Game Preview - Wild-Card Playoffs: Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers

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Wild-Card Playoffs

Regular Season:	Week 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5 \| 6 \| 7 \| 8 \| 9 \| 10 \| 11 \| 12 \| 13 \| 14 \| 15 \| 16 \| 17
Playoffs:	Wild-Card \| Divisional Playoffs \| Conference Championships \| Super Bowl

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35

31
29

24
14

6
17

Game Preview
Mike Krueger

Predicted Score: Jaguars 24, Steelers 21

Jacksonville: The Jags come into the playoffs on a roll winning six of their last eight, which includes a meaningless loss to Houston Week 17. During that span, David Garrard has tossed 12 touchdowns and 3 interceptions… his only three INTs of the year. Garrard (102.2) finished the season with the third highest QB rating behind Brady (117.2) and Roethlisberger (104.1). Fred Taylor has pitched in five straight 100-yd rushing games as the Jacksonville offense has proven they can compete against the AFC elite, including the number one ranked defense in the league. However, the solid Steelers run defense hasn't been so solid in recent weeks allowing an average of 104 yards per game in its final four contests, not to mention Fred Taylor scorched them for 147 yards on 25 carries just a month ago. I don't expect this to be easy but Jacksonville hasn't lost anything since their Week 15 victory over the Steelers, Pittsburgh has lost the heart and soul of their running game.

Start: QB David Garrard, RB Fred Taylor, RB Maurice Jones-Drew
Consider: Jaguars D/ST, K Josh Scobee
Sit: WR Dennis Northcutt, WR Ernest Wilford, TE Marcedes Lewis WR Matt Jones

Pittsburgh: The Steelers are champions of the AFC North, seeded higher than Jacksonville, playing at home, but remain an underdog to the Jaguars according the general public. Perhaps it's the fact that Jacksonville beat Pittsburgh just four weeks ago at Henz Field (the only Steelers' loss at home this season) or perhaps it's the fact that Willie Parker is lost for the season with a knee injury, meaning Najeh Davenport will carry the rushing load. Or perhaps it's the fact that Jacksonville is a better team… any of these factors are reason enough to favor the Jaguars but combining them all makes you wonder why Pittsburgh is only getting one point (+1).

Start: QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB Willie Parker, WR Hines Ward, WR Santonio Holmes, TE Heath Miller
Consider: Steelers D/ST, K Jeff Reed
Sit: WR Cedrick Wilson, WR Nate Washington

Krueger's Rankings/Projections

Jacksonville Jaguars
Rank	Player	Projections
QB 3	David Garrard	Pass: 240, 2 Rush: 10, 0
RB 2	Fred Taylor	Rush: 110, 1 Rec: 1-5, 0
RB 7	Maurice Jones-Drew	Rush: 45, 0 Rec: 6-45, 1
WR 10	Reggie Williams	Rec: 4-60, 1
WR 14	Dennis Northcutt	Rec: 5-55, 0
WR 16	Matt Jones	Rec: 3-40, 0
TE 6	Marcedes Lewis	Rec: 1-15, 0

Pittsburgh Steelers
Rank	Player	Projections
QB 1	Ben Roethlisberger	Pass: 265, 2 Rush: 15, 0
RB 8	Najeh Davenport	Rush: 60, 1 Rec: 2-10, 0
WR 1	Santonio Holmes	Rec: 6-105, 1
WR 5	Hines Ward	Rec: 6-70, 0
WR 17	Nate Washington	Rec: 2-35, 0
TE 3	Heath Miller	Rec: 4-40, 1

View all Wild-Card Playoffs Rankings or Projections

Past Results and Remaining Schedule

Jacksonville Jaguars
Week	Date	Opp	H/A	Score	Dif
1	2007-09-09	TEN	H	L 10-13	-3
2	2007-09-16	ATL	H	W 13-7	+6
3	2007-09-23	DEN	A	W 23-14	+9
4		Bye
5	2007-10-07	KC	A	W 17-7	+10
6	2007-10-14	HOU	H	W 37-17	+20
7	2007-10-22	IND	H	L 7-29	-22
8	2007-10-28	TB	A	W 24-23	+1
9	2007-11-04	NO	A	L 24-41	-17
10	2007-11-11	TEN	A	W 28-13	+15
11	2007-11-18	SD	H	W 24-17	+7
12	2007-11-25	BUF	H	W 36-14	+22
13	2007-12-02	IND	A	L 25-28	-3
14	2007-12-09	CAR	H	W 37-6	+31
15	2007-12-16	PIT	A	W 29-22	+7
16	2007-12-23	OAK	H	W 49-11	+38
17	2007-12-30	HOU	A	L 28-42	-14
WC	2008-01-05	PIT	A	W 31-29	+2
DP	2008-01-12	NE	A

Pittsburgh Steelers
Week	Date	Opp	H/A	Score	Dif
1	2007-09-09	CLE	A	W 34-7	+27
2	2007-09-16	BUF	H	W 26-3	+23
3	2007-09-23	SF	H	W 37-16	+21
4	2007-09-30	ARI	A	L 14-21	-7
5	2007-10-07	SEA	H	W 21-0	+21
6		Bye
7	2007-10-21	DEN	A	L 28-31	-3
8	2007-10-28	CIN	A	W 24-13	+11
9	2007-11-05	BAL	H	W 38-7	+31
10	2007-11-11	CLE	H	W 31-28	+3
11	2007-11-18	NYJ	A	L 16-19	-3
12	2007-11-26	MIA	H	W 3-0	+3
13	2007-12-02	CIN	H	W 24-10	+14
14	2007-12-09	NE	A	L 13-34	-21
15	2007-12-16	JAC	H	L 22-29	-7
16	2007-12-20	STL	A	W 41-24	+17
17	2007-12-30	BAL	A	L 21-27	-6
WC	2008-01-05	JAC	H	L 29-31	-2

Offense Stats Comparison

	JAC Offense	PIT Offense	NFL Average
Points for	32.5	20.0	22.4
Rushing yards	167.8	115.5	113.4
Rushing yards per attempt	5.27	4.08	4.13
Completion %	62.7%	62.9%	60.0%
Passing yards	253.3	175.5	210.8
Passing yards per completion	11.92	9.97	10.44
Passing yards per attempt	7.47	6.28	6.27
Interceptions	0.5	0.8	1.1
Fumbles lost	1.0	0.5	0.7
Sacked	1.3	3.0	2.1

Note: Team statistics are shown as the average per game through Weeks 12 to 17 of the 2007 season after deducting the best and worst value from the data set. The exception is yards per rush attempt, completion %, yards per pass completion, yards per pass attempt and the NFL averages, which are each calculated based on totals through Weeks 12 to 17 with no adjustment.

Defense Stats Comparison

	JAC Defense	PIT Defense	NFL Average
Points against	18.8	22.5	22.4
Rushing yards	94.5	98.3	113.4
Rushing yards per attempt	4.12	4.20	4.13
Completion %	54.5%	54.2%	60.0%
Passing yards	133.5	188.0	210.8
Passing yards per completion	8.85	10.78	10.44
Passing yards per attempt	4.83	5.84	6.27
INT return	1.3	0.3	1.1
Fumble recoveries	0.5	0.5	0.7
Sacks	1.8	1.0	2.1

Weather

Check the current weather forecast for Pittsburgh from Weather.com.

Team vs. Team History

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Season	Week	Date	Vis	Home	Score	Winner
2000	5	2000-10-01	PIT	JAC	24-13	PIT
2000	12	2000-11-19	JAC	PIT	34-24	JAC
2001	1	2001-09-09	PIT	JAC	3-21	JAC
2001	10	2001-11-18	JAC	PIT	7-20	PIT
2002	13	2002-12-01	PIT	JAC	25-23	PIT
2004	13	2004-12-05	PIT	JAC	17-16	PIT
2005	6	2005-10-16	JAC	PIT	23-17	JAC
2006	2	2006-09-18	PIT	JAC	0-9	JAC
2007	15	2007-12-16	JAC	PIT	29-22	JAC

Note: Only playoff games from the 2004 to 2006 seasons are included in the team vs. team history. Playoff games from seasons prior to 2004 are not currently included in the database.

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