Pittsburgh Steelers: 5 players who will make or break the matchup versus Jacksonville
By Edward Hunt
As the Pittsburgh Steelers look to earn their second straight trip to the AFC Championship, they’ll need key playmakers to step up against Jacksonville.
The Steelers will face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend and it will be a rematch from a regular season loss for the Steelers. The Steelers will need to play their best football coming into this game. Here are some key players that you will need to keep an eye on against the Jaguars.
Ben Roethlisberger
You could really say the quarterback is critical in every game, but this game the Steelers will need Ben to play like he has at the second half of the season.
The Jaguars have the best defense in the NFL and are lead by a secondary of all very capable players. Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye are among the best cornerback duos in the league and they don’t let up with safeties Barry Church and Tashaun Gibson. They also will be pressured by Calais Campbell, one of the star defensive linemen of this league.
Le’Veon Bell
The Steelers will need to be able to run the ball against the Jaguars to be successful. When playing a team with a good defense, ball control is important to keeping the Steelers defense off the field. Bell is a star in the running game as well as in the passing game and as a blocker. He will go up against one of the most talented front sevens in the league. He will need to be patient and fight for every yard to win this game.
Marcus Gilbert
He will have his hands full this weekend playing against Calais Campbell. Campbell is probably the star of the most talented defense in the league. He will need to keep Campbell out of Ben Roethlisberger’s way and will need to block him to keep him at bay in the running game.
Gilbert has been praised for his play since coming back from the suspension and so it will be a great test to see how he does against Calais Campbell.
Sean Spence
Spence is going to be a key player in this game as he will be asked to fill in for Ryan Shazier again. Although he will not be able to replace Ryan Shazier, it is important that he holds down the duty of stopping Leonard Fournette who is a bruising between the tackles type of back.
Tackling and run stopping is key to the Steelers success of having to make Blake Bortles beat the Steelers.
Sean Davis
The Steelers will also need to have a good game from Sean Davis. Davis will be called upon to help stop the run early by being put in the box. He will also be crucial to the Steelers coverage.
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If he has a bad game, the Steelers will have difficulty stopping the Jaguars attack. The Steelers can’t afford to have any weaknesses in their defense.