Exactly half of Jason Jones' nine career sacks have come in two games against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Tennessee Titans defensive tackle played as a rookie in place of an injured Albert Haynesworth in 2008 and had 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
That performance earned Jones AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Last year in the season opener, Jones had another sack of Ben Roethlisberger and a pass deflection as well.
On Sunday, he will be chasing Dennis Dixon instead of Roethlisberger and will be going against a rookie center in Maurkice Pouncey, instead of former Titan Justin Hartwig.
So why has Jones had so much success against the Steelers? Jones has no idea.
“I really can't pinpoint anything. The plays that present themselves to me, I just find a way to make. I'll continue to keep doing that,” Jones said.
Coach Jeff Fisher offered this explanation.
“We’ve been able to make the quarterback hold the ball a little bit, and when you do that you can get interior pressure. That pressure is not possible unless we’re forcing the quarterback to step up, which we did,” Fisher said.
Jones said it appears to be just coincidence that so much of his success has come against Pittsburgh. He just said it is more about him doing his assignments the right way, and not necessarily the opponent across the line of scrimmage.
“It's all about me. If I do everything right, if I do my techniques and everything right, that's when I make my plays,” Jones said. “It's just coming off the rock and just trusting my pass rush moves and keep going hard. I think that's where most of my plays come from.
“I don't want to say it's nothing they're doing or pinpoint anything they're doing or anything like that. If I do what I'm taught, then I feel like the sky's the limit and I will go out there and make my plays.”
- Terry McCormick
- co-publiser of TitanInsider - Lions247