Jacksonville Jaguars are currently over a touchdown underdog to Pittsburgh Steelers
By Billy Long
The Jacksonville Jaguars have had success in Pittsburgh, but Vegas lists the Steelers as heavy favorites in the divisional round.
It’s the divisional round in the NFL playoffs, and the Jacksonville Jaguars are making a return trip to the Steel City for a rematch with Pittsburgh. The two teams met in week five, with the Jaguars thrashing the Steelers 30-9 behind a spectacular defensive effort that included five interceptions.
But in the second matchup this Sunday in the playoffs, Vegas oddsmakers see the game going vastly different than the first battle. Pittsburgh is listed as 7.5 point home favorites over Jacksonville, as of Wednesday.
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It is certainly no surprise that the Steelers are favorites in this matchup, and honestly, around a touchdown spread is fair. The Jaguars have played exceptional against Ben Roethlisberger and Pittsburgh on the road, and have proven that in the playoffs as well, but there just isn’t much national confidence in Jacksonville after the wild card performance against the Buffalo Bills.
Sure the defense had another dominating performance, and was the catalyst behind the team’s week five win over the Steelers. But the offensive ineptitude was concerning vs. Buffalo, and would not get the job done against Pittsburgh in round two. So combining the most recent effort from the offense with playing on the road, being touchdown underdogs is hard to argue.
Having said that however, the Jaguars have clearly shown to not be remotely intimidated by the Steelers, and love the role of underdog. Jacksonville will be ready, and the defense is going to make proving Vegas right a daunting task for Pittsburgh.