(Photo: GenJag)
AFC Game Of The Week
Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers
Jaguars: Since coming back from London, they’ve been a much stronger team and they are looking like the group everyone expected of them entering the 2023 season. I love what they did against the Buffalo Bills a few weeks back. They were able to bottle up a Buffalo running game that was beginning to find its rhythm and they made them a one-dimensional group. They return back to the states to bully the Colts and continue their recent domination of them. Last week in New Orleans, they got off to a fast start, but got complacent in the second half and started to settled. Football games aren’t won in a half, it takes 60 minutes, all four quarters and they’re lucky to come away with that win over the Saints. What’a grabbed my attention this year with the Jaguars has been their defense. They lead the league with 16 takeaways which is great and all, but just because you force take aways on a consistent basis doesn’t mean you’re a shutdown defense. I’m not saying they aren’t one of the best units in our league. That’s not what I am implying. All I’m saying is when a defense isn’t creating those takeaways, what else could they turn too? That’s all I’m saying. During their four-game winning streak, they’ve forced 11 takeaways. When the offense is traveling through Travis Etienne, good things come from this because he opens up the passing lanes for Trevor Lawrence. The one thing that concerns me about the Jacksonville offense is the inability to sometimes take care of the ball. At one time, the AFC South appeared to be interesting, but since their winning streak, they’ve asserted themselves as the best team in the division and it’s not close at this point. On Sunday, they’ll make a trip to Pittsburgh for an in conference showdown.
Steelers: I’ll never understand why everyone wants Mike Tomlin to be relieved of his duties. So if that’s the case, I want those people to tell me if he were to be let go, who would you get to replace him first and foremost and number two, who would be better than him? Mike is one of the best coaches in our game and has been for years. I always talk about men wanting to play for a Head Coach and his players leave everything on the field for him and give him 110 percent each and every week. He’s a motivator and brings the best out of his players. It would take a ton to replace him. I want to talk about the Quarterback now while I have the chance. I think Kenny Pickett can be a solid Quarterback in this league and can have a nice career. Has he struggled at times? Yes he has and he’s some of the problem, not all of the problems are on him and unfortunately, the easy thing to do when a team loses is to blame the Quarterback. I believe in Kenny, it’s Matt Canada, the Steelers Offensive Coordinator that’s the major issue. He’s asking for too much of the young Quarterback. Remember the days when Ben Roethlisberger came into the league and how they ran the offense? They just needed Ben to control things while the running game and defense handle the rest. Pittsburgh Steelers football is a downhill ground attack with a stingy defense and the defense has been one of the best this season without question. This unit is night and day with T.J. Watt on the field compared to when he’s not healthy. I always think the league is at its best when the black and yellow is relevant. That fanbase is so passionate and they travel well. The Steelers return home on Sunday for a showdown with the leaders of the AFC South.
Jaguars X-Factor: Calvin Ridley– The offense for Jacksonville will be even better with Calvin Ridley going. Early in the year, he and Trevor appeared to be on the same page and made it look like pitch and catch. Their passing attack last season was good without Calvin, but with him, he makes them more lethal of an attack. Don’t be surprised to see Jacksonville attempt to get him the ball early on in this game.
Steelers X-Factor: Alex Highsmith– Pittsburgh has one of the elite pass rushing tandems in the league. T.J. Watt on one side and Alex Highsmith on the other. Alex is just as important to this front seven and because of the attention that T.J. commands, he sees his share of single looks. As a former EDGE guy, I can appreciate a good spin move and Alex has that. His spin move is so reminiscent of Dwight Freeny who played for the Indianapolis Colts. Alex is also strong in stopping the run.
Final Thoughts: When these two met in the AFC Divisional Round back in January of 2018, T.J. Watt was a rookie. Now, he’s become one of the best players in the league. These two teams know each other pretty well. I mentioned up top the Jaguars have struggled holding onto the ball and losing fumbles and that can be problematic because the Steelers have been good at forcing fumbles this year. If I’m the Steelers, I’m attacking a Jacksonville pass defense that ranks 31st in the league. Lots of Pickens and Diontae Johnson will be key. For Jacksonville, continue to establish Etienne and attack a Steelers defense that has struggled to stop the run this season. Containing Etienne will be key for the Steelers and limiting Pickett’s passing opportunities will be crucial for the Jaguars. As you can see, both defenses have their flaws. Which will be exploited more? When it comes down to it, I have more faith in the Jags as an offense more so than I do the Steelers which will be the difference in this game. I like Jacksonville to get a win on the road here.
Prediction: Jaguars 26, Steelers 17
