Steelers vs. Jaguars Game Day Newsletter 7 NOV 18th Steelers_DIGITAL | Page 79

JAGUARS TRY TO SNAP LOSING SKID WITH HOME
MATCHUP AGAINST THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS
JACKSONVILLE – Here comes a familiar foe,
and another “must-win” game.
Today the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2-1) visit
TIAA Bank Field to face the Jacksonville
Jaguars (3-6).
Let’s get this out of the way early: Last season
the Jaguars knocked off the Pittsburgh
Steelers twice in Pittsburgh in a single season,
becoming only the second team in NFL history
to accomplish the feat (Jaguars, 2007).
The Week 5 game at Pittsburgh featured a
swarming defense that intercepted Steelers
quarterback Ben Roethlisberger fi ve times,
and then the Jaguars offense burned the
fourth quarter away with a clock-churning
power running attack in a 30-9 win. January’s
Divisional Playoff game saw the Jaguars
build an early lead and then keep pace with
a comeback bid by the Steelers offense for
a 45-42 Jaguars win to advance to the AFC
Championship game.
The way things have gone the last month and a
half, that seems like years ago. How fast things
can change in the NFL: A season later it doesn’t
matter.
Today’s game was originally scheduled to be
played on NBC’s Sunday Night Football as a
rematch of two elite AFC teams. NBC fl exed out
of the game, moving it to the 1:00 p.m. window
on CBS.
The Steelers have held up their end of the
bargain.
After starting 1-2-1, the Steelers have reeled
off fi ve consecutive victories to improve to
6-2-1, while averaging just over 35 points per
game in the current streak. They look like a
team poised to make a second half run to fi nish
among the AFC’s elite once again, as they lead
the competitive AFC North.
The Jaguars have unfortunately gone the other
direction.
After starting 3-1 the Jaguars dropped the next
fi ve in a row to fall to a disappointing 3-6 record,
and they sit at the bottom of the AFC South
standings after winning the division a year
ago. The Jaguars’ playoff chances are on life
support; only four teams have started 3-6 and
then advanced to the playoffs since the league
expanded the format in 1990: 1994 New England
Patriots, 1995 Detroit Lions, 1996 Jacksonville
Jaguars, 2012 Washington Redskins.
Could the Steelers use last season as added
motivation for what happened last season and
try to knock the Jaguars pretty much completely
out of playoff contention? Can the Jaguars wake
up the echoes of last season’s dominance over
the Steelers to snap the streak and start a late
season-saving run?
Both are possible if you consider the series
history.
As of late, the Steelers-Jaguars series has
been fi lled with close games. Over the last 11
meetings (including two playoff games) the
result has been decided by one possession nine
times. The Jaguars have won six of the last 11