Mark Brunell and the Jaguars offense are clicking on all cylinders.

Tom Coughlin is the total coach. Nobody knows the Jaguars better than he does. He has gotten a bum rap as a conservative coach in terms of his offensive play-calling, but that's not the case. He does what it takes to win. He knows opposing teams are struggling against his defense and will be unable to drive 80 yards. The Jaguars don't turn the ball over and make other teams work for every yard. It will be interesting to see what happens when they run into a team that can match their offensive firepower.

In the AFC Central, outside of Tennessee, no opponent is a match for Jacksonville. Baltimore has played better than expected under a new coach. Cincinnati is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde team -- you don't know which one will show up. Most of the time, it's Dr. Jekyll. Cleveland is a new franchise.

Then there is the Pittsburgh Steelers, the obvious underdog in Thursday night's game. They have lost three straight games, two at home and two to teams that can't win -- Cincinnati and Cleveland. You have to ask yourself, "How bad is Pittsburgh to get beat at home by an expansion team and another that looks like an expansion team?"

The change at quarterback will be great for the Steelers because Kordell Stewart has struggled tremendously. I don't know if Stewart can be the quarterback they want him to be. His problems go beyond the changing of offensive coordinators. Some of the places he has thrown the football and the indecision he has shown makes you wonder if he can actually play the position.

Having Mike Tomczak at quarterback will give the Steelers more confidence that they can do something on offense. I wouldn't be surprised if Pittsburgh beat Jacksonville. Will it happen? Probably not. But the Steelers should get more production out of the quarterback position, Jerome Bettis looks like he is healthy and able to run, and Stewart will be used the way I think he wants to be used.

During the preseason, I had a conversation with Stewart, who said he felt he could be one of the top two or three receivers in football. This could be the best thing in the world for him. But the problem is that part-time players aren't used to making $27 million. That's the problem Bill Cowher has. In truth, Pittsburgh, with all the rumors and innuendos, is almost like a house of cards now.

Here are the keys to Thursday night's game for each team:

Pittsburgh Steelers
1. Avoid stupid mistakes: Tomczak can get streaky and complete a string of passes. Then he will throw one that is difficult to comprehend. Tomczak needs to avoid making any glaring mistakes against the Jaguars if the Steelers have any chance of winning.

2. Throw the ball first: The Steelers' focal point should be to throw the football and then run when the opportunity presents itself. That would be the best way for the Steelers to attack Jacksonville's defense. They must avoid long-yardage situations because Dom Capers, the Jaguars' defensive coordinator, will wear out Tomczak with his zone-blitz schemes. Tomczak is not the type of quarterback who can run away from pressure and make a play.

3. Stop the run: Despite all the Jags' weapons, the Pittsburgh defense needs to concentrate first on stopping the ground game, led by James Stewart. The Steelers need to accomplish want Baltimore did three weeks ago, holding the Jaguars to 47 yards rushing and then getting pressure on Mark Brunell, who was sacked six times. They must pressure Brunell and try to cause a turnover. The Steelers have the linebackers to match up with the Jaguars.

Jacksonville Jaguars
1. Early lead: Against Pittsburgh, they have to get on top of the Steelers early. This is a very dangerous game for the Jaguars because they are the overwhelming favorite. A close game could allow Pittsburgh to gain a mental edge. If the Jaguars give the Steelers any degree of confidence, they could lose the game on a big play in the end.

2. Own first down: The Saints, by going to a three-receiver set, might have given other teams an idea about how to attack the Jacksonville defense, which is ranked No. 1 in the league. It will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh decides to go that route, spreading the field and opening running lanes. Having Bettis in the backfield is like the Saints having Ricky Williams. If the Jaguars can stop Bettis on first down, they will have a better chance of pressuring Tomczak into making a turnover.

3. Attack downfield: Since their 6-3 victory over Baltimore, the Jaguars have begun to add the deep passing game to their offense. Before that game, their yards per catch were down. Now, they are taking shots deep with Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell and reaping the benefits. Over the last two weeks, they have scored 71 points, and Smith has caught 19 passes for 352 yards. Jacksonville must continue to open their attack and get the ball downfield.

Former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann works as a game analyst for ESPN's Sunday Night Football. He breaks down the Sunday night matchup every week for ESPN.com.