The Steelers used their first playoff game at Heinz Field Saturday night under coach Mike Tomlin as a highlights video for their 2007 season.

There were gargantuan special teams collapses that sucked the life out of the party, a quarterback under siege from pass rushers, an inability to run against a team not especially known for stopping it and a late lead lost by the NFL's top-ranked defense.

And there you have it. Jacksonville's 31-29 victory in the wild-card playoff round at Heinz Field was an experience the Steelers have shared much of the season.

"It went kind of the way it was going all year, so it was one of those types of days," linebacker James Farrior said.

Their fourth loss in the past five games came about because they could not protect the ball (four turnovers, all by Ben Roethlisberger), their quarterback (six sacks) or a lead.

"That has been a struggle of ours and it cost us," Tomlin said after Jacksonville moved 44 yards on eight plays to kick the winning field goal from 25 yards with 37 seconds left. "It cost us tonight."

It's the first time in the franchise's 75-season history a team has won twice in Pittsburgh and it left the Steelers dazed and confused.

"Just kind of in disbelief and shock right now," said Roethlisberger, whose three interceptions in the first half helped the Jaguars to a 21-7 lead. "We are a worn-down team. We're physically drained, mentally drained. It's tough. We have to look at it and figure out how to not get that way next year."

The Steelers will need to start by rebuilding or reshaping an offensive line that almost surely will lose its best player, guard Alan Faneca. Tomlin also must find a way other than extra training camp practices and using multiple draft picks on punters and return men to fix his dreadful special teams.

Despite Roethlisberger's three interceptions and his lost fumble in desperation time at the end of the game, even with all the sacks, notwithstanding the inability to manage more than 43 yards rushing on 26 carries, the Steelers likely would have beaten Jacksonville except for two special teams plays.

The first, of course, occurred on their first kickoff. The Steelers' offense moved crisply through the Jaguars on the opening drive with Roethlisberger completing five of six passes and taking them 80 yards in 10 plays for a 7-0 lead.

Next play: Uh-oh, they had to kick off. Too bad they could not ask for volunteers from the stands. Maurice Jones-Drew made it look easy, running 96 yards to the 1, where Fred Taylor took it in on the first try to tie the score, 7-7.

"We went right down the field and scored," Roethlisberger said of his first drive. "That was big for us. And then the next kickoff, they go all the way down to the 1- or 2-yard line and put our defense in a tough position. From there, we couldn't get over that hump and get going again. It was frustrating offensively."

After that, Tomlin made the right decision never to kick off conventionally again and Jeff Reed pooched every other kickoff.

But Tomlin could do nothing to stop his punt team from hurting the cause. With 2:50 left and protecting a one-point lead, the Steelers had to punt from their 27.

This was exactly the reason they spent draft choices in the sixth and fourth rounds to take punter Daniel Sepulveda in April. He has a booming leg with good hang time. Unfortunately for them, this was not one of those times. He got off a 40-yarder with no good hang time. Dennis Northcutt caught it at the 33 and returned it 16 yards -- a net punt of 24.

Instead of making the Jaguars earn their way, the Steelers gave them the ball at midfield needing only about 20 yards to try a reasonable field goal to win it. As it was, they got 44 yards anyway.

"It's not just the punt team, it's all about team effort," linebacker James Harrison said magnanimously. "We let them score, the offense made some mistakes and the defense made some mistakes."

That's a wrap.