Jacksonville Jaguars: Blueprint for victory in Pittsburgh
By Larry Brake
The Jacksonville Jaguars must defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers to keep their share of first place in the AFC South. Jacksonville must return to its core values to win.
Sunday’s Week 5 contests against the Pittsburgh Steelers might define the Jacksonville Jaguars 2017 season. Winning the game will build team confidence. Losing will darken, what once was, a bright, positive and potential playoff contending season.
Pittsburgh has struggled in its first four games. Pittsburgh lost to Chicago in Week 3. Last week, frustrations spilled over on the sidelines. This is to say, Jacksonville is not the only team to feel frustration.
John Oehser of jaguars.com spoke to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Bouchette says:
"…Chicago raised a lot of doubts…[the Steelers] have underperformed so far; they really have. They struggled in the opener against Cleveland, but again: the expectations are that it’s going to improve; it’s going to get better. There are a lot of teams around the NFL with high expectations struggling."
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The loss in New York has many Jaguars fans wondering what happened. How could they look so bad after such a dominant performance in London? Were they looking past New York and focused on Pittsburgh?
First of all, penalties and mental mistakes have wreaked more havoc on this team than its opponents. The Jaguars have committed 35 penalties which add to a total of 305 penalty yards. Penalties cost them the game in New York. If they’re to top the Steelers, the penalties must be reduced/eliminated.
Next, Leonard Fournette must be on the field more, seeing more snaps. Fournette’s presence in the backfield will cause Pittsburgh to stack eight men in the box. Whether he totes the ball or not, people pay attention to him. Though the Steelers secondary is improved, it’s still a beatable group that could be exploited with the attention on Fournette up front.
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Lastly, the run Jacksonville defense has glaring holes. Tackling the ball carrier is the first primary goal of the defense. Wrapping up the ball carrier is the first primary goal of a successful tackle. Grabbing and diving are not sufficient ways to tackle, per a 75-yard touchdown run by Jets running back Bilal Powell. With Le’Veon Bell coming at them this week, the Jaguars defense has to finish tackles and remain disciplined in their form while doing so.