The Steelers know better than any team in the NFL how difficult it can be to pass effectively against the Jacksonville Jaguars, keepers of the NFL’s No. 1 pass defense. They have two Pro Bowl cornerbacks in Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Buoye, who dare quarterbacks to throw on them, and two Pro Bowlers along the defensive line in Calais Campbell and Malik Jackson, who disrupt with their pass rush.
When the Jaguars beat the Steelers in early October, they intercepted Ben Roethlisberger five times, sacked him twice and pressured him numerous other times in a 30-9 rout.
The following day, Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell complained that the coaching staff abandoned the run too early against what at the time was the league’s worst rush defense. The Jaguars did improve their rush defense as the season wore on and finished the season 21st out of 32 teams in rushing yards against, but Bell still believes the Steelers can have success Sunday when the two teams play a rematch in an AFC divisional round game at Heinz Field.
“We got a little behind the 8-ball when we played them the first time,” Bell said Wednesday after practice. “We gave them two touchdowns. We didn’t necessarily stick to our game plan. We had to start playing catch-up a little bit so we couldn’t run the ball as much as we wanted to. We’ll see how the game goes. We want to be balanced. We want to beat those guys with run, play-action, drop-back passing, whatever it is and keep those guys off balance.”
Being balanced is always important, but neglecting the run against the Jaguars can be a mistake. Though the Jaguars have an excellent defense across the board, they have had some issues against quality running teams this season. In fact, in games when the Jaguars surrendered 100 rushing yards or more, they were 4-5. In games when they held opponents to 99 yards or fewer, they were 7-1.
Offensive coordinator Todd Haley called just 15 runs for Bell in the first meeting, and he gained just 47 yards. Right guard David DeCastro said the Steelers have to do a much better job in the rematch of getting in position for Haley to call Bell’s number more often.
“We’re not sitting back here telling Haley you better run the ball,” DeCastro said. “We don’t do that. We’d like to run. The stats are what they are, but we have to get in a position to call some runs, get some points, score early, really get comfortable doing that.”
It’s easy to see a pattern in Jacksonville’s six regular-season losses. The Jets ran for 256 yards; the Titans 179 and 116; the Rams 142; the 49ers 131; and the Cardinals 108.
If that’s not incentive enough, all the Steelers coaches have to do is watch the video of Bell in the playoffs last season. He set the franchise record for rushing yards in a game in back-to-back weeks in victories against the Dolphins and Chiefs. He rushed for 167 in the wild-card game against Miami and 170 the following week in Kansas City on an injured groin.
Bell started the AFC championship against the Patriots but exited in the first quarter when his groin injury flared up.
The Steelers don’t have to worry about a preexisting injury to Bell in these playoffs. He sat out the regular-season finale against the Browns and had the off week to rest again last weekend.
“I feel great,” Bell said. “I can’t complain. This is the freshest I’ve ever been going into the playoffs. I don’t go into a game feeling achy or sore. I’m going in feeling new, like I haven’t played in a minute, like I want to get back out there. It’s a great place for me to be, especially with me having so many touches over the course of the year. We’re going into the playoffs. Now it’s time to make the run. We have three games left.”
But first, the Steelers must get through the Jaguars, who handed them their worst loss of the season. It’s the first stop on what could be a revenge tour for the Steelers to get to the Super Bowl. The Patriots, provided they beat Tennessee at home Saturday night, will play host to the AFC championship.
Bell insists the Steelers didn’t take the Jaguars lightly in the first game. But even if they did, no one in the Steelers locker room will have that problem after getting drilled by them at home a mere three months ago.
“I don’t think we took them lightly,” Bell said. “They made all those plays happen. You have to give them credit. I didn’t feel like we were on our game as a team. I think we all feel the same way. We’re kind of eager to play those guys again and give those guys a better run.”
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
First Published: January 10, 2018, 10:06 p.m.
