Steelers Scouting Report: Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars completely dismantled the Baltimore Ravens in London, but in Week Four they got caught off-guard by a New York Jets team that threw a ton of defensive pressure up front and shut down the run game; this allowed them to simply force the Jags offense to throw. Still, this up-and-down Jaguars team has the potential to be as dangerous to the Steelers as the Chicago Bears were. In fact, their defense is ranked at the top of the NFL entering this week. Sure, they’re nine-point underdogs to Pittsburgh, but Vegas odds don’t mean much when the players take the field.
Bortles is consummate Jekyll & Hyde
Will the Blake Bortles that had five touchdown passes and no interceptions in both of the wins Jacksonville put together so far in 2017 show up against Pittsburgh, or will it be the Bortles that practically hands the ball away to the opponent and can’t seem to find the end zone? Even his teammates aren’t sure which quarterback they’ll get out of Bortles from week to week and that has turned the Jaguars offense into one that is completely inconsistent.
That makes it potentially more difficult for the Steelers to game-plan. If they’re smart, they will prepare for the guy that seemed to find every way possible to expose a Ravens defense – something that the Steelers surely watched when they prepped for their AFC North rivals last week – and ignore the fact that at MetLife Stadium he only completed 15 of 35 passes for the second-lowest completion percentage of his career (42.9 percent). The Steelers need to anticipate he will be looking for a repeat of his second-highest passer rating (gained against Baltimore) and four touchdown game.
| Blake Bortles stats in 4 weeks | Pass yds. | Comp. % | TDs | Turnovers | Sacks |
| In 2 wins | 369 | 59.6 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| In 2 losses | 363 | 50.7 | 2 | 4 (3 INT) | 3 |
Offense being carried, literally, by Fournette
Jacksonville will be without Allen Robinson, their top receiver, due to a torn ACL and have yet to get much production beyond Marcedes Lewis‘ three touchdown catches against the Ravens. That has left rookie running back Leonard Fournette to become the leading offensive producer in both the ground and air game.
Fournette accounted for 86 rushing yards on 24 attempts and four receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown catch. On the season, Fournette has 285 yards on 81 carries for three touchdowns; he’s added 12 receptions for 125 yards, a touchdown, and a fumble. Opposing defenses that had success realized that keeping Fournette limited – stopping the run and utilizing heavy defensive line pressure – has forced Bortles to look for other targets with very limited success forcing him to slip in accuracy and commit turnovers.
Cam Heyward led the charge last week in stuffing Baltimore’s run game and had plenty of assistance from Ryan Shazier, T.J. Watt, Stephon Tuitt and other key defenders. Fournette is a much better rusher than anyone on the Ravens roster and has the ability to create big plays despite his 3.5 yards-per-carry average. This week, the Steelers will need to once again play stingy against the run and apply pressure on Bortles with different blitz packages to give the ball back to their colleagues on offense.
Jaguars defense offers plenty of resistance
Jacksonville has surprised some in the league with some great defensive performances. Against the Jets, outside linebacker Myles Jack, who had 8 tackles (one assisted), made a big splash play when he returned a ball ruled a fumble for an 81-yard touchdown on a play that was nearly as strange as the Antonio Brown loose ball that was grabbed by Eric Weddle. Jack has only recorded one sack so far this season on Marcus Mariota of the Tennessee Titans.
The Steelers’ offensive line will once again be called upon to play smart, limit penalties and prevent penetration of the Jaguars defense into the offensive backfield. Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue has four sacks this season and will be another guy the Steelers can’t afford to have in Ben Roethlisberger‘s face for sixty minutes.
The Jaguars have shown an ability to be aggressive in run defense as well, however, which will require Pittsburgh to spread the offense to keep from becoming one-dimensional – something Baltimore could not do. Le’Veon Bell is one of the best rushers in the league, however, and could potentially carve up this defense after having an outstanding game last weekend.
Head coach Doug Marrone spoke of his concern about the state of his run defense this week, especially after doing well against Baltimore, when he saw they are ranked dead last in the league statistically.
Through four games, Jacksonville is ranked 11th in total defense and first against the pass. Last weekend, they allowed the Jets to gain touchdown runs of 75 and 69 yards (256 rushing yards overall). Cornerback A.J. Bouye has grabbed two interceptions and defended six passes so far this season. Fellow cornerback Jalen Ramsey has one interception and five passes defended with ten solo tackles.
It’s easy to point the finger at the (defensive line), which is, ‘Hey, we should be in that gap’ … Then, you get to the second level … Then, you get to the final level, which is who’s going to cover … Let’s get the guy down and play another down. – D. Marrone
Marrone also spoke on the level of awareness the Jaguars have that the Steelers defense ranks second in the league and second against the pass also ranks second in the NFL with 15 sacks – just three behind the Jaguar’s league-leading 18. “The production remains the same, the names just change, it seems,” Marrone said.
It has been five years since we last played in Pittsburgh, but our players know what to expect.
Noise, towels, and physical football. pic.twitter.com/s7GfrBulWj
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 4, 2017
