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#1
It is tough to beat a solid team like the Steelers twice in the same season but I feel the match-up edges to the Jaguars here are simply too strong. In other words, similar to their domination of the Steelers in a 29-22 win three weeks ago, Jacksonville will get the job done once again in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. The Jaguars have now defeated the Steelers three straight times and I´m certainly not concerned about last week's result at Houston. The Jags were resting players and ended up with an ugly road loss against the Texans.
The real key here is the difference we saw in these teams late in the season, before Week 17's meaningless games. Jacksonville went on a late season surge and QB David Garrard has played a big part in this as he's been rock solid since returning in mid-November after an ankle injury had previously knocked him out of action. The Jaguars offense is now very balanced with a healthy Garrard and RB Fred Taylor finished out the season very strong with his ground attack giving opponents a lot of headaches. Look for the Jaguars offense to take advantage of a Steelers defense that has been dealt some key injuries this season.
Ever since talking the talk but not walking the walk at New England, the Steelers have lost their swagger. They were very confident about marching into Foxboro and knocking off the Patriots. That loss seemed to have a hangover effect on the Steelers and they have not been the same team ever since. Pittsburgh is definitely missing RB Willie Parker's big play capabilities. In the passing game, the Steelers offensive line continues to struggle with pass protection. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 47 times this season and Jags got five of those three weeks ago in Pittsburgh. The Jaguars are a very physical team and the Steelers don't seem quite as intense under Tomlin as they did under Cowher. Also, the team speed edges definitely go to the Jaguars and don't be surprised if the Steelers weak special teams play also ends up costing them in this game.
The Jaguars played a much tougher schedule than the Steelers did this season and so they march into Pittsburgh battle-tested and confident. That will lead to a big road win as there is some shifting take a place in terms of who the top teams now are in the AFC. The only reason the Steelers got this game at home is because of playing in the weak AFC North. The Jaguars had to battle in a very tough AFC South division and they definitely earned this playoff spot and they will make the most of it as I expect them to overpower Pittsburgh here
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