The Jaguars talked their shit after a week of disrespect from the Steelers

The Jacksonville Jaguars played the role of spoiler Sunday in a 45-42 upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers that sent the Jaguars to the AFC Championship for the first time in 18 years. But the Jaguars players are pissed off that anybody thought of them as underdogs in the first place.

After all, this was the same Jaguars team that traveled to Pittsburgh in October and handed the Steelers a 30-9 loss.

The Steelers felt plenty confident after winning 10 of their last 11 games in the regular season. So much so that a few Pittsburgh players seemed to glance right past the Jaguars and instead looked forward to a rematch with the New England Patriots.

After the win, the Jaguars let the world know that they saw all of the Steelers’ comments.

Mike Mitchell had a lot to say before the game

The feelings of disrespect seemed to stem most from comments made by Steelers safety Mike Mitchell. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Mitchell sounded like a player who dismissed any chance of the Jaguars pulling off the win and keeping Pittsburgh from a rematch against the New England Patriots.

“We’re going to play [the Patriots] again,” Mitchell told SI. “We can play them in hell, we can play them in Haiti, we can play them in New England. . . .  We’re gonna win.”

He also got the Jaguars fired up when he talked trash in front of the team’s locker room before kickoff Sunday.

After the game, Jacksonville players were yelling out for the safety on their way to the locker room. Defensive lineman Malik Jackson led the charge with shouts of “Where’s Mitchell?! I want to see Mitchell right now!”

Even the Jaguars’ official Twitter account got in on the fun.

It wasn’t the greatest game for Mitchell, who was on the receiving end of a huge block from Jaguars running back T.J. Yeldon. Three months ago, he was run over by the Jaguars’ Leonard Fournette.

Sunday was a day to forget for Mitchell, but he wasn’t the only one who disrespected the Jaguars.

Le’Veon Bell’s tweets didn’t go unnoticed

Like Mitchell, Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell was also looking forward to another shot at the Patriots.

That tweet was apparently passed around the Jaguars locker room with a few defensive players mentioning it after the game.

The Jaguars’ mascot even chimed in.

Bell finished with 67 rushing yards, 88 receiving yards, and a pair of touchdowns, so it wasn’t a poor showing for the All-Pro running back. But he’ll have to wait until next year — if he plays — to hope for another chance at the Patriots.

The Jaguars took out their frustrations on the whole Steelers team

The win Sunday was the Jaguars’ second of the season at Heinz Field — a feat that only the 2007 Jaguars have ever accomplished before. And they didn’t have many nice things to say about the Steelers after the game.

Jacksonville and Pittsburgh will meet again in 2018, although it’ll be a home game for the Jaguars.

The Jaguars have had a chip on their shoulder all year

The Steelers weren’t even the only team in the crosshairs of the Jaguars after the win, though. Defensive lineman Malik Jackson interrupted an interview with Calais Campbell to bring up comments made by Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, who said Blake Bortles will “choke” if the game is in his hands.

Riding an underdog wave isn’t a story unique to the Jaguars. The Philadelphia Eagles felt disrespected too and used those feelings as fuel to beat the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday.

But the Jaguars were already one of the most emotional teams in the league that plays with an “us against the world” mentality.

The last thing the Steelers needed to do was throw more gasoline on that fire.

It’s on to New England next where the Jaguars will be an even bigger underdog in the AFC Championship. But Jacksonville is feeling confident. Jalen Ramsey even told Jaguars fans Sunday night that the Lombardi Trophy is only a few weeks away.

Patriots probably won’t make the mistake of poking at the already spicy Jaguars.

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