Jaguars' Jalen Ramsey aims to shut down Steelers' Antonio Brown
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Blake Bortles remembers the first time Jalen Ramsey got under his skin.
Bortles was trying to get through a two-minute drill during the 2016 season. It was a weekly walkthrough routine in which players were supposed to go half-speed while practicing plays. Normally, there's no contact and every pass is complete.
At least that had been the case until Ramsey arrived.
Bortles threw several passes in Ramsey's direction. The rookie intercepted or knocked down each one.
It happened week after week until Bortles finally stopped throwing Ramsey's way.
"It was so annoying," Bortles recalled Thursday.
It also set the tone for Ramsey's career. The trash-talking cornerback has a flair for frustrating quarterbacks and receivers and the ability to essentially shut down one side of the field. After 33 games, Ramsey's already considered among the best players in franchise history -- a 23-year-old rising star who openly aspires to be as good as Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and often looks the part.
"The best I've ever seen in person," Bortles said. "He's freakish."
Ramsey is a major piece of Jacksonville's defensive turnaround, and he'll take center stage Sunday when the Jaguars (11-6) play in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs at Pittsburgh (13-3).
Ramsey will shadow Antonio Brown , widely considered the best receiver in the NFL.
All-Pro vs. All-Pro, undoubtedly the most intriguing matchup of the postseason game.
"It's not many receivers I'm going to come in here in front of y'all and say they're one of the best in the league," Ramsey said. "He is, though. That's the truth about him."
Brown caught 10 passes for 157 yards in the first meeting against Jacksonville, which won 30-9 in early October. Ben Roethlisberger targeted Brown a staggering 19 times, with three of those ending up as interceptions.
"He's an elite player," Ramsey said. "Highly regarded by everybody, honestly, around the nation or maybe internationally. So, yeah, it's going to be a challenge. We're going to have to be on our Ps and Qs and try to execute the game plan as best we can."
Jacksonville's game plan has changed slightly since the first meeting.
Ramsey and fellow Pro Bowl cornerback A.J. Bouye played sides to start the season, covering whatever receiver lined up in front of them. But Ramsey has since started following the top wideout for every opponent all over the field, and he's had rousing success against Houston's DeAndre Hopkins, Indianapolis' T.Y. Hilton, Cincinnati's A.J. Green, Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald, Los Angeles Chargers' Keenan Allen and San Francisco's Marquise Goodwin.
Ramsey angered Green so much with his constant verbal jabs that the mild-mannered receiver grabbed the cocky cornerback in a headlock and tossed him to the ground. Both players were ejected.
"He'll get in a guy's head now," linebacker Telvin Smith said.
Added Bouye: "Everything he's accomplished, he's worked for it. He's capitalized. He's learned from his mistakes and he keeps getting better week in and week out."
According to Pro Football Focus, Ramsey has allowed 47 receptions for 586 yards and three touchdowns this season. He has five interceptions, including one to seal a 10-3 victory against Buffalo in a wild-card game.
It was about what the Jaguars have come to expect from the fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft. He has a rare combination of size, speed, instincts, ball skills and body control. And he's no longer a rookie.
"You see the maturity in the meetings and you see the maturity on the grass," defensive coordinator Todd Wash said. "We always knew he was a freak athlete and we always knew he could play. But that maturity level is getting better and better each day."
His matchup against Brown will be his next -- and maybe his best -- challenge.
"It's going to be an unbelievable thing," Jaguars safety Barry Church said. "I'm just glad I'm on the field for it. Those guys, they both like to talk a bit of trash and they're going to be matched up with each other the whole game. It's going to be a great one. We'll see who gets the better of the two, but my money's on Jalen."