Marcell Dareus: Jacksonville Jaguars 'changed my life'

In six seasons with the Buffalo Bills, defensive tackle Marcell Dareus didn't make it to the playoffs. But he did get arrested twice and suspended by the NFL twice - for the first game of the 2015 season and for the first four games of the 2016 season.

The former Alabama standout also made two trips to the Pro Bowl, which made his trade on Oct. 27 to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round draft choice either a blockbuster or a head-scratcher (or maybe both).

The trade yielded the first trip to the postseason for Dareus as the Jaguars won the AFC South.

"This organization has changed my life," Dareus said. "They've done such great things so far, I just don't want to mess anything up. I'm just overjoyed for the opportunity to play."

The Jaguars visit the Pittsburgh Steelers at 12:05 p.m. CST Sunday for a Divisional Round game in the NFL playoffs. CBS will televise the game.

"It just feels good," Dareus said. "It's been a long year for me, so to be able to participate in my first playoff run makes it all worth it. I'm so happy we're on to the next round, excited to go into Pittsburgh and keep this opportunity rolling for me and all of my teammates."

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Pittsburgh posted a 13-3 regular-season record and earned a first-round bye as the AFC's second-seeded team. Jacksonville opened the playoffs with a 10-3 victory over the Bills last week.

Dareus made four tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, against Buffalo.

"I'm so grateful to the Jaguars for believing in me and giving me this opportunity," the former Huffman High School standout said after the Jaguars beat the Bills. "I worked hard out there (Sunday) and so did the whole team to make sure we got that win. My emotions were running high, and I used them as motivation. I wanted this win badly."

Buffalo's trip to Jacksonville last week was for the Bills' first playoff game since the 1999 season. Dareus was only too happy to help end Buffalo's season, the start of which included new coach Sean McDermott sending Dareus home before a preseason game.

"You want to get rid of one of the best players in the league -- easily -- because you want a sixth-round pick? Or you just want to get me out that bad?" Dareus said about the trade. "All right. The things y'all portrayed in the news and media -- really? It was nothing like that, but OK. We all know this is a business. They've got control of what they want to put out and what they don't."

Jacksonville had the best passing defense in the NFL in the regular season. But before Dareus arrived, the Jaguars were 30th in rushing defense. They ended the 2017 regular season ranked 21^st among the 32 NFL teams.

Jacksonville allowed an average of 138.6 rushing yards per game and 5.16 yards per carry before Dareus arrived. In the nine regular-season games with Dareus, the Jaguars yielded an average of 98.9 rushing yards per game and 3.69 yards per carry.

"We've done a better job in the second half," Jacksonville coach Doug Marrone said of the Jaguars' rushing defense. "Obviously, we had the trade with Marcell Dareus coming here, and that obviously helped. And both Abry Jones and Malik (Jackson) have been playing better from the inside from what was going on earlier in the year. So, basically, we've been able to pick it up from that end and play a little bit better, but you've got to continue to do that each week."

Pittsburgh lost only three games during the regular season - by three points to the New England Patriots, the AFC playoff's No. 1 seed; by six points to the Chicago Bears in a puzzler and by 21 points to Jacksonville.

The Jaguars' 30-9 victory over the Steelers in Pittsburgh came on Oct. 8, before Dareus joined the team. In the Steelers' 11 games since their loss to Jacksonville, Pittsburgh has won 10 of them, with its only loss a controversial 27-24 setback against the Patriots on Dec. 17.

The Steelers rested their top players in the regular-season finale. In the 10 games after Pittsburgh's loss to Jacksonville, running back Le'Veon Bell rushed for 920 yards and six touchdowns and caught 58 passes for 511 yards and two TDs and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 2,982 yards and 22 touchdowns.

"They've been rolling," Dareus said. "They have their focus. Their running game is good. Their quarterback is a Hall of Famer. We have a game on our hands.''

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.

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