PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Steelers had plenty of reasons for losing, and Tommy Maddox offered up most of them. The injuries. The wind. The uncharacteristic booing from what normally is one of the NFL's most adoring crowds.

The Jacksonville Jaguars proposed a different reason for their 23-17 overtime victory Sunday, one that convinced them they are on the verge of being one of the league's top teams.

Maybe, they suggested, they're better. Maybe they're being overlooked and underestimated despite beating the AFC North's top two teams, Cincinnati (5-1) and Pittsburgh (3-2), in successive weeks.

"This wasn't a shock or surprise to anybody," quarterback Byron Leftwich said of winning a difficult game on the road without injured running back Fred Taylor. "We understand we've got a good team and that's all we know."

Still, good teams usually don't squander as many good scoring chances as the Jaguars did. They couldn't score on three plays from the Steelers' 1 at the end of the first half and settled for a field goal. They gave up a seemingly sure field goal by gambling on a fourth-and-2 from the Steelers' 22, only to lose a yard and the ball. And Leftwich was intercepted in the end zone in the final minute of regulation, with the Jaguars in field goal range.

Normally, the Steelers - winners of 18 of their previous 20 - would never let an opponent get away with so many mistakes. But these weren't the Steelers who went 15-1 and reached the AFC title game last season, not with an injured Ben Roethlisberger (knee) and Hines Ward (hamstring) out and their running game going nowhere, averaging 2.4 yards on 30 carries.

Maddox, making his second start in 13 months and playing with a sore calf, wasn't very good at the start and was worse at the finish. He was intercepted on two of the Steelers' first three possessions, leading to Greg Jones' 7-yard TD run and a 7-0 Jaguars lead.

But there were worse Maddox mistakes to come on a day nearly all of Pittsburgh's scoring was condensed into a 62-second stretch of the second quarter, rookie Heath Miller's 15-yard touchdown catch and Antwaan Randle El's 72-yard punt return TD.

Later, Quincy Morgan's 74-yard kickoff return gave them the ball at the Jacksonville 26 to start the overtime, easily within Jeff Reed's field-goal range despite a persistent wind. But two running plays lost a yard, and a hurried Maddox then fumbled the ball away to Jacksonville's Reggie Hayward.

"We've got a saying around here, don't blink because you never know what's going to happen," Jaguars cornerback Rashean Mathis said. "We didn't blink, we stopped them and then a big play happened for us."

Jacksonville punted, but that put the ball in Maddox's hands again. On second-and-10 from the 35, Maddox threw into the right flat for Morgan, only to have Mathis step in front of the pass and return it 41 yards for the decisive touchdown.

"They ran the same route on the same formation before so I knew what I was getting," Mathis said of reading a play the Steelers use regularly.

Afterward, Maddox didn't apologize for his poor play, suggesting he threw the ball well even while going 11-of-28 for 154 yards and the first three interceptions by a Steelers QB this season.

So coach Bill Cowher did it for him, all but second guessing himself for not pulling Maddox and playing No. 3 quarterback Charlie Batch. Asked if Maddox played poorly, Cowher said, "I think that's an obvious statement."

The Steelers figure to have Roethlisberger back for next week's game at AFC North leader Cincinnati (5-1) and, maybe, Pro Bowl receiver Ward, too, after his string of 116 consecutive games played was ended by a sore hamstring.

But they won't get this game back, and they now have no chance of matching that 15-1 record of last season.

"When you turn the ball over four times, you aren't going to win many football games," Cowher said. "It's very frustrating, walking away with a defeat."

Notes:

The Jaguars are off next weekend. ... The Steelers are 1-2 at home after going 8-0 there last season. ... Jacksonville has won three of four in Pittsburgh since 1999. ... Taylor, who had a 234-yard game in Pittsburgh in 2000, said Friday he expected to play but was held out with a sprained ankle. ... The Steelers have played 124 minutes, 28 seconds in their last two home games, even though Sunday's overtime lasted only 3 minutes, 36 seconds. Due to a clock error, an extra 52 seconds were played during the fourth quarter of their 23-20 loss to New England on Sept. 25.