Jaguars not kind hosts to Steelers
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In 1994, Jacksonville was awarded an NFL franchise and promptly hired Tom Coughlin to be the team’s first head coach.
Coughlin spent the 1994 season scouting, not only players he might be interested in for the upcoming expansion draft, but the teams in the division. The Jaguars began play in 1995.
Coughlin made a few stops in Pittsburgh, then the top dog in what was the AFC Central, the division in which the Jaguars would be competing, figuring he had to build a team that could knock off the best.
That advance scouting paid off as the Jaguars beat the Steelers, who were headed to the Super Bowl that season, in Jacksonville, 20-16.
The win would be the first of many by the Jaguars over the Steelers, who didn’t pick up their first victory in Jacksonville until 2000 after five consecutive losses.
The Steelers (2-2) have gone 4-2 in Jacksonville since and head to EverBank Field today looking to erase bad memories not only of past performances there, but those in last week’s 27-24 home loss against Tampa Bay.
“We’re definitely a little disappointed in our record,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “But you look at the silver lining. Last year, we were 0-4. So, we’re doing better than we were last year, but we’re still going to be disappointed where we are.”
If the Steelers are disappointed at 2-2, the Jaguars must be devastated to be 0-4 for a second consecutive season.
Last season, the Jaguars lost their first eight games en route to a 4-12 record.
But that record gave Jacksonville the third pick in the draft and quarterback Blake Bortles, a player many compared favorably to Roethlisberger in size and ability, was selected.
“He’s definitely somebody I’ve been compared to a lot,” said Bortles, who has the same agent as Roethlisberger and worked out with him during the offseason and leading up to the draft.
“He’s won two Super Bowls and had all kinds of success, and I’ve played a game and a half. So, I don’t know how much comparison there is there,” Bortles added.
The Jaguars planned for Bortles to spend the season on the bench, learning from veteran Chad Henne. But Bortles played well in the preseason, and when Henne struggled in the first three games, Bortles replaced him in a 44-17 loss at home to Indianapolis. Bortles made his first career start last week in a 33-14 loss at San Diego.
“I think there are guys who played right away and were successful and guys who played right away and struggled,” said Bortles, who is completing more than 70 percent of his passes but has four interceptions in 61 attempts. “I think you learn by making mistakes and what throws you can and can’t make.”
Roethlisberger was one of those players who had success right away, winning all 13 of his starts in his rookie season. But he had a far more experienced team around him than the one Bortles leads.
Jacksonville will start at least five rookies today, all on offense, including receivers Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns.
That could make things difficult, even against a banged-up Pittsburgh secondary.
Jacksonville’s defense has problems. The Jaguars are last in yards against (451.3 yards per game) and scoring (38 points per game).
It would seem to be a good matchup for a Pittsburgh offense that ranks fifth in the NFL in yards per game.
But as the Steelers quickly learned in that first loss to the Jaguars, strange things happen to them there.
“The bottom line is that we haven’t been overly consistent in our performances, and that’s probably appropriate in terms of being 2-2,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “We have to stay together in the midst of adversity and disappointment.”
The Steelers are 17-2 against rookie quarterbacks since 2004. Roethlisberger did not start either loss. … Jacksonville has allowed an NFL-worst 20 sacks. … Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell recorded at least 100 total yards in each of the first four games this season, the first player in team history to accomplish that feat.