Cheat Sheet: Steelers vs. Jaguars

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

• TV coverage: Broadcast nationally on CBS (KDKA-TV locally in Pittsburgh).
• Steelers Radio Network - Game coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. ET; Pregame programming begins at 9:00 a.m.; Postgame coverage starts immediately following the game.
• Don't miss a minute of the action... check out all of the ways that you can watch, listen and follow along on gameday. Click here >>>

INJURY UPDATE

The Steelers host the Jaguars at Acrisure Stadium.
Check out the most updated Injury Report: Click here >>>

Jacksonville entered the NFL in 1995 along with the Carolina Panthers. Including two playoff games, the Jaguars and Steelers have played 27 times. Jacksonville has won 14 of those contests, including both postseason games. The Steelers do have a two-game winning streak with the last matchup favoring Pittsburgh 27-3 on the road in 2020. The Jaguars had a four-game winning streak between 2005 and their 2008 playoff win. There was also a stretch between 1998 and 2001 in which Jacksonville was 5-1 against the Steelers. The road team in this series has won each of the last five games and 11 of the last 13 between these teams. Mike Tomlin is 5-2 against the Jaguars.

MATCHUP OVERVIEW

• Jacksonville this season has yet to lose a road game, although one was played in London, and is currently on a four-game winning streak after its 31-24 win over New Orleans last Thursday night. That game was played on Oct. 19 and with a bye week coming after their trip to Pittsburgh, the Jaguars will play just one game between Oct. 20 and Nov. 11 before taking on San Francisco Nov. 12.
• This is the first of three-straight home games for the Steelers, who have won two in a row and 11 of their last 15 games. Pittsburgh only has one home loss this season. Strangely enough, the Steelers don't play a game outside of Pennsylvania or Ohio in their next seven games.
• The Jaguars have a point differential of plus-27. The Steelers sit at minus-24 and have played one fewer game than Jacksonville.
• In terms of EPA per play, Trevor Lawrence is 19^th amongst quarterbacks and Kenny Pickett is 28^th.
• The Steelers are only running 58.5 plays per game compared to 66.6 for Jacksonville. That ranks 28^th and 7^th respectively. Pittsburgh's opponents are running 68.7 plays per game, the third-highest.
• The Steelers are 4-0 this year in games decided by one score (8 or less points) or less. In his career, Kenny Pickett is 9-3 in such games.
• Pittsburgh is plus-6 in traditional turnover ratio, but when you factor in field goals missed (3) and fourth down conversion rate (3), both of which are essentially the exact same thing as a turnover, the Steelers are then plus-12 through six games.
• Jacksonville also is plus-6 in traditional turnover ratio. Tampa Bay is the only team better. The Jaguars' 16 takeaways lead the NFL. They lead the league in fumble recoveries and only San Francisco has more interceptions. Only the Texans have thrown fewer interceptions than Jacksonville, but only the Vikings have lost more fumbles.
• The Steelers have only turned the ball over six times. Only three teams are better. Just five teams have lost fewer fumbles.
• On average, the Jaguars possess the football for 31:03 per game compared to 27:06 for Pittsburgh.
• Jacksonville has run the ball 49 more times than its opponents. The Jaguars are averaging 32.9 more rushing yards than their opponents, eighth in the league.
• Jacksonville's opponents have been penalized 47 times for 443 yards while the Jaguars have committed just 33 penalties for 252 yards. They have gained 10 more first downs via penalty than their opponents. The Steelers are plus-15.2 in penalty yardage per game this season over their opponents even after losing that battle by 36 yards against the Rams.
• In the 19 career games in which Pickett has appeared in, the Steelers are 2-6 in games in which he has thrown an interception and 9-2 in games he has not.
• The Steelers and Jaguars are two of seven NFL teams with 10plus wins since Week 12 of the 2022 season.

WHEN PITTSBURGH HAS THE BALL

• Pittsburgh's offense averages 4.7 yards per play. The Jaguars allow 5.4 yards per play.
• The Steelers are averaging 4.3 yards per play on first and second downs.
• Jacksonville's defense has played 34.8% of its naps in base personnel with four defensive backs on the field. That is the fifth-highest percentage in the league.
• In the first three quarters of play, Pickett is completing 57.8% of his passes with a 6.0 yards per attempt. In the fourth quarter, that jumps to 73% and 10.1.
• The Steelers have attempted a pass of 20+ yards downfield on 6.9% of their throws
• Pickett's best marks of the season for completion percentage (68%) as well as yards per attempt (9.2) came last week.
• Only the Chargers are giving up more passing yards per game than Jacksonville. The Jaguars are facing a league-high 41.6 pass attempts per game.
• The average time to throw against Jacksonville this year is just 2.44 seconds. Just four defenses are quicker.
• Jacksonville records a sack on just 4% of opponent's dropbacks. Only the Bears and Texans are worse. Josh Allen has seven of the Jaguars 13 sacks this season. No one else has more than Travon Walker's 2.5. Jacksonville sacked Derek Carr just once last week. Allen leads the NFL with 43 quarterback pressures. Pickett was only sacked twice last week.
• George Pickens caught five passes for 107 yards. Returning from injury, Diontae Johnson also hauled in five passes for 79 yards. Johnson played every offensive snap (31) when the Steelers were in 11 Personnel, but only eight of a possible 21 snaps in 12 Personnel. But Johnson did run a route on 86% of the Steelers pass plays. And the combination of Pickens (35%) and Johnson (26%) accounted for 61% of Pickett's targets against Los Angeles.
• Pickens now has 100+ receiving yards in back-to-back games and in half of his six games in this second NFL season. He also is producing 2.43 yards per route run, 10^th best in the league. Pickens is lining up on the outside for 87% of his snaps. Jacksonville is allowing 9.1 yards per target (21^st) and a 7.7% touchdown rate (27^th).
• Johnson posted a 13.2 yards per target last week. That is the third-highest of any game in his career.
• Jaylen Warren only ran a route on 25% of Pickett's dropbacks last week-a season low.
• Conner Heyward played 25 of a possible 31 snaps in 11 Personnel. Darnell Washington took six snaps in 11 Personnel, and they were all run plays. With Rodney Williams in the mix, the Steelers offense ran six snaps of 13 Personnel. Heyward ran a route on 96% of Pickett's dropbacks.
• Against the Saints, Jacksonville's defense was on the field for 90 plays. Linebackers Foyesade Oluokun played every snap and Devin Lloyd missed just one.
• The Jaguars allow 80.6 rushing yards per game. Only three defenses are better. Only 3.2% of the Jaguars rushing attempts against them go for 15-plus yards. Just seven defenses are lower.
• Jacksonville's opponents have only run the ball 34.2% of the time. Just two defenses are seeing a less percentage of called run plays. Running backs average just 3.4 yards per carry, third-best in the league.
• Najee Harris' 56% snap share in Week 7 tied a season high for him. Warren's seven touches last week were a season low.
• The Jaguars are allowing the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game (59.6) but the most receptions (7.3 per game) to opposing running backs.
• Jacksonville's opponents are averaging 5.74 plays per drive. Only four defenses are better.

WHEN JACKSONVILLE HAS THE BALL

• Jacksonville's offense averages 5.1 yards per play. The Steelers defense gives up 5.6 yards per play.
• Only seven offenses pass the football a lower percentage of their snaps than Jacksonville.
• Jacksonville uses two or more tight ends on the field together 37.3% of their snaps. That is the sixth-highest rate in the league.
• Pittsburgh has used its nickel package with five defensive backs on the field for just 40.1% of its snaps. Only one defense has used it less.
• Jacksonville is scoring the sixth-most points, on average, in the second half of games this year.
• The Jaguars convert a set of downs into a new set of downs 70% of the time, which is just above league average. The Steelers defense is 11^th best in this metric.
• Jacksonville's average depth of target of 6.89 yards downfield is the fifth-lowest in the NFL. Only the Bengals are being targeted further downfield (9.75) than the Steelers defense. The Browns are the only defense in the league with a better completion percentage allowed (53%) than Pittsburgh.
• Just 39.7% of the passing yardage the Steelers have allowed has come after the catch. Only Arizona has a lower percentage.
• Of all quarterbacks that have attempted at least 100 passes, Lawrence's 2.17 seconds is the fastest average time to throw.
• Lawrence's completion percentage (43.5) on passes attempted 20-plus yards downfield is third best in the league among passers with at least 15 such attempts.
• The Jaguars have four pass catchers with at least 196 receiving yards: Christian Kirk (474), Calvin Ridley (368), Evan Engram (346) and Travis Etienne (196).
• Ridley has 368 receiving yards this season. However, from Week 2 to Week 7, he averages just 44.5 yards per game and has just 19 catches over that six-game stretch.
• A wide receiver facing the Steelers has caught at least five passes for at least 73 yards in all six games. However, the Steelers limited Cooper Kupp to just two catches for 29 yards last week. That was the worst output in a game Kupp started and finished since 2020.
• Kirk has aligned in the slot for 66% of his snaps this season. Pittsburgh is allowing 9.0 yards per target to slot receivers. Kirk's 21.8% target share leads all Jaguars pass catchers.
• Engram has seven or more targets in six-straight games and has at least five receptions in every game but one. He has run a route on 86% of the Jaguars dropbacks, the third-highest percentage among NFL tight ends. The Steelers have only given up one touchdown to a tight end and their completion percentage (61.3%) is third-best and their yards per target (6.1) is seventh-best.
• T.J. Watt joined Lawrence Taylor as the only players since 1982 (when sacks were first tracked) with at least 70 sacks and 7 or more interceptions over the first seven seasons of their career.
• Lawrence was not sacked or hit last week, and the Steelers only got to Matthew Stafford twice in Week 7.
• When Pittsburgh has pressured opposing quarterbacks, it is allowing a league-low 37.9% completion rate with a 5.6 yards per attempt (14^th) with a 48.0 quarterback rating (5^th). When not pressured, quarterbacks against the Steelers are allowing 8.2 yards per attempt (28^th) and a 99.5 quarterback rating (19^th).
• Only the Ravens and Giants have a higher quarterback scramble rate than Jacksonville. Lawrence has run on 8.2% of his designed passes.
• Lawrence rushed for a career high 59 yards last week even though he was listed as questionable with a knee injury coming into that game. He is averaging 5.9 rushing attempts per game for 29.4 yards.
• Jacksonville is first in average rushing EPA this season.
• Etienne has 504 rushing yards through seven games. That is 459 more yards on the ground than any other Jacksonville running back. The Jaguars have just 72 rushing yards from running backs other than Etienne.
• Etienne's 151 touches are most in the NFL. He has at least 17 touches in every game this year except for one and has six touchdowns over his last three games.
• The Rams running backs, Royce Freeman and Darrell Henderson, combined to rush for 127 yards against Pittsburgh, but that was on 30 carries.
• Only five offenses get fewer yards before contact per rush attempt than Jacksonville.
• Only five offenses have started their drives with better average field position than the Jaguars. Jacksonville has a league-high 15 drives start on the opponent's side of the field.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Chris Boswell now has more 50-plus field goals than every other kicker in Steelers history combined. Boswell has yet to miss a kick of any kind in the 2023 season.
• Boswell also has a 93% touchback percentage on kickoffs.
• Jacksonville's Brandon McManus has missed two of his 15 field goal attempts.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

Jan. 5, 2008: Jaguars 31, Steelers 29, Heinz Field AFC Wild Card Game

This was a rematch of a Week 15 game in which Jacksonville won 29-25. In this game, the Steelers scored on their opening drive, but Jacksonville took a 21-7 lead into halftime. Even though Pittsburgh scored 19 fourth quarter points, in the end, Ben Roethlisberger was sacked six times, threw three interceptions, and lost a crucial fumble on the Steelers final drive. Although the Steelers ran 20 more plays than Jacksonville, they finished with just 43 rushing yards. This was Jacksonville's first playoff win in eight years. The Jaguars lost in New England, the eventual Super Bowl Champion, the following week.

KEY MATCHUPS

Jaguars RB Travis Etienne vs. Steelers Linebackers - Etienne is having a tremendous year. Always a big-play threat, Etienne has quickly developed into an every-down running back. He handles the passing down duties as well as the short yardage responsibilities. And Etienne has been extremely productive. But it is his home run speed and big-play ability that should scare the Steelers most. Pittsburgh has allowed too much yardage to running backs after first contact, mostly very early in the season. But if there are tackles missed against Etienne, he will make the Steelers pay.

Steelers Running Backs vs. Jaguars LB Foyesade Oluokun - Tackles can be a bit of a fickle stat, but Oluokun is credited with 81 total tackles thus far. No one else on Jacksonville's defense has more than 41. Josh Allen is the only other Jaguars defender with more tackles for a loss than Oluokun. Not only is he having a tremendous season as the leader of an excellent Jaguars defense, but Oluokun is the only Jacksonville defender yet to miss a snap in 2023.