Sportbet Sunday Football

In an important AFC game a battle of 9-4 games, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Pittsburgh Steelers will attempt to jockey themselves into a better playoff position.  But, these teams are heading in different directions.

The Steelers played the New England Patriots well for a half, but were then outscored 17-0 in the second half, blowing the game completely open.  Another negative thing that came out of that game, other than the loss, was that safety Anthony Wright had guaranteed a victory over the undefeated Pats.  Most of the older veterans on the team didn’t appreciate that, and neither did the coach.  Overall, the last four games for the Steelers haven’t been up to par to their usual standards.  First, they lost a game to the New York Jets in overtime, and followed that up with a 3-0 victory over the winless Dolphins.  We should cut them some slack in that game, because the weather was awful, leaving the field a watered down mess, but, still they were only able to score three points.  The next game they seemed to be getting out of the rut, defeating Cincinnati 24-10.  Then of course, came the loss, with the wrong prediction, coming at the hands of the Pats.  However, the Steelers still have a top notch defense, and with a couple victories down the stretch, they can be sitting pretty in the playoffs, perhaps with a chance to play the Patriots again.   

The Jaguars have been playing really well lately, including hanging with the defending Super Bowl champions, the Indianapolis Colts, losing 28-25.  Even with that loss, they have won four out of their last five, including a victory over the Carolina Panthers this past week 37-6.  Their quarterback David Garrard has only thrown one interception this year, to go along with 13 touchdowns, but that included three missed games due to injury.  Its play like that that will keep them in any game, as long as he can continue to limit his mistakes, and remember to hand off the ball to Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew.  Both players are averaging over 4.5 yards a carry, and have combined for 11 touchdowns.  For a long time Taylor has been one of the most underrated players in the league, but injuries have kept him on the backburner.  Jones-Drew had a breakout season last year, and after starting a bit slow this year, has also came alive, making the Jacksonville offense something to leave defenses worrying about.

Pittsburgh is very tough at home, winning all their games there this year.  But, they are coming off a few lackluster performances the last four weeks, or so.  I am going to lean towards Jacksonville in a minor upset because they are on a roll.  I take the Jaguars 27-24, in a game that could go either way.