The Pittsburgh Steelers start their quest for the Super Bowl with their first game of the 2018 NFL playoffs. They host the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round on Sunday, which begins at 1 p.m. ET on CBS (live streams at CBS All-Access, Yahoo! Sports, and FuboTV).
The Steelers won the AFC North title and clinched a first-round bye at 13-3. They’re one of the few teams in the AFC expected to give the New England Patriots a real fight for the conference title, and Antonio Brown is back after missing several weeks with a torn calf muscle.
However, the Jaguars will have something to say about Pittsburgh’s advancement. These teams met in Week 5 of the regular season, which was a 30-9 beatdown by the Jaguars. Ben Roethlisberger threw five interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, in easily his worst performance of the season. Blake Bortles barely even had to do anything, throwing for just 95 yards on 8-of-14 passing.
We probably won’t see the rematch be so one-sided. Roethlisberger went on to have another outstanding year, while Brown was a serious MVP candidate before getting injured in Week 16. Le’Veon Bell is also playing at a high level and rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster emerged as a viable No. 2 receiver. The Steelers’ offense is clicking right now, and they’ll be a handful for Jacksonville’s defense.
Of course, the Jags’ defense is their biggest calling card, which was on display once again when they completely shut down the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round. Jalen Ramsey has ascended from promising rookie to legitimate superstar, sealing last week’s win with a brilliant diving interception. The Jags are loaded with playmakers all over defense — from Ramsey and A.J. Bouye in the secondary, to Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue up front.
This Jaguars squad is young, fierce, and ready to make an impact. The problem, as it’s been most of the year, is Bortles. He had another poor performance in the Wild Card game, eventually finishing with more rushing yards than passing. Leonard Fournette really slowed down after a hot start to his rookie year, and the wide receiver corps remains banged up.
The Jaguars have stymied opponents all year, but when they face one of the league’s best offenses this week, where are the points coming from? That’s the big mystery Doug Marrone must solve if his team hopes to make a deep playoff run.
Time, TV, and streaming info
- Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh
- TV: CBS
- Streaming: CBS All-Access, Yahoo! Sports, FuboTV
- Odds: The Steelers are favored by 7.5 points
Jaguars vs. Steelers news
- Following his team’s win, Ngakoue accused Bills lineman Richie Incognito of using racial slurs during the game.
“He said what he said,” Ngakoue said, via ESPN. “He knows what he said. I don’t have to repeat it.
”I’ve been playing this game since I was a little kid. You hear all types of stuff. Stuff’s not going to bother you, but somebody says something about your ethnicity, that’s really kind of taking it a little bit too far.”
- Bortles’ Wild Card performance was a little reminiscent of one Timothy Tebow.
There’s a lens in which we view Bortles as a decidedly meh quarterback. (He finished 20th this season in passer rating, though 12th in ESPN’s QBR which factors in things like rushing ability.) There’s also a lens through which we view Bortles as an inevitability, as a dude who even when he plays really poorly is always an extant and overgrown threat to bumble his way into a big play. You can’t count on a lot of good out of Bortles, but you can count on something good. Eventually.
It’s a feeling I haven’t had about a quarterback since Mr. .226 himself. I like to think we all remember where we were on Jan. 8, 2012, when the Broncos and Steelers went to overtime in the Wild Card round and America collectively thought oh god damn it, he’s going to do it isn’t he. Sure enough, Tebow swung his arm like a big ‘ol whip, kicked up his plant leg, and delivered a perfect ball to Demaryius Thomas, who went 80 yards to the end zone for one of the most memorable playoff game-winning plays ever.
- The Steelers are mostly healthy entering the playoffs, which hasn’t always been the case recently.
Mike Tomlin played his cards correctly down the stretch, despite what many might think. Resting Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, [Cam] Heyward and Bell ensured the core nucleus of the team will not just be present, but will be healthy. Again, something the team hasn’t done in the past.
At 1:05 p.m. ET Sunday, the Steelers will have all available hands-on-deck, and it will be only up to the players if they are able to put together a winning performance. After all, they don’t have banged up players as an excuse if the team falls flat.
Jaguars vs. Steelers prediction
The Jags’ defense will do work, but Bortles is such a wild card it’s nearly impossible to trust their offense. This game could get out of hand if Pittsburgh jumps out to an early lead and an inexperienced Jags squad loses the plot. On the other hand, Jacksonville could easily pull a 2000 Baltimore Ravens if Bortles does his best Trent Dilfer impression — they can’t be written off that easily. Let’s say the Steelers take it by two possessions, but it stays close throughout.
Check out our Divisional Round picks for even more expert opinions.