Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 Key players to beating Steelers in Divisional Round

JACKSONVILLE, FL - JANUARY 07: Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone watches the action in the second half of the AFC Wild Card Round game against the Buffalo Bills at EverBank Field on January 7, 2018 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /

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CLEVELAND, OH – NOVEMBER 19: Dede Westbrook #12 of the Jacksonville Jaguars runs the ball in the first half against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 19, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

3. Dede Westbrook

In a Jacksonville Jaguar offense that has had to do some reshuffling over the course of the season, rookie Dede Westbrook has been a nice surprise. He has not put up eye-popping numbers, but he has been a security blanket for Blake Bortles. In last Sunday’s 10-3 win over the Buffalo Bills, Westbrook had 48 receiving yards on the afternoon, which led all players. He managed to spread the field as well, averaging 9.6 yards per catch.

On the season, the former Oklahoma Sooner had 27 catches for 339 yards and a touchdown. His best game of the year came on December 10 against the Seattle Seahawks. In that contest, he caught eight passes for 81 yards and a touchdown.

If the Jaguars want to beat the Steelers on Saturday, Westbrook needs to have an even bigger game than the one he had last weekend. The Pittsburgh pass defense has been abysmal this season allowing the third most yards in the NFL (4,380), which breaks down to 274 yards allowed per game.

There will be opportunities for Westbrook to get the football, especially with a depleted Jaguar wide receiver group. He needs to be able to use his speed and try to exploit the matchups that are given to him.

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