Jalen Ramsey’s comments add fuel to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ fire

After defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in both meetings last year, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back Jalen Ramsey continues to unload on quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.

Sometimes, you learn more from a loss rather than a win. Other times, you lose twice, and players on the other team will let you know exactly what you learned.

We are witnessing what is quietly turning into one of the AFC’s best rivalries between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Jacksonville Jaguars. After steamrolling the Steelers in the regular season, Jacksonville paid Heinz Field a visit in the AFC Divisional round and upset a favored Steelers team coming off a first-round bye.

Admittedly so, the Jaguars are one of the best teams in the conference, if not the league. The combination of what is highly regarded as the best defensive unit in the league mixed with a young and powerful Leonard Fournette rushing the ball 20+ times a game usually ends up as a win for the Jaguars.

However it’s not just their play that makes them fun to watch, as their roster has a plethora of characters that surely make local beat writers joyful to come to work every week. The king of trash talk? Look no further than Jalen Ramsey.

Ramsey chirps often on the field, making programs like “Sound FX” must-watch television when the cameras are on him. Ramsey carries the charisma and swagger in the likes of a Deion Sanders on and off the field, and is not afraid to get in your face, either. This was made very clear when Ramsey decided to get testy with AJ Green last season when the Bengals traveled to Jacksonville.

The best part about Ramsey? He not only talks the talk, but walks the walk as well. Ramsey, going into his third year in the NFL, has established himself as one of the best defensive backs in the league.

After falling at home against the Jaguars, many Steelers players admitted to looking ahead to a potential match-up with the New England Patriots and not focusing 100% on the Jaguars. This was evident when safety Mike Mitchell told Sports Illustrated they would play the Patriots again, during the week of the Pittsburgh/Jacksonville game.

Needless to say, a team like the Jaguars felt overlooked and slighted. When such a thing happens, a team full of confidence will made it be known, as several Jacksonville players were getting in the faces of Steelers in what felt like every other play. Ramsey and company let Pittsburgh know exactly right then and even afterwards, they weren’t to be taken lightly, and perhaps rightfully so.

This was tough to digest for Pittsburgh. The Steelers are used to the trash-talk, especially playing in a division with teams like the Bengals and Ravens. However, it was such a rare sight for the Steelers to have the Jaguars march onto their turf twice, and let them know they were no longer the toughest kid in the sandbox.

It’s been roughly seven months, and Jalen Ramsey is still out to speak his truth about the Steelers, and apparently every other quarterback in the league as well.

That’s a lot of talk. Credit to Ramsey for not being afraid to speak his mind in a world where we so often wish we could hear these opinions, but get offended when opinions don’t align like stars. Yet this is another slight not only thrown in the way of Ben Roethlisberger, but the entirety of the Steelers team.

To Ramsey’s point, Roethlisberger played absolutely dreadfully in the first meeting early in the season. However, when the lights were on come playoff time, Roethlisberger went 37-58 for 469 yards and 5 TD’s/1 INT. If “decent at best” puts those numbers up, Ramsey has been playing quite the amount of Madden 19.

Big Ben isn’t one to respond to these types of situations, much to the chagrin of writers such as myself (Just imagine the content that could be put out!). In all reality, these comments will likely find their way to the bottom of the pile, much like every other negative opinion sent his way.

Yet it shouldn’t.

Now is the time, Pittsburgh. Le’Veon Bell is all but set to walk away after the conclusion of this season, Antonio Brown isn’t getting any younger, and Roethlisberger is nearing the end of his career at any given stop. Your Super Bowl window is slowly but surely closing. Bulletin board material like this doesn’t come often.

So this is a personal call-out to the entirety of the team, including the ranks of head coach Mike Tomlin. Simply put these Jaguars don’t think you’re a worthy opponent. To them, it’s the Patriots they need to worry about. Your success means nothing in Jacksonville, because the only thing that matters is a playoff win in your house, and the satisfaction of knowing you didn’t take them as serious as you should have. This is a league of respect, and the fact is right now, nobody in “DUUUUUUVAAAAAL” county sees your team as a legitimate threat.

Will the Steelers take Ramsey’s comment to heart? Only time will tell if a mixture of last year’s loss mixed with trash talk truly resides within the minds of the team. A Sunday Night Football meeting between the two will take place on November 18th, and while this game was already circled on both calendars, the latest but surely not parting words of Ramsey have only doused the fire with more fuel.