Offensive line up for facing 'best in the league'

This just in: The Jacksonville Jaguars' defensive line is good. Really good.

But when you consider the Jaguars are spending more than a quarter of their salary cap on the five defensive linemen who see the most playing time on their roster, their line should be good.

When the Steelers host the Jaguars Sunday in an AFC Divisional Playoff game, it will be the two highest-priced units on the field that could be the most critical in deciding which team advances to the AFC Championship.

While Jacksonville has a lot of money invested in its defensive line -- Calais Campbell ($17.5 million), Malik Jackson ($15.5) and Marcell Dareus ($10.175) are three of the team's highest-paid players -- the Steelers have a lot of money tied up in their offensive line. All-Pro guard David DeCastro has a cap hit of $10.8 million this season, while Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey comes in at $10.5 million.

Throw in the contracts of left tackle Alejandro Villanueva ($7.6), right tackle Marcus Gilbert ($7.3) and Ramon Foster ($3.6) and the Steelers have just under $40 million in 2017 cap space tied up in their offensive line.

That pales in comparison, however, to the more than $50 million the Jaguars are paying their top five defensive linemen this season, including Campbell and Jackson, who were acquired as free agents, and Dareus, who was added in a midseason trade with Buffalo.

But, throw in Dante Fowler, the third pick in the 2015 draft, and Yannick Ngakoue, a third-round pick last season, and the Jaguars have a nice mix of free-agent talent to go along with some homegrown talent.

Those five players have combined for 43.5 of Jacksonville's 55 sacks this season, earning those big paychecks.

"They're heavy. They're heavy and rightfully so," Foster told DKPittsburghSports.com. "Over 40 sacks among four guys? See what I'm saying? They're good. There's no way we're looking forward next week or anything like that. It's this week."

So no, the Steelers aren't looking past the Jaguars to a potential rematch with the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship. If the memories of Jacksonville's 30-9 win at Pittsburgh Oct. 8 weren't enough to get the attention of the Steelers, all they needed to do was turn on the tape of any of the Jaguars' games since.

While the Jaguars finished in the middle of the pack in terms of run defense, their pass defense led the NFL. And it starts with the pressure put on by that defensive line and extends out to Pro Bowl cornerbacks A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey.

"The stat of a sack doesn’t always show the pressure being put on a quarterback," said Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell. "I can’t remember how many sacks they had last week, but they had (Bills quarterback) Tyrod Taylor under pressure a lot during the course of that game. It’s not like they’re blitzing. They’re using their four guys up front. Those guys are talented. They put a lot of money into their front four and it shows."

The Jaguars sacked Buffalo's Taylor just two times in their 10-3 win last week in an AFC Wild Card game. But they had six other quarterback hits while limiting the Bills to 118 passing yards.

It was similar to what the Jaguars did to Ben Roethlisberger in their win here in October. Though the Jaguars had only two sacks in that game, they did hit him five other times, as well, with pressure leading to four of their five interceptions in that game.

Campbell, who led the AFC with 14.5 sacks after coming over from Arizona as a free agent, might be the key.

"Their front four is an elite group, starting with Calais, who I was with in Arizona," Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley said. "He is one of the great players in the league. Across the board, they're as good as we'll see. That matchup is going to be critical. It could be tight ends involved, it could be backs involved, but that being said, this is an elite secondary, also.

"It will be a great matchup. We've got to be at our best."

Like many 4-3 teams, the Jaguars don't blitz a lot, depending on their four defensive linemen to get to the quarterback. And when you're paying those defensive linemen as handsomely as the Jaguars are their group, they had better get there.

"If they feel like they can beat our five, then they’ll rush four, they’ve got the stats to do so," Gilbert, who will be matched up against Campbell a lot, told me. "Those guys are No. 2 in the league in sacks. Everything speaks for itself. We watch the film. We know what these guys are about. But we saw these guys earlier in the season, so we’re kind of familiar with them."

Actually, Gilbert didn't see them. He sat out Jacksonville's win here earlier in the season with a hamstring injury. But he's back now and both units are at full strength, which means there should be no excuses in this marquee matchup.

The Steelers' offensive line, with three Pro Bowl players of its own -- Villanueva was named to his first Pro Bowl this season -- is no pushover. No quarterback in the NFL was pressured less than Roethlisberger this season.

But can that line hold off this Jacksonville defense?

It doesn't seem like the Steelers were in any mood to provide any bulletin board material to the add fuel to the fire.

"They're the epitome of the best in this league," Foster said. "Hell, their (flipping) whole defense is the epitome of excellence in this league. They're that good. I'll give them a crown."

A crown?

"I'm telling you, they get a crown."

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY