STEELERS BLAST JAGUARS: 5 STORYLINES

David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire

The Jaguars lost their ninth straight contest on Sunday. 

BY JORDAN DE LUGO

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The Steelers effortlessly glided past the Jaguars on Sunday by a final score of 27-3. Early in the week, Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said the Steelers taking on the Jaguars isn't a "Big Ten team taking on a MAC" team, but based on the final score and the stats, Tomlin appears to have given the Jags more credit than they deserve. The Jaguars, now 1-9, continue to slide with no end in sight. 

Here are the five storylines to monitor moving forward.

Josh Allen Injury

The Jaguars' top defensive lineman, second-year defensive end Josh Allen, had to be helped off the field yesterday and could not put any weight on his injured leg. We haven't received any updates on the severity of the injury to this point, but it did not look good for the young pass rusher. The hits keep coming for the Jaguars in this waste of a season.

100 Losses

Yes, as you probably know, Shad Khan did, in fact, earn his 100th loss (including the playoffs) as the Jaguars' owner. The Jags are 41-100 under his leadership. Khan hasn't been unable to get it right when it comes to hiring football people to run that side of the operation, but he has done well on the financial side, exponentially raising the Jaguars' estimated worth during his time as the owner. 

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Time for Gardner Minshew

The Jake Luton experiment needs to come to an end. He played fairly well against the Texans in his first start, but Luton's done little to give the Jaguars a chance on offense over the last two weeks. The Steelers were a buzzsaw, but mustering just three points is unacceptable. Luton completed less than half of his pass attempts and managed a QBR of only 12. Gardner Minshew practiced last week and was questionable heading into the weekend. If he's back to 100% this week, he should reclaim his job as the starter. It likely won't impact the results of these games down the stretch, but it'll at least give the team a chance to be fun again. 

Draft Stock

The Jaguars held serve with another loss in the race for number one. The Jets are still winless, so they're still in command of the number one overall pick. But the Jaguars are the only one-win team and control their own destiny when it comes to landing the second overall selection. Finishing inside the top two would guarantee the Jaguars the chance to land one of the prized quarterbacks in this class, Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields.

A Regime Change?

After the game, Jaguars' head coach Doug Marrone was asked if Shad Khan had given him any guarantee about finishing out the season as the head coach. He squarely answered, "No." As the losses continue to mount — it's now nine straight — the question will continue to be asked. How long can the Jaguars continue to employ Doug Marrone, who has the team off to the worst start in franchise history. Marrone didn't put this roster together, but he vouched for these guys throughout the summer and fall. He was on board with this group's construction, a group that has looked helpless more often than not. 

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