briefs

Despite rallying in the second half to come back from an 18-point deficit against… Despite rallying in the second half to come back from an 18-point deficit against Jacksonville Saturday night, the Steelers lost their first-round playoff game, 31-29, ending their first season under Mike Tomlin.

The Steelers came back to gain a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter but failed to stop a devastating 32-yard quarterback scramble by David Garrard on a fourth-and-two, which lead to a Jacksonville field goal with only 37 seconds left in the game.

The Steelers got the ball back with a long field to traverse in less than 30 seconds, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger lost a fumble after he was sacked on the first play of the final drive attempt.

“It hurts,” linebacker James Farrior said after the game.

“We’re all going to be disappointed for a while about this one.”

Turnovers also plagued the Pittsburgh offense early on. Roethlisberger threw three interceptions in the first half.

Penguins

Ty Conklin got his second shutout in the past four games Saturday afternoon to give the Penguins a 3-0 win over the Florida Panthers at Mellon Arena.

Evgeni Malkin scored his eighth goal in eight games in the win after scoring his first NHL hat trick Thursday night against Toronto.

Saturday’s victory extends the Penguins’ winning streak to six games, holding onto second place in the Atlantic Division behind New Jersey.