The Jacksonville Jaguars found themselves on the losing end one more time as they fell to their AFC South rivals in the Tennessee Titans. With the win, the Titans completed their series sweep of the Jags and gave Jacksonville their twelfth consecutive loss of 2020.
The Jags were completely overmatched on both sides of the ball as the Titans drove the ball at will in TIAA Bank Field. With the loss, the Jags fell to 1-12 on the season and were reduced to their second-lowest point total since their Week 10 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While the lack of wins continued for Jacksonville, there were a few lone bright spots in the game against the Titans, along with a few duds. Here are your winners and losers from the Jaguars Week 13 matchup against the Titans:
Winner: RB James Robinson
In the midst of a lost season, Jaguars running back James Robinson has been an absolute gem.
The undrafted rookie out of Illinois State University initially had a tough day on the ground but finished strong with 12 rushes for 67 yards. Much of his production came on a huge 47-yard run to open the fourth quarter. Robinson would’ve had a better day on the ground if it weren’t for an illegal formation penalty committed by wide receiver D.J Chark which nullified an 18-yard touchdown.
The rookie’s year has been absolutely historic, and with his 67 yards Sunday, Robinson has now surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in the season, becoming only the fourth undrafted rookie in NFL history to achieve such a feat. After Sunday’s game against the Titans, Robinson now has 1,361 scrimmage yards on the entire season, which sets an NFL record for most scrimmage yards by an undrafted rookie. That’s a total that also helped him surpass former Indianapolis Colts running back Dominic Rhodes in the undrafted category.
After starting the 2020 NFL season buried deep in the depth chart, the Illinois State product got his opportunity when various events affected the running back depth chart. Leonard Fournette was waived, Devine Ozigbo sustained a hamstring injury, and Ryquell Armstead caught two severe cases of COVID-19. However, Robinson made the most of those situations and has turned into the most consistent source of positive offense for the Jags.
Loser: The Jacksonville Jaguars front seven
Sunday was not a good day at all for the Jags’ defense
While the Jaguars front seven has shown flashes of playing well, they were completely helpless in stopping Titans running back Derrick Henry. Before Sunday’s matchup, Henry never rushed for 100 or more yards in Jacksonville, but that changed as he totaled 215 yards and two touchdowns. The Jags defense attempted to stack the box on multiple occasions, but nothing worked as Henry broke many of his long runs off tackle and dominated the outside zone when the Jaguars blitzed.
The Jaguars came into the league with the No. 30 ranked run defense in terms of yards allowed, and Sunday’s performance did not help matters at all. The Jags’ front-four struggled to penetrate the Titans’ offensive line and the linebackers did not fare any better. The safeties had to make plays against Henry far too often and that is not a recipe for success with the incredible running power that he possesses.
Winner: Gardner Minshew II
While the stats weren’t mind-blowing, Jags quarterback Gardner Minshew II is a winner for different reasons.
The former Washington State quarterback has been nothing short of a professional during a tumultuous, poor season. After giving the Jags their first win of 2020 in their season opener, Minshew suffered a thumb injury against the Houston Texans on Oct. 11 but reportedly hid the injury for two weeks.
Sixth-round rookie quarterback Jake Luton would start for three games after Minshew’s situation. When the second-year quarterback became healthy enough to return, coach Doug Marrone elected to go with Mike Glennon for a few games after Luton fizzled out. Like Luton, Glennon eventually hit a wall, too, which lead to the Jags going back to Minshew in the third quarter of Sunday’s game.
It’s possible that the hiding of the thumb injury caused a rift of trust between Minshew and Marrone, but the second-year quarterback was adamant about playing to the point where he admittedly begged Marrone to reclaim his job. Minshew has provided a much-needed spark among the fanbase dating back to last season, however, Marrone insisted that Glennon gave the Jags the best chance to win. Glennon would finish the game against the Titans completing 56% of his passes for a paltry 85 yards and an interception before Minshew took over.
Plain and simple, Minshew deserved better from Marrone. While his numbers aren’t eye-popping and he’s not a long-term answer, his 13:5 touchdown-to-pick ratio is an indication that he’s the best option on the team. With three games left, it’s hard to imagine that he won’t remain the starter for 2020. Then again, it’s been a strange year for the Jags, and Glennon shouldn’t be ruled out.
Loser: D.J. Chark
Chark has had an extremely miserable stretch of games lately.
In addition to a penalty that wiped away Robinson’s aforementioned touchdown, Chark also finished Sunday’s game with two receptions for 16 yards on nine targets. That ties a season-low in yardage since the Jaguars Week 5 matchup against the Houston Texans. Ironically, Chark hasn’t scored since Week 9 in their second game against the Texans, where he exploded for seven receptions and 146 yards.
Chark has not been able to find chemistry with his new quarterbacks as he sits at 12 receptions and 154 yards over the past four games. On the season itself, he only has 575 yards and 43 receptions to go along with four touchdowns. He has been limited to only eleven games due to various injuries.
While Chark is extremely talented, it has not been a great season and that carried into Sunday’s game. Hopefully, the former Pro Bowl wideout can find his stride in a tough matchup against the Baltimore Ravens next week.