Jacksonville had both cornerback Tyson Campbell and linebacker Myles Jack back for its road trip against Seattle on Sunday, but that unfortunately wasn’t enough for the team to put up a fight. In fact, the Jags again looked uncompetitive in a west coast game that the Seahawks eventually won 31-7.
The Jags may not have rotated much on defense in this game, but on offense, they don’t have much of a choice. DJ Chark’s absence has made the receiver depth chart a bit fluid, and James Robinson missed most of the game after suffering a bruised heel early in the contest.
While Jacksonville is starting to figure out who it likes to play, there are still a lot of differences in snap distribution week-to-week. Here’s what the snap counts from this game tell us.
Offense
Analysis
- Luckily for the Jaguars, they at least avoided any further injuries to the offensive line. Backups Ben Bartch and Tyler Shatley are already starting, but no one up front had to leave the field during this game.
- Marvin Jones continues to see the field more than any other receiver, and for good reason. He’s been the team’s most reliable so far. Interestingly, Jamal Agnew, who continues to produce at receiver, saw more time than Laviska Shenault Jr., who’s having a fairly disappointing sophomore year. Tavon Austin and Tyron Johnson saw some reps, too, but the former appeared to run the wrong route on Lawrence’s interception and the latter is yet to make much of an impact on the field.
- With Robinson leaving the field, the majority of touches went to Carlos Hyde, who has been a solid change of pace back this year. But his performance on the ground was nothing spectacular on Sunday, but he did have six catches for 40 yards. Dare Ogunbowale couldn’t do much with his limited opportunities.
- Dan Arnold is emerging as TE1, at least until James O’Shaughnessy is back from the injured reserve. But Arnold is certainly making a case to keep the job, and he had his best game as a Jaguar on Sunday. Luke Farrell and Chris Manhertz didn’t see a lot of action, and neither has had much of an impact this season as receivers.
Defense
Analysis
- Current No. 3 cornerback Tre Herndon didn’t see the field much, and it seems most of the reps in the slot on nickel packages are now going to safety Rudy Ford, who has also seen action at corner in dime packages this year. Andre Cisco also saw a few looks in those expanded packages, but he continues to mostly see action on special teams.
- Without Myles Jack against Miami, Jacksonville rotated both Chappelle Russell and Dakota Allen into the lineup. However, neither saw the field on Sunday, and it seems that when Jack’s healthy, defensive coordinator Joe Cullen doesn’t want to rotate much at the linebacker spot.
- Josh Allen played his best game of the season and naturally was in on most defensive plays. Both K’Lavon Chaisson and Jihad Ward have seen snap reductions as the season progresses, and it’s likely due to the season Dawuane Smoot is having. Smoot had a sack in addition to Allen’s two on Sunday.
- The interior rotations remains much more fluid. Malcom Brown and Roy Robertson-Harris continue to see the most action on the inside, but DaVon Hamilton is playing quite a bit, as well. Taven Bryan saw 16 reps on Sunday, but he continues to have a forgettable contract season.