Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s greatest strength is his ability to avoid turnovers. Pittsburgh found out the hard way just how important that is yesterday.

As Roethlisberger watched from the sidelines with a knee injury, backup Tommy Maddox lost a fumble and threw three interceptions (the last of which was returned for the game-winning touchdown) as the Jacksonville Jaguars beat Pittsburgh 23-17 in overtime.

Pittsburgh’s passing game (which also missed receiver Hines Ward, out with a hamstring injury) was abysmal, and its running game didn’t fare much better. The Steelers generally prefer straight-ahead, aggressive running, but found yesterday that it goes right into the heart of Jacksonville’s excellent defensive line: tackles Marcus Stroud and John Henderson. Pittsburgh’s three running backs – Willie Parker, Jerome Bettis, and Verron Haynes – combined for 58 yards on 27 carries.

Pittsburgh’s defense did its part. Linebacker Joey Porter had a sack and a forced fumble, and a Pittsburgh blitz pressured Jacksonville quarterback Byron Leftwich to throw an interception in the end zone with less than a minute left as Jacksonville drove for a score that could have won the game in regulation. Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu had an unnecessary roughness penalty and a roughing the passer penalty, but he also played a big role in the Steelers’ pass coverage and in run support. Coaches get furious when players pick up penalties, but Polamalu demonstrates how calls often go against the most aggressive players. Having a safety like that can be worth a few 15-yard penalties.

Maddox should know that no quarterback is worth four turnovers. At 3-2,Pittsburgh still appears to be one of the league’s top teams. But with surprising Cincinnati leading the AFC North at 5-1, and 4-2 Jacksonville ahead of Pittsburgh for an AFC wild card spot, the Steelers’ margin for error is getting smaller by the week. That means they need Roethlisberger to get healthy soon.

***

The last time Dick Vermeil and Joe Gibbs squared off was in 1982; that was the year Jared Allen was born. Yesterday, Vermeil’s Kansas City Chiefs played Gibbs’s Washington Redskins, and Allen, a Kansas City defensive end, had three sacks and recovered two fumbles to help the Chiefs to a 28-21 win.

The return of left tackle Willie Roaf, who suffered an injured hamstring in the season opener, made a big difference for the Chiefs. Priest Holmes ran behind Roaf for a third-quarter touchdown that gave Kansas City the lead, and Trent Green had plenty of time to pass.

At 3-2, the Redskins may garner more respect from observers around the league than they did two weeks ago when they were 3-0. In their three wins, the Redskins were able to stay close before getting some huge breaks. But in dropping its last two games (the other being a 21-19 loss in Denver),Washington has played well against two of the AFC’s better teams, and now looks like a legitimate threat to make the playoffs in the sputtering NFC.

Washington’s offense has started to play the way Gibbs expected it to when he agreed to come back to coaching last year. The key is new addition Santana Moss, who has 18 catches for 289 yards in the Redskins’ two losses. Moss plays much the same role for Gibbs as Gary Clark did when the Skins were winning Super Bowls in the ’80s – he’s small, fast, and able to gain yards after the catch.

***

The Minnesota Vikings spent most of the week fending off allegations that several players engaged in lewd behavior on a rented boat. They spent yesterday fending off the Chicago Bears. Neither effort succeeded.

Minnesota’s 28-3 loss showed how far the offense has fallen under new coordinator Steve Loney. Last year, Daunte Culpepper had the protection he needed to complete passes downfield in coordinator Scott Linehan’s system, and he responded by throwing 39 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. This season, in the new offense (and one that lacks the deep threat of Randy Moss and the protection of center Matt Birk), Culpepper has four touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Culpepper couldn’t find anything downfield yesterday, completing 26 of 48 passes (mostly on short routes) for a total of 237 yards. With no wide receivers getting open for Culpepper, tight end Jermaine Wiggins led the team with 10 catches, and running back Mewelde Moore was second with five.

Minnesota’s defense also has problems. The Vikings signed defensive tackle Pat Williams and linebacker Sam Cowart in the off-season to help stop the run, but it hasn’t worked. Chicago’s Thomas Jones had two fourth-quarter touchdown runs to seal the game yesterday.

At 2-3, Chicago owns first place in the NFC North. Up next for Minnesota are the Green Bay Packers, who share the NFC North cellar with Minnesota at 1-4. But as bad as Minnesota looks, all is not lost: The winner of that game will be 2-4, and could have a share of first place.

***

Through six weeks, the New England Patriots have alternated between wins and losses, and they sit at 3-3 after a 28-20 loss to the Denver Broncos.

New England’s defense has been lousy in part because of the injuries in its secondary. The loss of strong safety Rodney Harrison for the season has been talked about, but the absence of cornerback Tyrone Poole and safety Guss Scott have hurt just about as much. Making matters worse is New England’s inept pass rush. The Patriots sacked Jake Plummer only once yesterday, and generally gave him enough time to complete 71% of his passes.

Denver continued to show that its offensive line (especially center Tom Nalen, who has the quickest first step of any center in the NFL) opens more holes than any line in football. Tatum Bell had 114 yards and Mike Anderson added 57. At 5-1, Denver is atop the AFC West, the most competitive division in football.

Even with the injuries, New England still is the favorite to win the AFC East. The East is the weakest AFC division, and of New England’s 10 remaining games, six are at home and only three are against teams that currently have winning records. The Patriots will play in January, and if they’re healthy, no team will want to face them.

Mr. Smith writes for FootballOutsiders.com.