Jacksonville Jaguars Offensive Line Will Be Better Against Steelers
By Luke Sims
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive line is a cause for concern as the Jaguars play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. With Austin Pasztor back at right tackle, though, they should be able to put together more complete games than they have so far this season.
After a 10 sacks allowed franchise record against the Washington Redskins in week two, the Jaguars’ offensive line could only go up. That’s a low point the team desperately wants to leave in the rearview for the rest of the season. The next two games have seen improvement from the unit.
Against the Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers the Jaguars allowed seven sacks (four against the Colts, three against the Chargers) and 12 quarterback hits. This, compared to 18 hits and 10 sacks in the Washington game is a major improvement. The Chargers game saw the offensive line play much better in pass protection and also saw the Jaguars put together 85 yards rushing, which is the second most yardage accumulated by a mediocre-at-best rushing attack so far this season.
Hopefully the trend toward better offensive line play continues against the Steelers. While there is certainly cause for concern (and Steelers pass rushers must be drooling over the opportunity to play against an offensive line that has played poorly so far) the trend is upward. I predict that the offensive line will continue to improve.
What does that mean for the game against the Steelers?
It means that Blake Bortles will have more time in the pocket and will not have to rely so much on his impressive awareness and escapability. As exciting as it is to see Bortles make plays when plays are obviously broken, it is is much better to see his jersey clean and him able to complete passes with adequate protection. Austin Pasztor at right tackle will help with that and the rest of the unit has shown they can improve on a lackluster start to the season.
Improved play also means that the running game will be able to get going like it hasn’t all season. The Jags had a season high of 105 yards on the ground in week three against the Indianapolis Colts and that mark is easily improved upon by most NFL clubs. If the offensive line is able to limit the penetration from the Steelers then Toby Gerhart and Denard Robinson may be able to finally put their flashes of skill together and have a decent game.
The offensive line is a mess, but it is coming together. Expect that trend to continue against the Steelers.