Jaguars 9, Steelers 0

Well, no one thought they'd go undefeated, right? The Steelers looked anemic Monday night (and Ben may well have been), and they were beaten by the Jags in impressive fashion. Jacksonville was more physical, more determined, and more intense. In some ways, the 9-0 score wasn't indicative of the Jags' dominance. It's a testament to the defense (who had their problems, to be sure) that the game stayed so close for so long.

Big Ben needed this game. He needed to shake the rust off and get the offense all shiny for next week against the Bengals. To those who would criticize Cowher for playing his big QB I say: better to have the rust-game week 2 in Jacksonville than week 3 at home against Cinci. And here's hoping that the humiliation at the hands of their former division rivals inspires the opposite performance on Sunday.

Three who looked good:

Ryan Clark (did you see that third-quarter arm tackle of Maurice Drew to prevent a first down? Farrior came in late, but was all Clark.)
James Farrior (Mr. Steady, even in the face of adversity.)
Najeh Davenport (I know, he never got on the field. But he kept his mistakes to a minimum.)

Three who looked bad:
Troy Polamalu (That shoulder is seriously bothering him. He isn't tackling well.)
Big Ben (He was flinching in the face of the Jags' onslaught.)
O-Line (See Big Ben comment above. Even without Reggie Hayward, the Jags dominated the line of scrimmage.)

Santonio Holmes deserves special bad-play mention: Ben's first interception looked eerily familiar; remember the pre-season INT in which Holmes never turned around for the ball? Willie Reid isn't dressing, even though he's the superior returner, because Holmes is a more polished receiver. A relative measure, obviously.

And doesn't Rashean Mathis--who showed up on the Steelers' radar the year he was drafted--have this team's number?

Bottom line: Jacksonville is an impressive team; they may have set the bar for the sort of football the Steelers aim to play.