Jacksonville Jaguars: Defense the driving, dominant force in third win
By Larry Brake
The Jacksonville Jaguars defense scored twice in the third quarter and didn’t allow a touchdown to lead the way to a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Jacksonville Jaguars defense knew that Sunday’s Week 5 game would be tough. There were some concerns about stopping the Pittsburgh Steelers run game. However, the Jaguars held Pittsburgh without a touchdown by playing a bend but don’t break style of defense.
After a three-and-out by the Jacksonville offense, the Steelers took possession on their own 27 yard line. Jalen Ramsey gave up a 49-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown. Yet, Pittsburgh settled for a 29 yard field goal due to the Jaguars defense not breaking.
Ramsey intercepted a Roethlisberger pass later in the first half, which put the Jaguars in good field position. Jacksonville drove the ball down to the 4-yard line. From there, Leonard Fournette dove over the goal-line for the go-ahead touchdown.
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The confidence of the Jacksonville defense grew with each stop. Pittsburgh was not able to build any offensive momentum. Jacksonville was leading 7-6 at the end of the first half after another Steelers field goal in the red zone. The Jaguars defense bent some in the first half, but forced Pittsburgh to kick field goals. Two interceptions by the tenacious Jaguars defense fueled the first half effort. With the Steelers set to receiver the second-half kickoff, though, the Jags needed to stay strong..
Pittsburgh drove the field in a manner reminiscent of their opening drive of the contest. The Jaguars were facing a first-and-goal from the 5-yard line, but the ferocious defense stuffed the Steelers to prevent the touchdown. They added another field goal, taking a 9-7 lead.
On the ensuing possession, the Steelers sacked Blake Bortles and the Jaguars punted the ball back to Roethlisberger. The Steelers were feeling like they were going to score and take the momentum away from the scrappy Jaguars defense. After bending-not-breaking for the first half, the defense then took over the game.
Telvin Smith returned a tipped pass 28 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. The interception for Smith was the icing on an overall very good game. He had six tackles and helped contain the Steelers running attack. Then, on the Steelers next possession, Ramsey deflected a pass into the arms of Barry Church. Church returned the turnover 51 yards for the touchdown. The two pick-sixes widened the gap to 23-9.
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With the game out of reach for Pittsburgh, Leonard Fournette iced it with a late 90-yard touchdown. However, it was undeniable that the defense was the Jaguars’ driving force in Week 5. They’ve constructed a unit laden with talent through free agency and the draft in recent years, and now it’s paying big dividends.