Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles humorously brushed aside his critics ahead of this weekend's playoff clash with the Steelers. When asked in a press conference what more he had to do to 'silence the haters', Bortles noted the criticism often bestowed upon Lebron James saying: "It'll probably never stop,""There's people that think LeBron James sucks, so if that happens I'm sure there will be a lot of people that always think I suck." Whilst the enigmatic signal caller was obviously not comparing his ability to arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, he did underline the fact that nobody is exempt from criticism. Not even the best player on the planet. James comes under undeserved fire on a nightly basis from certain members of the media and if his  not safe from it then Bortles doesn't stand a chance. 

Critics don't hold back

Bortles has received criticism from far and wide across the league this season. With a multitude of players coming out to take shots at the error prone quarterback including Earl Thomas and Kevin Byard. 

Most notably though, Texans pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney called the former UCF signal caller 'trash'. This prompted Jaguars fans to send the former number one overall pick trash cans which Clowney duly used to fill with gifts for the homeless. 

The 25-year-old has played better in patches this season, tossing a career low 13 picks. However, of late he has been back to his old ways, throwing five picks in two consecutive losses to end the regular season.

He managed just 87 yards through the air against the Bills last week and though he made up yards with his legs, he will need to be better to topple an improved Pittsburgh outfit. 

Big playoff matchup awaits

Bortles got off lightly last time out as his 97 passing yards without a touchdown were enough to beat an off-colour Ben Roethlisberger who gave up five picks to the much vaunted Jags defense. 

He will have to get some kind of air attack going this weekend though as the three B's of the Steelers will clearly pose more of a threat than Buffalo's struggling offense. Heinz field will be rocking and Roethlisberger is hungry for revenge in what should be a mouth watering clash between elite offense and defense. 

The Jags will be hoping to replicate their 30-9 win in October by suffocating the Steelers trio of star receivers and hitting Big Ben often and early. The matchup between the Jags corners Jalen Ramsey and AJ Bouye, and Steelers wideout Antonio Brown is one to keep an especially close eye on.