out of in the first half. Certainly three picks in the first half, one of them returned 63 yds for a TD, didn't help the cause. But hang on a second here, Ben...you also brought them from 18 points down to a slender one point lead with great play in the second half. There's plenty of reasons the Steelers lost this one, you can't take all the blame for this one. Let's look a little closer and see the real reasons the Steelers lost.

The play of Maurice Jones Drew: This guy is one of the most underrated players in the NFL, a threat every time he gets his hands on the ball. Against the Steelers, he had a 96-yd kickoff return to set up the Jags first TD; a 43-yd catch and run to score the second TD, and a 10 yd run for the third TD. So the Jauguars get three TDs on offense, and MJD is instrumental in all three.

Steelers special teams play: while I certainly take nothing away from MJD for a spectacular kickoff return, I have to wonder WHY THE HELL THEY KICKED IT ANYWHERE NEAR HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE? Anyone with half a brain who's seen any Jaguars games at all, or even looked at the stas, KNOWS MJD is a dangerous kickoff return guy. For the record, he had 31 returns this year for 811 yds, an average of more than 26 yds per carry, and one he took back 100 yds for a TD. He ranked sixth in the NFL inkickoff returns in the NFL; you have to have a death wish to kick it anywhere near this guy. To do it right after you've driven 80 yds to get the first score of the game and let them get tie the game one play after the return is insane. Hell, only a lucky shot kept the return from going the whole way.

The non-existent running game: The Steelers are supposedly a run first team. Granted, the loss of Fast Willie Parker was devasting, but for the day, the entire Steelers running attack netted 43 yds on 26 carries...13 of those by Big Ben. That's pathetic, a 1.65 ypc average, and points out a glaring need for them: a better backup RB. Despite Najeh Davenport's big game when Parker went down, it's clear the guy is mainly a goal line back.

Lame offensive line play: The offensive line not only couldn't open any holes for the RBs, it opened the line for the Jaguars all day long. Big Ben got sacked six times and was harried all day long.

Overcoaching by rookie head coach Mike Tomlin: It's his first playoff appearnce, so we'll have to cut him a little slack here. But still, there was no real need to try for EITHER of those failed two point conversions, not with the amount of time left in the game when they scored. OK, maybe the second attempt was sort of necessary...but it wouldn't have been if they hadn't tried for, and misssed, the first one. And when they get the 10-yd penalty on the second one and STILL decide to go for tw...well, that's just insane. If they kick both those XPs and that last Jaguars drive still nets them a field goal, it ties the gasme and sends it to OT.

Giving up the big play: OK, the lead was only one point late in the 4th quarter when the Jaguars rallied to pull it out,and that's way too close for comfort. But SOMEBODY has to make the damn tackle on the 32-yd run Garrard got to set up the winning score. The defense had been playing pretty well for the whole second half, and there were at least a couple of guys who had shots at Garrard on that play...they just didn't make the play when it counted.

Give credit to the Jaguars; they made the plays when it counted. But they really didn't get a lot on offense: 140 yds passing and 135 yds rushing. The defense sacked Garrard 4 times and got two picks against him, which is pretty stellar considering he only had three the whole regular season.

But as a die-hard Steelers fan, I have to say that was an eminently winnable game, but the whoel team basically played pretty poorly for most of it. Unfortunately, they got what they deserved in this one.