If history has a say, the Steelers will struggle vs. Jaguars

Looking to next week

While no one will admit it, the Steelers, like most teams, can look past weaker appointments as they focus on tougher matchups ahead. Every time the team has lost to the Jaguars, there has been a tough opponent on the horizon. Take 2007 during the wild card round. The winner was set to face undefeated Patriots. More than likely, this team had that in the back of their minds as opposed to just beating the Jaguars in that game first.

2017 was the most obvious example of this. The Steelers met the Jaguars twice that year and lost both times. During the first meeting, the Steelers were set to face the then-undefeated Chiefs after the Jaguars. Meanwhile, the Jaguars were one of the most middle of the road teams that year, as they had no passing game thanks to Bortles. The team came out expecting an easy win and were beaten down as a result.

Worse yet was the divisional playoff game, as that was the most obvious time the team was caught looking ahead. The talk leading up to the Jaguars game was entirely on meeting the Patriots for a rematch in the championship game, not on winning in the divisional round. This was the same team that had embarrassed them during the season, yet the Steelers still didn’t see them as main threats. Yes, the game was closer, but the Steelers still lost and were eliminated from the playoffs.

All of this to say, the team can’t repeat history and expect to win this week. Yes, the Jaguars are notoriously bad, and the Steelers are notoriously good, but that wouldn’t be the first time that was the pre-game narrative only for the game to be close or be an upset. The Steelers need to keep their offense moving, avoid big mistakes, and stop the Jaguars’ best weapon in Robinson. As well, even though the team is set to face the Ravens on a short week, the focus has to be on beating the Jaguars this week. If not, we might just see history repeat itself.