Something became clear after the Pittsburgh Steelers fell behind 21-0 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in their AFC divisional playoff game on Sunday: the Steelers were not prepared for the game. The notion that they may have overlooked the Jags seemed obvious after they lost 45-42.
After the game, guard David DeCastro was critical of his teammates for overlooking the Jags.
“They were ready to go; they were mad; they were angry; they had something to prove, and they did it,” DeCastro said, via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Yeah, it’s embarrassing. It really is, man. It just blows my mind. They beat us 30-9 [on Oct. 9]. We played like crap, and we want to talk about New England?
“I don’t know what to say about that. It’s just stupid. It’s just not what you do. You don’t need to give a team like that more bulletin board material.”
That was the theme of the game. You had Mike Mitchell talking about the AFC championship game days before Sunday’s game. Even the night before Le’Veon Bell was looking ahead to facing the Patriots. It was a classic case of overlooking your opponent. The Jaguars sure took advantage of their opportunity and made the Steelers pay.
