Jacksonville Jaguars 13 – Pittsburgh Steelers 17
Rhett Davis is shocked how close this was: Who would’ve thought that the Jaguars would almost pull off the win? This was another slow, low-scoring game that seemed to drag along. Big Ben looked out of it and just didn’t have a big day along with taking a lot of bumps throughout the game. Gabbert did score a TD, but thoroughly didn’t look impressive. Mendenhall is one of the few players to look dominant on the field as he ran for over 140 yards and a TD.
Daniels isn’t buying the Steelers this year: Pittsburgh isn’t a good team. They have an easyish schedule this year with a line of cupcakes that will keep everyone thinking they’re decent until the playoffs. Pittsburgh should destroy Jacksonville by 20. They eekd out a 4 point win and they’re going to continue getting the benefit of the doubt.
My Take: I still think the Steelers get the wildcard and are dangerous once there, but, wow, do they look terrible. Mendenhall finally showing up for the season is a huge boost, though, and if he continues, the Steelers can be tough. The Jaguars are among the worst teams in football, and this shouldn’t have been close, but the Steelers will continue to beat up on weak competition, are 4-2 despite a shaky early showing, and get Arizona, Cincinnati twice, KC, Cleveland twice and the Rams. The two best teams they play, the Patriots and Ravens, are both at home, and only in week 15 do they finally have a tough road game with the 49ers. If they don’t play particularly well, that’s an easy 10-11 wins. If they figure out the offensive line, and Mendenhall going off is a great sign for that, this is a straight up deadly playoff team.
