The Lions head to Jacksonville for a Week 6 matchup with the host Jaguars. It’s the first meeting since 2016 for the interconference catfight, which means a lot of unfamiliarity between the Lions and Jaguars.
To help get caught up on what’s going on with the 1-4 Jaguars, I turned to James Johnson, the managing editor of Jaguars Wire. I had questions, Johnson had some good answers that help flesh out what we’ll see on the field on Sunday.
The Jaguars’ pass defense has been dreadful. What’s the primary issue, or is it a combination of issues?
Well, they aren’t winning one-on-ones, especially in the interior. They also don’t have “that guy” to command extra attention to put the other pass rushers in favorable situations. That used to be Calais Campbell, but the team had to trade him to reallocate the salary cap. Simply put, when he was a part of the lineup, Josh Allen, Yannick Ngakoue, and others were able to flourish, so losing him has been a big issue for the team.
James Robinson is a great success story as an undrafted rookie. Can he keep it up?
Yes, he can. He’s a stud who I believed in from Day 1, to be honest. I think he should’ve been taken in the fifth-round at the least, but he’s playing more like an early draft selection. He’s a guy that I’m confident in because of his ability to get to the line of scrimmage quickly, and from that point, his burst and physicality to the next level is something that wears teams out down the stretch.
Additionally, he’ll be getting some help in the backfield as Devine Ozigbo is awaiting activation to the active roster after going on injured reserve. That’s important because the team could disperse the snaps later in the season to help Robinson avoid hitting that wall of fatigue we’ve seen rookies hit before.
How has C.J. Henderson fared as a first-round rookie CB?
He was on fire out of the gate during Weeks 1-2 and looked like a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate, but as expected, he hit a little bit of a snag afterward. His Week 3 performance against the Miami Dolphins wasn’t all that great and he exited Week 4’s game against Cincy with a shoulder injury. As a result, he wasn’t able to suit up Sunday against the Texans but is working his way back to potentially play against the Lions.
Overall, many are excited about him after what we saw in Weeks 1-2 and he’s a player who hasn’t given fans the vibe of a bust though it’s early in his career. I also believe he’ll only get better with a change of defensive coordinator and also down the road when the Jags can fix their pass-rush.
Who are a couple of Jaguars who don’t get enough national attention for their play?
I want to go with D.J. Chark honestly but he’s been to a Pro Bowl, so it’s hard to make a case for him I guess. That said, I’ll say center Brandon Linder. He’s been with the franchise since 2014 and is a ProBowl caliber player when healthy. He can do it all from pass protection to run blocking and it’s really unfortunate the Jags haven’t been able to find the guy at quarterback to take snaps from him.
On defense, they don’t really have anyone who doesn’t get the attention they deserve. Many even give Myles Jack his props honestly, so he’s not a guy who I can make that case for. However, one defender who could ease his way into this type of conversation is cornerback Sidney Jones IV, who was a popular name in terms of practice squad additions after teams made their final 53-man rosters.
He was a former second-round pick with the Philadelphia Eagles who had his career mostly derailed by injuries. In fact, he was projected to be a first-round pick out of Washington in 2017 but had an Achilles injury during his pro day that hurt his stock. Afterward, he could never find his footing in Philly and they waived him in September.
He started in his first game for the Jags Sunday against Houston and balled out. He had three total tackles, four pass breakups, and a pick. One of his pass breakups also resulted in a pick and he acquired a Pro Football Focus grade of 96.1. Of course, this has made many wonder if he could see a career resurgence in Jacksonville and join Henderson to make for their corner tandem of the future.
What one matchup with the Lions worries you most for Jacksonville?
T.J. Hockenson against the Jags’ secondary. Simply put, they’ve struggled against tight ends at times. They allowed Jonnu Smith to lead the Tennessee Titans in receiving Week 2 with 84 yards for two touchdowns. Then this past week against the Houston Texans, they allowed a 44-yard touchdown reception to Darren Fells where they had a miscue in coverage. That said, with Hockenson leading the Lions in receiving, I think he’ll have a strong day against the Jags’ safeties who aren’t overly impressive.
Who wins and why?
I believe it will be close, but ultimately I think the Lions will do enough to win. The Jags haven’t shown that both their offense and defense can have a decent day together, so in other words, at least one side of the ball is probable to not show up. I also think Patricia can do enough to move Minshew off his mark, and when that happens, he struggles a bit.
I could see this coming down to a late field goal, so the score I’ll go with is Lions, 27-24.