Talk out of Pittsburgh last week focused not on whether the Steelers would beat the Jaguars, but on whether they would beat the Patriots after beating the Jaguars. Players on the Jaguars noticed that.
Jaguars defensive tackle Malik Jackson said on PFT Live that after beating the Steelers in the regular season, he and his teammates thought they should have earned the respect as a team to be reckoned with. Instead, they heard all the doubts about their chances of beating the Steelers again.
“We earned the respect we had when we went out there and handled them the first time, to to be disrespected the second time, people said it was a fluke and this and that, it was disrespectful,” Jackson said. “Just tired of being disrespected, tired of being questioned. In the final four, nobody can question you.”
Jackson said he and his teammates absolutely discussed the Steelers’ players talking about the Patriots before the game.
“It gave us a lot of motivation,” Jackson said. “Players on their team were saying it.”
Bill Belichick always keeps his players tight-lipped, so it’s safe to say the Patriots won’t give the Jaguars any bulletin-board material. And it’s also safe to say that if the Jaguars win in New England on Sunday, no one will disrespect them again.