Jaguars Jalen Ramsey turns in special performance in loss to Pittsburgh

Despite a 20-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the door almost completely shut on a playoff berth, Jalen Ramsey showed everyone why he is one of the best in the business.

It may go down as one of the best performances in Jacksonville Jaguars history. What Jalen Ramsey did on Sunday, two interceptions in addition to shadowing Antonio Brown who had five catches on 13 targets, was something many of us expected of the All-Pro cornerback the entire season.

His efforts would have been accentuated if the Jaguars had managed to maintain the lead and beat their rival Pittsburgh on Sunday. The loss was a bitter pill to swallow given the defense played one of its better games of the year in holding the Steelers at bay for three quarters and got little offensive support from their teammates.

Jalen Ramsey’s display was a microcosm of the 2018 season, where consistency has not been the friend of either side of the ball. But in his own way, The former 2016 first-round draft pick silenced some of his critics from TIAA Bank Sunday afternoon.

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The week had not been one of his finest. After taking to Twitter, sending a cryptic message that fans would miss him when he left, eluding to potentially leaving Jacksonville, to speaking to the media later in the week, stating he wants to play for one team his whole career to talking about “fake fans” and a lack of support.

If that wasn’t enough, a tweet by Adam Schefter of ESPN.com just hours before the game on Sunday, stated the Jaguars would look to trade their best defensive player. The roller coaster of Jalen Ramsey’s day came to a halt after 4 pm with another loss, the sixth in a row for this team. When he met with the media following the game, the subdued star said he will always come back stronger when he has to.

The Jaguars quickly and emphatically denied any chance of a trade.

"“I ain’t never going to sit down,” Ramsey said. “I’m always going to bounce back.”"

Ramsey also responded with a team-high eight tackles and three passes. It was the first multi-interception game of his career and further added to his legend of one of the best to play cornerback in the NFL.

The topic of the Schefter story was discussed with Ramsey at his locker after the game. He did not seem phased by it, only that he handled the speculation in a calm manner.

"“It is what it is,” Ramsey said. “I don’t control that. All I control is what I put out there on the field. When the offseason comes, we’ll have some conversations to have. It could be whatever … get a contract extension or something.”"

The Jaguars will go into this offseason knowing they must lock up Yannick Ngakoue and Myles Jack as well as Ramsey for the future. All three are critical to the growth of this team moving forward and make up one of the greatest draft classes in Jaguars history.

While the Jaguars denied the Schefter story, if they did decide to trade Ramsey, he could garner a hefty ransom in return.