JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Big Ben was back. He wasn’t back to form.

Wearing protective padding around his midsection, Ben Roethlisberger returned to Pittsburgh’s lineup against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night, barely two weeks after having an emergency appendectomy. He was far from effective, though, and Jacksonville’s defense had a lot to with that.

The Jaguars harassed Roethlisberger, held Willie Parker to 20 yards on 11 carries and ended the defending Super Bowl champions’ nine-game winning streak with a 9-0 victory – the lowest-scoring game in Monday Night Football history. Josh Scobee kicked three field goals for the Jaguars (2-0), who improved to 4-0 against the Steelers in September and 3-0 against them on Monday night.

The Steelers (1-1) kept it close all game and had the ball with about five minutes to play, but Rashean Mathis intercepted Roethlisberger’s slant pass and returned it into field goal range. Scobee kicked his third field goal, a 42-yarder with 4:26 to play. He had a 31-yarder late in the third and a 32-yarder earlier in the fourth.

Mathis picked off another one with 1:44 remaining, sending Roethlisberger walking slowly to the bench. Mathis also sealed last year’s victory at Pittsburgh, intercepting a pass in overtime and returning it 41 yards for the decisive score.

The shutout was Jacksonville’s first since December 2003 against Houston. It also was the fifth time the defending Super Bowl champions have been shut out. The 1980 Steelers were blanked once, and the 1981 Raiders were shut out three times.

Roethlisberger threw his hands up in frustration after his first interception, then walked off the field with his hands on side following his next possession, when he took a jolting shot to his midsection after throwing a pass.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, spent the closing minutes celebrating their first Monday night win since 2001, improving to 7-2 in the league’s most coveted time slot. It marked a new low for scoring on a Monday night, however, dipping below the San Francisco 49ers’ 7-3 win over the New York Giants in 1990.

The Jaguars had plenty of bright spots anyway.

Byron Leftwich completed 26 of 39 passes for 260 yards. Fred Taylor, whose best game came against the Steelers in 2000, ran 22 times for 92 yards and caught three passes for 29 yards.

Reggie Williams and Matt Jones were even more impressive.

Williams caught eight passes for 95 yards, including a 48-yarder on a short crossing pass on third down. He beat Deshea Townsend, then juked Tyrone Carter and nearly outran everyone else. Despite getting tackled, he put Jacksonville in position for Scobee’s second field goal with about six minutes remaining.

Jones finished with six catches for 73 yards – and each of the first receptions resulted in first downs.

Roethlisberger, the youngest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl, completed 17 of 32 passes for 141 yards. It was Roethlisberger’s first regular-season action since the scary offseason motorcycle accident that nearly cost him his life.

The Steelers star broke his nose, upper and lower jaw, eye socket bones, and got a concussion during his June 12 accident but recovered in time to report for training camp with the rest of the defending champions.

He sat out Pittsburgh’s 28-17 season-opening victory over the Miami Dolphins after having an emergency appendectomy on Sept. 3.

AP-ES-09-18-06 2348EDT


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