Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Preview and Predictions 11-18-2018

The Pittsburgh Steelers have ripped off five victories in a row to move to the top of the AFC North while the Jacksonville Jaguars have stumbled to five straight losses to plummet to the bottom of the AFC South. Yet when the teams square off Sunday in Jacksonville, the Steelers certainly will not be overlooking an opponent that has not won since Sept. 30.

Jacksonville flexed its muscles against Pittsburgh last season, mauling the Steelers 30-9 in the regular season at Heinz Field before posting a 45-42 road victory in a return matchup in the divisional round of the playoffs. "They're a much better football team than their record," Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "I think it's because they have a bull's-eye on their chest now. ... I am not looking at their record because you can't. If you do, you are going to get fooled." The Jaguars will need to make it three straight wins against Pittsburgh to keep from falling out of playoff contention, but they must slow an offense that has piled up 177 points during their winning streak and are coming off a 52-21 throttling of Carolina. "Our margin for error is zero," Jacksonville defensive end Calais Campbell said. "Our backs are against the wall but we have the ability to do something special. We have to bury the past and just look forward."

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Steelers -5. O/U: 46.5 

ABOUT THE JAGUARS (3-6): Running back Leonard Fournette struggled in his return to the lineup last weekend after missing four games due to a hamstring injury, but he lit up Pittsburgh in both matchups last season. Fournette rumbled for 181 yards and two touchdowns during the regular-season romp and rushed for 109 yards and three scores in the playoff victory. The presence of Fournette allowed Blake Bortles to have one of his best games of the year in last weekend's 29-26 loss at Indianapolis, throwing for 320 yards with a pair of touchdowns and zero interceptions. The Jaguars have the league's top-ranked pass defense (200.6 yard) but they have allowed 571 yards and six TD passes in the past two games.

ABOUT THE STEELERS (6-2-1): Pittsburgh learned this week that running back Le'Veon Bell will not report to the team this season, but that news came days after Roethlisberger threw for five touchdowns and posted a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Running back James Conner had a string of four consecutive 100-yard games halted in the romp over Carolina, but he has scored eight touchdowns -- seven running -- in the past five games. Antonio Brown had nine of his 10 touchdown catches in the past eight games and will be matched up against Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey, although JuJu Smith-Schuster (56) has just one fewer reception this Brown. Pittsburgh ranks fourth against the run, allowing 90.8 yards per game.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Roethlisberger threw for 469 yards and five scores in last season's playoff loss to Jacksonville.

2. Bortles threw for only 309 yards with one touchdown and one interception in both meetings versus Pittsburgh last season.

3. Conner has 488 yards from scrimmage and five TDs in four road games this season.