After a resounding victory last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers move onto their second preseason game on the road to face the Jacksonville Jaguars. In what was an abnormally high scoring and exciting affair, the Steelers offense seemed to be running on all cylinders in their win over the Seattle Seahawks a week ago. Although they gave up 25 points, the defense made a splash play of their own late in the game which led to the game-winning score. Needless to say, the Steelers should be riding high heading south on Saturday night.
The Steelers offense gets ready to take on the Seattle Seahawks on August 13, 2022 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA. | Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (@JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Let’s take a look at some things we can look forward to when the Steelers take on the Jaguars.
MATCH-UPS AT A GLANCE
Offense: Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, and Kenny Pickett each led scoring drives in the game against the Seahawks. For a reportedly “uninspiring” quarterback battle in camp, each quarterback looked decent in the first live action of the season. Heading into this weekend, head coach Mike Tomlin declared Trubisky as the starter for the second straight week, while Pickett will be seeing action second, and Rudolph third. With that said, it’ll be interesting to watch Pickett with the second-teamers and possibly George Pickens where we may see our first ‘official’ Pickett-to-Pickens connection.
Steelers' George Pickens gets ready to take on the Seattle Seahawks in Pittsburgh, PA at Acrisure Stadium on August 13, 2022. | Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (@JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
In addition, we should also pay close attention to the depth chart battles at running back, tight end, and wide receiver. After fumbling last week, rookie running back, Jaylen Warren has been carrying a ball around camp as his “baby” and made an effort to work on his ball security in practice. Anthony McFarland Jr. had an impressive showing in the first game and needs every shining moment he can to secure his spot behind Najee Harris on the final roster. With Master Teague expected to miss significant time due to an injury earlier in the week, there are a lot of available reps to be had by several fringe players jockeying for a final roster spot.
Rookie tight end, Connor Heyward proved his mettle last week showing his athleticism in the passing game and incredible upside potential as TE2 with Pat Freiermuth. Heyward has been getting more and more reps with the possible starters, so look for him to see a lot of playing time this weekend on both offense and special teams.
Finally, with Anthony Miller officially being ruled out for the season, there are a couple open receiver spots left that need to be filled. Gunner Olszewski shined bright on offense last week and we can expect to see that again. Calvin Austin III will presumably miss his second preseason game with a foot injury, so this will open up opportunities for the likes of Miles Boykin, Tyler Snead, Steven Sims, Cody White, and Tyler Vaughns. Each of those names made solid plays against the Seahawks and will need to build on those to secure the vacant WR6 spot.
Defense: Although a lot of key defensive contributors were sitting out, the Steelers defense looked lethargic against the Seahawks. The defense allowed a total of 339 yards of offense in the way of 180 passing yards and 159 rushing yards. To compare that to last season, the defense averaged 215.1 yards per game through the air and 146.1 yards on the ground to opposing offenses. Simply put, the porous run defense from 2021 reared its ugly head in the first preseason game. Therefore, this is what we should be watching on Saturday.
Devin Bush is still soul searching and there is a sense of urgency amongst fans of a ‘now or never’ performance from him. With Robert Spillane competing hard for that starting LILB spot, Bush is in do-or-die mode. For only playing a couple of series, Myles Jack proved to be as advertised as a stud inside linebacker and is going to make a lot of noise in 2022. With his return to face the team who drafted him, look for Jack to play with a bit extra hustle during his time on the field. Rookie middle linebacker, Mark Robinson is also looking to build on his game-changing turnover play and creep up the depth chart.
Steelers' Devin Bush Jr. warms up before his first preseason game at Acrisure Stadium against the Seattle Seahawks on August 13, 2022 in Pittsburgh, PA. | Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (@JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Rookie DeMarvin Leal was a nice bright spot along the Steelers defensive front in his first game. He finished with two tackles and a hit on the quarterback, and showed he can take on blockers to get into the backfield. His pass rushing ability was on full display, so look for Leal to get his first sack in his second game.
Similar to the wide receiver corps, there is not a lot of room on the depth chart along the defensive line. Henry Mondeaux, Carlos Davis, Khalil Davis, and Donovan Jeter are all fighting for the final spot. Whoever can find a way to plug up the gaps on run plays and get to the ball carrier will obviously have the upper hand come cut time. With a match up against more young running backs with a high ceiling in Travis Etienne Jr. and Snoop Connor, the Steelers rush defense is going to be under the spotlight again this week.
PREDICTION
In what was a 3.5-point spread in favor of the Jaguars, the current point spread sits at 2.5 points. Of course, in the case of preseason games, the spread line is fairly irrelevant. However, although the Jaguars seem to have the Steelers’ number in the regular season, they haven’t looked anywhere close to impressive yet in games. I think the Steelers quarterback battle is going to continue to swell and the Jaguars will fall victim to another strong offensive showing from the visitors. Prediction, Steelers 27, Jaguars 21.
Steelers' Kenny Pickett gets ready to face the Seattle Seahawks at Acrisure Stadium on August 13, 2022 in Pittsburgh, PA. | Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (@JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Steelers and Jaguars do not usually meet in the preseason, as this will be only the second time the two teams will play each other in the summer months. The last time these teams met in August was on August 14th, 2015, which resulted in a 23-21 Jacksonville victory. In the regular season, the Jaguars hold an all-time record 14-13 record advantage over the Steelers. Jaguars quarterback, Trevor Lawrence is expected to see the first couple of series in the game and will be his first time facing the Steelers. One final note, Tomlin hasn’t been any slouch in the preseason. In his last 13 preseason games, Tomlin holds a 10-3 record.
What are you watching for on Saturday? What do you think the final outcome will be? Let us know in the comments below!
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