JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Around 10 p.m. Sunday, hours after the Jaguars beat the Steelers 45-42 in Pittsburgh, Jalen Ramsey stepped to the microphone to address an assembled crowd of thousands of Jaguars fans at EverBank Field.
Under the stadium lights and surrounded by his teammates, the outspoken cornerback said that the Jaguars were "going to the Super Bowl and we're going to win that b****."
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Monday, his teammates responded.
"To me, that's just says that a man has confidence in his team," said defensive tackle Abry Jones. "What are you going to say? He knows what we're going up there to do, so, it's not like he said anything that wasn't true."
Ramsey has developed a reputation as a lockdown corner and as the Jaguars' most outspoken player. Sunday night was no different.
"I didn't think much about it. He said what he thought in his heart," said defensive tackle Marcel Dareus.
Dareus knows more about facing New England than anyone on the Jaguars' roster, having faced the Patriots 10 times as a Buffalo Bill. He was careful to keep the focus on the task at hand, and not what could happen if the Jaguars were to beat the defending Super Bowl champions.
When asked if everybody in the locker room felt the same way, Dareus said, "Don't jump the gun now. We got a game to follow. This ain't no pushover. We gotta be on our A-game. We have to focus on the task at hand before we start focusing on the big dance."
While defensive end Yannick Ngakoue takes a far more low-key approach when compared to Ramsey, he said that he will support his teammate through thick and thin.
"I'm going to back him up 100 percent. That's my brother, you know," Ngakoue said. "We're going to show up. I just don't like when people talk all week-talk reckless and lose. It is what it is."
Before the Jaguars wild card round win over the Bills, wide receiver Allen Hurns said that it would be a disappointment for the Jaguars, who won just 11 game the past three years, to get the playoffs and lose.
"We know what we're capably of. We feel we can go all the way," Hurns said. "We aren't overlooking the Patriots, but it just tells (us) how we are as a team. We are very confident. We know where we want to be and we're going to get there. Jalen said it, so we gotta back it up."
Ultimately, prediction or guarantees don't amount to anything until the game is played. As Hurns said, if you are going to talk the talk, "you gotta walk the walk."