By: Rich Bergeron
Steelers vs Jaguars Betting Line courtesy of Bovada:
Point Spread: Steelers (away) -7.0 (-105), Jaguars (home) +7.0 (-115)
Money Line (to win): Steelers -260, Jaguars +220
Over/Under: 47.5 points, Over -105, Under -115
The Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4) and Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) have a healthy rivalry going with each team winning five games out of ten total meetings between these two NFL squads. It’s been nearly three years since the last game between these teams, but they meet for what will be the series tiebreaker on Sunday at 1PM EST at EverBank Field in Jacksonville.
The Jaguars will no doubt be looking over film from last week’s 27-24 Pittsburgh loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to prepare for this game. Tampa Bay earned their first win of the season in that game, and the Jaguars will hope to do the same when they take their home field Sunday afternoon.
Like Tampa Bay did last week, Jacksonville will employ the services of a quarterback who was not the team’s starter at the beginning of the season. Blake Bortles (43-61, 477 yards, 3 TDs, 4 INTs) will make the second start of his NFL career for the Jags and try to take a page out of Tampa Bay QB Mike Glennon’s book. If he hopes to pull off a miracle Sunday, though, he’ll have to do it without two of his best receivers. Cecil Shorts III and Marquise Lee will both be out of commission for this contest. On a positive note, Ace Sanders will take the field at wideout once again Sunday now that his four-game suspension is served. If Bortles is relying on his running game to help him put together the game of his life, he’s probably going to feel let down. Jacksonville’s leading rusher, Toby Gerhart, has just 114 yards on 44 carries with one touchdown. He’s also caught seven passes for 63 yards. These are numbers more suitable for a second-tier running back and not the leading rusher, so Gerhart will really have to get untracked and churn up some make-up yards if he wants to help Bortles free up some passing lanes.
The lack of offensive output by Jacksonville is not the least of the team’s troubles. In addition to scoring a pathetic average of 14.5 points per game on offense, the defense is also pitiful. The team is the worst in the league when it comes to average points allowed (38), average total yards allowed (451.3) and average passing yards allowed (320.8).
That sub-par Jacksonville defensive squad will be across the field from a very formidable offense Sunday, but Pittsburgh’s defense is pretty miserable, too. Winning the time of possession game and scoring early and often will help the Steelers keep Jacksonville on an epic losing streak, but the Pittsburgh defense also has to show up and put in some work. At the very least, they need to demonstrate they are capable of drastic improvement. Even a piss poor defense should be able to contain an offense as low-scoring and predictable as Jacksonville’s. Still, it would be a real statement for Pittsburgh’s defenders if they can shut the Jags out on their own home field.
The Steelers can certainly win this game on offense even if the defense does give up some easy touchdowns. Ben Roethlisberger (96-141, 1,092 yards, 6 TDs, 2 INTs) is enjoying the benefit of a pair of very healthy and very potent running backs this season in Le’Veon Bell (72 carries, 378 yards, TD, 19 catches for 192 yards) and LeGarrette Blount (21 carries, 157 yards, 2 TDs). These big-play backs free up the passing game for Pittsburgh, and so far Big Ben’s go-to-guy is Antonio Brown (29 receptions on 39 targets, 427 yards, 5 TDs), who had his best game of the season last week against Tampa Bay with seven grabs for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
Though the defense may be the main weak point for the Steelers, they also rank second in the league in average penalties per game (11) thanks to earning 13 flags and losing 125 yards as a result in last week’s loss. If they can find a way to avoid shooting themselves in the foot in that category this week, they should have no trouble improving to 3-2 on the season with a comfortable win over the Jags on Sunday.
Prediction: The Steelers display tremendous improvement on defense and keep the Jags to just 13 points. Meanwhile, Big Ben and the best backfield he’s had in a long time will put up a season-high 38 points. Bortles will struggle in this one, and the rookie will throw at least one interception, which could end up being a pick-6 thanks to a tough week of practice for the defense that really pays off with a tremendous turnaround from the first four weeks.
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