Jacksonville-Pittsburgh Playoff Preview

The Steelers had the brash, braun, and backed up their talk to win their division. While they sauntered in with a 10-6 record and several Pro Bowl selections, the Steelers' steel curtain is hiding some pretty big inequities. For one, they do not have Willie Parker after his late season injury put him out for the year. Ben Roethlisberger, who started off red hot, did not exactly finish with a bang. And the defense, with Troy Polamalu banged up, got lit up after guaranteeing a win against the Patriots. Still, they finished #1 in the league, only giving up 266 yards a game.

Meanwhile the "lower" seeded Jacksonville Jaguars, lead by David Garrard and Maurice Jones-Drew, have been solid all year--but largely inconsistent overall, losing twice to the Colts. The biggest disadvantage they have coming into this game is that they'll be playing in frozen Heinz Field, where the Steelers love to pay amidst the cold, breathy atmosphere. Still, this shouldn't affect the Jags all that much, being that they are centrally a run team, so throwing and catching isn't something they rely upon, a huge difficulty facing teams in cold weather.

What it comes down to is the Pittsburgh defense versus the Jax offense. The Jags finished 7th in the league in yards, and they have the coaching prowess of Jack Del Rio, who has not only the playoff experience, but has the aggressive nature that a team needs to have on the road, especially in Pittsburgh. Without Parker, the Steelers have looked suspect, while the Jags have appeared to be stronger as the year has gone on. I'll take Jacksonville in a squeaker, 24-21.

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Jacksonville-Pittsburgh Playoff Preview

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