Steelers looking to turn tables against Jaguars

PITTSBURGH — At the time, the score looked like a misprint: Jaguars 30, Steelers 9.

It was a result so stunningly one- sided that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger stood in the home locker room on that gray October afternoon and half- jokingly wondered whether he still had ‘‘ it.’’

Throwing five interceptions, two of which the Jaguars returned for touchdowns, will do that.

But Roethlisberger insisted he’s not out for revenge in the rematch Sunday, when the Jaguars visit Heinz Field with a trip to the AFC Championship Game on the line.

‘‘ I’ll play anyone in the postseason,’’ Roethlisberger said.

But the Jaguars aren’t ‘‘ anyone.’’ Not anymore. Not after the NFL’s top- ranked defense proved that breakout performance three months ago was a sign of things to come.

The Jaguars don’t play a particularly pretty brand of football, but they don’t particularly care. Last they checked, there will be 24 teams watching the playoffs this weekend, and they aren’t one of them.

‘‘ We’ve just got to score one more point than they do,’’ Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles said. ‘‘ It doesn’t matter who scores it, where it comes from, how we do it [ or] what it looks like. We score one more than them, and I’m happy with how we did it.’’

The Steelers entered the season as one of the favorites to reach the Super Bowl. Despite a fall filled with drama — much of it self- created — they really were pushed around only by the Jaguars.

‘‘ Some people come in thinking a team may be easier by their record or tougher by their record, but we know that can’t be on our mind,’’ Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell said. ‘‘ I think that kind of got us in the first game because the Jaguars, they’re normally not a good team. But those guys got players this year. They’ve been making plays.’’

If the Jaguars can do it for another 60 minutes, they’ll reach the NFL’s final four for only the third time in franchise history.