PITTSBURGH — The Steeler defense had two chances to assume control of the game Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field and failed on both occasions.

Miserably.

Jacksonville took a 10-7 lead into halftime and had the first possession of the third quarter. A three-and-out would have given Pittsburgh field position and momentum toward taking the lead. Instead, the Jaguars put together a franchise record 20-play drive, marching 74 yards to a touchdown and eating 9:40 off the clock along the way.

After going 0-for-6 on third down conversions in the first half, the Jaguars survived two third-and-10s, two third-and-8s and two fourth-and-1s during their march to the end zone.

"I'm mad every time we lose," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "Sometimes I do a better job of concealing it."

If he concealed it after that drive, he couldn't after Jacksonville's final possession of the game.

Seemingly out of the game late in the third quarter, trailing 22-7 with Jacksonville in the process of engineering a clinching scoring drive, the Steelers found new life when Anthony Smith returned an interception 50 yards to the Jaguars 12-yard line. Pittsburgh used its newly found momentum to rally for a 22-22 tie with 5:46 left in the game.

"That was impressive the way our offense came back to tie the game," defensive end Brett Keisel said. "They showed a lot of fight."

The defense had a chance to do likewise.

Instead, Jacksonville drove 73 yards in eight plays for the winning score. On third-and-11 from the Steelers 32, Maurice Jones-Drew got loose for a 20-yard run. On second-and-10 from the 12, Fred Taylor rambled into the end zone virtually untouched.

Taylor had 25 carries for 147 yards. Jones-Drew added 69 yards on 12 carries. Jacksonville's running game - ranked No. 1 in the AFC - garnered 224 yards on 42 carries, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. The Steelers defense entered the game ranked No. 2 in the NFL against the run, allowing a mere 72.6 yards per game.

No secret who won the irresistable force vs. the immovable object showdown on this day.

No team had rushed for 224 yards on a Steeler defense in seven years. Taylor now holds the record for most yards rushing by an opponent at Heinz Field — to go with his Three Rivers Stadium record of 234 yards rushing against the Steelers.

"They only ran a couple of (running) plays all day and we couldn't stop them," linebacker James Farrior admitted. "When you can't stop the run on defense, you know it's gonna be a long day."

The Steelers aren't used to enduring such long days. They're used to inflicting them.

"This is the worst we've played against the run since I've been here," sixth-year linebacker Larry Foote said. "They were pumped up and just whipped our butt all day. Taylor's a good running back ... They've got good running backs, but I don't know if it mattered who ran the ball for them today. We weren't gonna stop it.

"We've got to find a way to get this thing turned the other way."

Tomlin didn't just fault the run defense Sunday. He found fault with everything.

"We are not playing well enough to win right now. That's the cold reality of it," he said. "There are no magical answers here. It's just basic fundamentals."

When asked if he was disappointed in the Steelers' run defense, Tomlin responded tersely: "What do you think? ... Yes."

"We didn't tackle well. We weren't shooting the gaps. Sometimes, they just blocked on their plays well," the coach said. "They took advantage of opportunities presented them because we weren't doing things well. But I can't take away from Fred Taylor's performance or Jacksonville's performance.

"He (Taylor) has accomplished a lot in this league. I have the utmost respect for that man. I talked about him to our team all week."

But his team couldn't stop him all day. After going 34 games without allowing a 100-yard rushing game to any running back, the Steelers have allowed two in five games. Thomas Jones ran for 117 yards for the Jets against Pittsburgh in Week 11.

"Tackling is just a 'want to' kind of thing," safety Anthony Smith said. "You shoot for the legs and try to take the legs out. It's hitting the gaps and wrapping up. We didn't do any of that in this game."

Now the Steelers face a quick turnaround, having to play the Rams in St. Louis come Thursday night.

"We need a couple of good days of practice," Tomlin said. "We better find a way to straighten this thing out. We're professionals. That's what we get paid to do."