JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Observed and heard in the locker room after the Jacksonville Jaguars' 17-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers:
Bortles takes blame: Though it may have looked like receiver Allen Hurns should have come back for the ball on the pass that cornerback Brice McCain intercepted and returned for a touchdown, quarterback Blake Bortles said it was his fault alone. Hurns ran the right route, but Bortles said he shouldn't have thrown the ball and should have stuck with the run play that was called instead of changing it to a pass. "It was a bad read, bad throw," Bortles said. "Worst-case scenario I should have just thrown it over his head and gave us a shot on third down. ... It wasn't a good decision. We could have kept the run on, and it wouldn't have been a bad play."
Miller dejected: Defensive tackle Roy Miller was more despondent after this loss than any of the previous four because the defense finally played well but it still wasn't enough to get the Jaguars' first victory of the season. But he's not criticizing the offense for managing just three field goals and giving up a touchdown on a pick-six. "The offense is struggling. We've got to do something," Miller said. "If the defense is struggling ... it's a team. It's hard to say, 'Well, the defense did this.' It's a whole team at the end of the day. Defense doesn't get a win, and the offense doesn't get a win. It's the whole team."
Solid debut: Rookie running back Storm Johnson made his debut against the Steelers and led the Jaguars with 27 yards rushing on just four carries (6.8 per carry). He also had a 9-yard run that was wiped out by a holding penalty on Hurns. "I know I have some things to work on, but my main thing was for me to just to get out there and just get my feet wet and get my confidence up," Johnson said.
