Steelers’ season of struggle has jarring finish

Saints DB Williams devastated over his missed tackle

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh’s drama-filled season ended shockingly. A final, forgettable act.

No shot at the Patriots. No seventh Super Bowl trophy. No tomorrow.

And when it ended following a game no one expected, Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and the rest of the dejected Steelers searched to find words to describe all that had gone wrong.

“It wasn’t our day,” Roethlisberger said. “It wasn’t our year.”

Doomed by two firsthalf turnovers and a pair of head-scratching play calls on fourth down, Pittsburgh was stunned in the AFC playoffs by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who outslugged the Steelers 45-42 on Sunday.

Roethlisberger, who had wondered if he was washed up after throwing five interceptions in a loss to the Jags on Oct. 9, set a franchise postseason record with five touchdown passes but it wasn’t enough as the Steelers (134) couldn’t stop a Jacksonville offense that was supposedly weak.

As Roethlisberger dressed at one end of Pittsburgh’s locker room, a few of his teammates sat at their stalls in disbelief.

Cam Heyward handled wave after wave of questions about the team’s numerous defensive lapses. Bell downplayed that his messy contract situation created an unnecessary distraction in the days leading up to the game, and cornerback Artie Burns sat in his uniform and stared blankly at the floor.

SAINTS: Defensive back Marcus Williams sat sobbing in front of his cubicle in the silenced New Orleans locker room Sunday, his face buried in a folded white towel.

Deep inside Minnesota’s stadium that erupted in victorious euphoria a few minutes earlier, Williams was having a hard time grappling with what had just happened. The rest of his Saints teammates were, too, after a 61-yard touchdown pass by Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs burned Williams on the game’s final play and gave the Vikings a 29-24 victory for a place in the NFC championship game .

“You can’t let it beat you down,” Williams said, his eyes still reddened by the tears. “I’m going to take it upon myself to do all I can to never let that happen again. If it happens again, then I shouldn’t be playing.”

Williams, a rookie free safety and second-round draft pick from Utah who was one of several new players who helped the Saints transform a once-lagging defense, was the last man in coverage when the Vikings sent Kyle Rudolph, Jarius Wright and Diggs on routes toward the sideline with no timeouts remaining. Diggs was the deepest, and as he jumped to catch the ball, Williams went low to try to undercut him with an awkwardly executed attempt at a tackle.

“It was just my play to make,” Williams said. “The ball was in the air. I can go attack it.”

Diggs kept his balance and put a dagger in New Orleans’ title hopes.

The Vikings’ win was the first time in playoff history a game ended with the winning TD scored as time expired in the fourth quarter. LIONS: Matt Patricia, the Patriots’ defensive coordinator, has been the favorite to succeed Jim Caldwell as Detroit coach since long before Caldwell was fired.

Now, the Lions could be closer to making it happen.

ESPN reported that Patricia “likely” will become the Lions’ next head coach.

All signs continue to point to the Lions hiring Patricia, and this is the strongest indication yet that it will indeed happen.

The Lions haven’t interviewed anyone since Jan. 5, when they flew to New England to sit down with Patricia. They haven’t made any moves on their No. 2 choice, Mike Vrabel, even though he’s eligible to be hired at any moment. They haven’t even brought any of their other candidates in for a second interview.

BILLS: Buffalo hired Alabama assistant Brian Daboll as its offensive coordinator.