Week 5 Results and Their Effect on the AFC South Playoff Race

Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 5 Results: Beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-9

What it Means: Every time that Jacksonville turns in an effort like we saw on Sunday, they dominate. This team is built to win at every position sans quarterback. Dave Caldwell deserves criticism for sticking with Bortles after he has proven that he can not succeed at the NFL level, but all of his other moves have made this roster a force to be reckoned with. The defense had five interceptions of Ben Roethlisberger and returned two for touchdowns, which prompted Big Ben to say that “maybe he doesn’t have it anymore“. Leonard Fournette ran all over the Steelers for 181 yards and two touchdowns, while Bortles only had to throw the ball 14 times.

This Jaguars roster is a throwback to an older style of football predicated on destroying the opposing offense while running the ball and keeping the ball out of your quarterback’s hands. It worked for Seattle in 2014 and it worked for Denver in 2015. Prevent Bortles from sabotaging their game, and the Jaguars could make some noise in the playoffs.

What’s Next: The Jaguars take on one of the biggest surprises of the 2017 season: the LA Rams. Sean McVay seems to be all that the team needed to take the next step on offense. Jared Goff has been one of the best young quarterbacks in the league this season and Todd Gurley has regained his rookie season form. If the Rams can get ahead early and force the Jaguars to pass and abandon the run game, the Jaguars have shown that they have difficulty catching back up.