The Jacksonville Jaguars reached their first AFC Championship game in 21 years after topping the Pittsburgh Steelers 45-42 in a thrilling divisional round game on Sunday afternoon.
Following the game, Jaguars All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey voiced his surprise that the Steelers were extremely confident heading into the contest despite the fact that they had handed them a 30-9 defeat in Week 5.
Jalen Ramsey on overconfident Steelers: "I was kinda surprised. I was wondering why they were so confident because we stomped their ass the last time."
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) January 14, 2018
Ramsey and the Jaguars put all that chatter to bed after beating them for the second time this season on the road at Heinz Field in impressive fashion. They raced out to a 28-7 lead in the first half and were able to hold on despite the Steelers almost completely erasing the deficit in the final two quarters of play.
Rookie running back Leonard Fournette carried the bulk of the Jaguars' offensive load rushing for 109 yards with three touchdowns while backup T.J. Yeldon recorded 20 rushing yards with a touchdown. The duo combined for three of Jacksonville's four touchdowns in the first half that helped lift some pressure of off quarterback Blake Bortles, who finished with 214 passing yards and a touchdown pass.
The Jaguars were able to withstand a stellar performance from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for 469 yards on 37 of 58 completed passes while tossing five touchdowns to just one interception while holding a 110.5 passer rating.
The collective effort on both sides of the ball has put them in position to make their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. However, it will still take something special to past the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.
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