Jaguars ride offence past Steelers in wild AFC game

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t faced the New England Patriots in a game that matters in more than two years. That’s OK. They know a pretty good place to go to get a heads up on their opponent in the AFC title game.

“We need the notes the Steelers have on the Patriots because they were doing a lot of advanced scouting,” safety Barry Church said Sunday after the Jaguars stunned Pittsburgh 45-42 to earn a trip to Foxborough next weekend to face the defending Super Bowl champions. “We need all the notes they got on the Patriots.”

With their brute force rookie running back, their enigmatic quarterback and more than a little bit of swagger in tow.

“You can do all the talking you want on Twitter, to the media, all of that,” Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey said. “But when you get on the field you’re going to have to produce, you’re going to have to show us what you’re about. We’re confident because we know the work we put in. We’re going to go out there confident.”

It showed.

Ticked off by several Steelers openly talking about a rematch with the Patriots with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line, the Jaguars took it out on Pittsburgh one touchdown at a time. They earned the franchise’s third trip to the conference championship game in the process.

Now it’s on to New England, a place they’ve never won and where the Patriots hung 51 on them in 2015.