Jacksonville Jaguars beat the odds and win an exciting game in Pittsburgh

The Jacksonville Jaguars head to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers.  The Jags are huge underdogs and very few experts pick the Jags to win the game.

The few Jags pickers remember the first Jags versus Steelers game.  Of course the rest think about the game last week against the Buffalo Bills.

First half discussion

The Jaguars came out of the box looking creative and solid.  For example Coach Nathaniel Hackett started the game calling play action passes.  Happily Bortles completed those passes which opened up the running game for Leonard Fournette.  The score was 14-0 in favor of the Jags at the end of the first quarter.  However  after two quarters was 28-14.  Pittsburgh committed two turnovers in the first half while the Jags had none.  Unfortunately Pittsburgh began to get their act together as the first half came to a close.  But the Jaguars had the lead and a win was one half away.

Second half discussion

The Steelers came out and started the second half with an immediate touchdown.  The Jags were unable to move the ball.  Ben Roethlisberger played like the future Hall of Fame candidate that he is.  In contrast Blake Bortles played like…well…like Blake Bortles.  The Steelers knew Bortles passing game went south and as a result they loaded up the box against the run.  This resulted in a familiar pattern to Jags fans….run Leonard Fournette into a brick wall.

The game looked bleak. Moreover the weather was cold. Then the defense stopped the Steelers on fourth down. Suddenly Bortles woke up and passed a long bomb to Keelan Cole.  Fournette scored his third touchdown to give the Jags a fourteen point lead. Antonio Brown caught an amazing pass to put the lead back to only 7 points.  Indeed it is no mystery that Brown was the only NFL player voted unanimously to the First Team All Pro squad.

The Jags got the ball again and went directly down the field to score.  Bortles threw some great passes and the Jags were up by fourteen again.  But the Steelers scored once again and the game became a 7 point game again.  However the Steelers tried an onside kick with yards and the Jags recovered.  Fournette ran into a wall and the two minute warning stopped the clock.  Josh Lambo kicked a field goal under unbelievable pressure.  Now the Jags lead is 10 points.

The Steelers got the ball with under two minutes to play and no time outs.  The Steelers began to move the ball down the field.  Pittsburg scored a final touchdown but the game was basically over. JAGS WIN!       JAGS WIN!     JAGS WIN!

In conclusion

In summary the Jaguars defeated the Steelers in a thrilling up and down football game.  The Jags were heavy underdogs, the weather was cold, the game was an away game, and the better quarterback played for the other team.  However the bottom line is…the Jaguars are headed to New England.  My Jaguar pride is glowing right now.