Jacksonville has a tall order in trying to upset Pittsburgh, but it’s been done once before and can absolutely happen again.
The Jacksonville Jaguars won their first playoff game since 2008 on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. Now they have a much tougher test. Jacksonville must travel to Pittsburgh to play the second-seeded Steelers team.
According to OddSharks.com the Steelers are 7.5 point favorites. Pittsburgh owns the second-best record in the AFC and has looked like an elite team this season.
Fear, not Jacksonville fans, that does not mean the Jaguars cannot pull off the upset.
Good news is that the Jaguars actually beat the Steelers earlier this season in Pittsburgh. Both teams are vastly different but that should give Jacksonville fans some added hope.
5. Jacksonville’s run game could be a saving grace
In Week 5 of the season, the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-9 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Jaguars played to their strengths and completely baffled the Steelers team.
Running back Leonard Fournette was force-fed the entire game. He finished with 28 carries for 181 yards, his highest rushing total of the season. Fournette also found the end zone twice in that contest.
This formula will need to be followed again this weekend if the Jaguars want to have a chance. As we saw last week, if Fournette is slowed down this offense struggles to get going.
Quarterback Blake Bortles will also need to use his legs against a tough Steelers pass defense. He was able to rush for 88 yards a week ago against Buffalo. Bortles’ scrambling was seemingly the only offense Jacksonville could muster.
Pittsburgh, after watching last week’s tape and their initial matchup, will no doubt sell out to stop Fournette. If Jacksonville can use that to their advantage and hit some play action to keep Pittsburgh honest, this game will be interesting.
Like most Jacksonville games it will come down to the ability of Fournette to get going and Bortles doing enough to not lose the game. Their defense is more than capable of slowing up the Pittsburgh offense.