The Jacksonville Jaguars have taken it to the Pittsburgh Steelers early in the first quarter of the AFC Divisional Round game. They lead Pittsburgh, 14-0.
Even though the Jacksonville Jaguars routed the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier in the season at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh was laying more than a touchdown at home in their AFC Divisional Round game on Sunday. Too bad Jacksonville didn’t care about that.
The Jaguars came out early and took it to the Steelers offense with a pair of Leonard Fournette touchdown runs. Fournette’s first score came on a bold fourth and goal call by head coach Doug Marrone. He went over the top and found pay dirt to give Jacksonville an early 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing position, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger would get picked off by Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack when trying to find his tight end. Jack made an outstanding play on the ball. That interception set up a glorious touchdown run by Fournette.
Keep in mind that Jacksonville mustered just 10 points in their AFC Wild Card home game against the No. 6 Buffalo Bills. It was a fourth and goal play where quarterback Blake Bortles found his tight end for six at the back of the end zone.
The @Jaguars defense is at it again.@MylesJack INTERCEPTION! #JAXvsPIT #NFLPlayoffs
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2018
📺: @NFLonCBS https://t.co/S8iGZy6D4q
WOW.@_fournette is IN for his second TD of the day! #JAXvsPIT #NFLPlayoffs
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2018
📺: @NFLonCBS https://t.co/hyixyAj8KS
No, Jacksonville is not a pretty offense, but the Jaguars defense is otherworldly. It just might be good enough to spend the Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game versus the New England Patriots next week.
This team is playing with tremendous confidence early in the ball game. The defense just had the Steelers offense stuffed on a fourth and one run. It is certainly a chilly day in Western Pennsylvania, but the Jaguars are definitely bringing the heat.
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We knew that Pittsburgh would be getting Jacksonville’s best effort, but who outside of Duval County thought that the Jaguars would look this dominant this early. Credit to Marrone and his staff for having his team ready to play. The same cannot be said for Mike Tomlin and his Pittsburgh staff. Jacksonville leads Pittsburgh 14-0 through the first quarter.