Despite the Detroit Lions having a lackluster season of their own, the Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t provide much of a challenge for their feline foes Week 6. In fact, they ultimately ended up embarrassingly falling to the Lions, with the final score being 34-16.
When looking at the score it goes without saying both sides of the ball struggled, but for the sake of this post, we’ll start with the offense. The unit scored under 17 points for the third time in four weeks. They also were only able to garner 275 total yards and a big reason for that was because of their ineffectiveness on the ground, where they exited the game with just 44-yards. That’s certainly not a number that will make fans happy, especially when considering the Lions were ranked 30th (170.3 YPG average) against the rush coming into the game.
When looking deeper into the issues on the ground, the Jags played from behind a majority of the game, and when they did run the ball, the run lanes simply weren’t there when the Jags went to star running back James Robinson. As a result, he ended the day with just 12 carries for 29 yards.
As for quarterback Gardner Minshew II, it was a rough day, especially in the first half. The second-year quarterback, in particular, had a very bad interception which was a deep attempt to D.J. Chark Jr. in the first quarter. The ball had very little velocity on it and ended up in the hands of Lions defensive back Duron Harmon.
From that point, Minshew’s day didn’t get much better as it was a struggle to get the offense going when the game was in range. He eventually finished the day 25-of-44 for 243 yards, a touchdown, and the aforementioned interception.
As for the defense, it was another day where they allowed just over 403 yards. They struggled to get off the field as the Lions registered a time of position figure of 35:57 to the Jags’ figure of 24:03. Regardless of what the source was, Matthew Stafford and company had little issues moving the ball.
As far as players go, running back DeAndre Swift looked to be the biggest problem for the Jags, ending his day with 14 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns. That was good for an 8.3 yard per carry figure.
As for the leader in receiving, Kenny Golladay led the way with four receptions for 105 yards (good for a 26.3 YPC average). Meanwhile, Stafford was 19-of-31 for 223 yards, one touchdown, and a pick.
With such a loss, one can’t help but think the Jags’ season is over at this point if they already didn’t. The team came off a three-game stretch where they lost to winless teams and were still flat. That said, many fans have voiced their displeasure and willingness to move on from coach Doug Marrone, but owner Shad Khan hasn’t indicated that he’s ready to do so — at least not before the season.
Regardless of who is the coach Week 7, the Jags’ next game will be on Sunday on Oct. 25. That game will take place on the West Coast against the Los Angeles Chargers, who are currently 1-4.