When you hope for something, you desire a certain outcome to come about without actually knowing whether it will actually occur.
That’s the point that WR George Pickens made Thursday speaking to the media when asked about the Jaguars’ pass defense and why Jacksonville has been getting beat through the air the last several weeks.
“Their D-line,” Pickens said to the media on video from Brian Batko’s Twitter page. “They depend on their D-line a lot with their team having a lot of first-round guys on that D-line, that’s what they depend on a lot. They kind of hope, you know? Hope that guys hold up long enough. So, it’s kind of a hope defense, for sure.”
The Jaguars rank second-to-last in the league in pass defense, having given up 1,917 yards through the air in seven games, nearly 274 yards per game. They’ve allowed over 300 yards in two of their last three contests, surrendering 359 passing yards to the Buffalo Bills, 310 yards to the Indianapolis Colts, and 295 yards last week to the New Orleans Saints.
Their defense is loaded with talent along the defensive line, including EDGEs Josh Allen and Travon Walker. However, their secondary doesn’t have the same caliber of defenders on the back end, including outside corners Darious Williams and Tyson Campbell as well as slot corner Tre Herndon. The Jaguars have allowed multiple explosive plays through the air this season, including a 68-yard bomb from Texans QB C.J. Stroud to WR Tank Dell for a touchdown.
Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins mentioned just yesterday that Pickens is quite the player and has had a great start to the season. He also stated that he hasn’t faced Jacksonville’s cornerbacks as they will look to see where he is and attempt neutralize his impact in the game. Thus far, Pickens has faced the likes of Denzel Ward of the Cleveland Browns, Marlon Humphrey of the Baltimore Ravens, and Charvarius Ward of the 49ers to name several of the top cornerbacks he’s faced. He has 27 receptions for 500 yards and two TDs this season, including touchdown receptions of 71 and 41 yards where he managed to strike from a distance.
Given the strength of Jacksonville’s defensive front and its run defense, Pittsburgh would be wise to go back to the well with Pickens as well as with Diontae Johnson and Calvin Austin III and attack the Jaguars’ pass defense, seeing if their corners are truly up for the task. Both sides have given bulletin board material the last couple of days, setting things up for an interesting matchup come Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.
