NOTEBOOK Steelers vs. Jaguars

Series: The Jaguars, an expansion team in 1995, have a 9-8 series lead.
Costly penalties: Steelers safety Troy Polamalu was penalized twice during the Jaguars' only touchdown drive in the second half. In the opening moments of the third quarter, Polamalu was flagged 15 yards for unnecessary roughness for hitting Jaguars wide receiver Reggie Williams out of bounds after a 41-yard gain. Then on Byron Leftwich's 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Matt Jones, Polamalu was penalized 15 yards for roughing the quarterback. The penalty was assessed on the kickoff, and Josh Scobee kicked into the end zone for a touchback. Asked what he told his third-year safety, Steelers coach Bill Cowher said, "you have to keep your composure." Cowher challenged that Jones did not have control of the ball before going out the back of the end zone. The Steelers lost the replay challenge.
Missing: Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward missed the first game of his 116-game career with a hamstring injury. He had made 89 consecutive starts.
Injured: Starting cornerback Deshea Townsend suffered a hamstring injury. "I'm not sure to what extent," Cowher said. Rookie Bryant McFadden saw his first action and intercepted a Byron Leftwich pass in the end zone late in the fourth quarter. McFadden wasn't surprised that Leftwich tried. "If I was the coach, I would go out there and see what he has, too."
Coming up: The Steelers (3-2) travel to Cincinnati on Sunday to play the first-place Bengals (5-1). Game time will be at 1 p.m. (CBS). "We've got to forget about this," said linebacker James Farrior of Sunday's loss. "We have a big game next weekend." Their next home game will be Oct. 31 against the Baltimore Ravens (9 p.m., ABC). "It's not going to get any easier with the games coming up so we've got to put this one behind us, correct what we did wrong and move on," Farrior said.
Rushing woes: Neither team showed an ability to run. Willie Parker led the Steelers with 55 yards on 21 carries. Greg Jones replaced Fred Taylor as the Jaguars' main ballcarrier, gaining 77 yards on 18 carries.
Tom Williams