It was a war of words throughout the week leading up to the Week Eight matchup at Acrisure Stadium between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Jaguars got the win — and the last word.
Following Sunday’s 20-10 win over the Steelers, the Jaguars’ official Twitter page trolled Steelers second-year wide receiver George Pickens with a post of “Hope is a dangerous thing” and the clip of safety Andrew Wingard waving a Terrible Towel after his interception in the meme of Pickens staring at a TV after being drafted in 2022.
See for yourself.
The war of words first started on Monday when Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins stated that Pickens was a good receiver but hadn’t faced the Jaguars’ cornerbacks yet. That led to Pickens responding on Wednesday, stating that the Jaguars have a “hope” defense that relies on the front seven getting home and that if they don’t they hope the secondary can hold up long enough in coverage.
Here’s what Pickens said word for word: “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.”
Though Pickens had a touchdown on the day, hauling in a slant route and taking it into the end zone from 22 yards out after hurdling a defender, the Jaguars got the last laugh. Wingard picked off an ill-advised Mitch Trubisky throw down the middle of the field on 2nd and 3, then led the Jaguars to the end zone to celebrate, where they then grabbed some Terrible Towels from fans and started waving them in a mockery.
The win over the Steelers moves the Jaguars to 6-2 on the year, winners of five straight. The Steelers fall to 4-3 and have a short turnaround for Thursday Night Football in Week Nine.
