Category: Josh Allen

Jags Week 9 Player of Game vs. Bills: DE/LB Josh Allen

As you would expect, the #Jaguars’ Josh Allen was named the player of the game this week by us.

Another week, another impressive Josh Allen performance. In the infamous battle of the Josh Allens, it was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ former first-round pick who prevailed in a low-scoring, defensive battle.

There wasn’t much offense to speak of, despite the Buffalo Bills entering Sunday’s game as the No.1 scoring offense in the league. Through four quarters, neither team was able to put the ball inside the end-zone; in fact, just two times did the teams even reach the red-zone.

While both offenses were stagnant the majority of the game, the city of Jacksonville had quite the scare when quarterback Trevor Lawrence fell to the ground with an injured left ankle. Luckily, Lawrence was able to return shortly afterward to help put together one last scoring drive to help the team win.

Defensively, the Jaguars had by far their best outing of the season. Cornerback Shaquill Griffin locked down Pro Bowl receiver Stefon Diggs and the rest of the Jaguars secondary flew around the field, too, which made it a rough day for the Bills’ Josh Allen. On the day, the Bills mustered just 301 total yards and averaged 4.6 yards per play. Rudy Ford had the best day of his season as a nickel defender, flying around the field to record his first interception and three pass breakups.

In addition to the secondary, the Jaguars pass-rush repeatedly got home. Led by Josh Allen, the defensive line was all over the backfield, pressuring the Bills quarterback. Taven Bryan and Duwuane Smoot both had great days as Bryan recorded two sacks, while Smoot notched one, as well as a forced fumble.

It was Allen, however, that stole the show. Early on, it was evident, he had brought his A-game. Just before the half, Allen made sure the Bills didn’t grab the lead before intermission, sacking the other Josh Allen on a second-down play for a 10-yard loss.

The Jags’ Josh Allen wasn’t done yet though, as he came out fired up in the second half. Following an early Rudy Ford interception, the Jags former first-round pick jumped a check-down pass from the Bills’ Josh Allen to pick off the Pro Bowl quarterback for the second drive in a row.

Two drives later, the Jags’ Josh Allen finished off his defensive hat trick as Smoot stuffed the Bills’ Josh Allen on a short-run play, forcing a fumble in the process. It was none other than Jacksonville’s Josh Allen who recovered the ball, giving the Jags their third turnover of the day.

 

Allen now has 5.5 sacks on the year and his eight tackles led the team against the Bills. Right now, he is the team’s best player and his continued contribution and level of play will be crucial to keep the Jaguars in competitive games going forward. While Allen had a disappointing 2020 season, he looks locked in and ready to roll in 2021 and is set for a monster year.

Jags’ Josh Allen makes history by sacking Bills’ QB Josh Allen

The Jags’ Josh Allen has made history Sunday by sacking the Bills’ Josh Allen.

The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the third quarter of their game against the Buffalo Bills surprisingly knotted up at a score of 6-6. Much like they did last week against Miami, the Bills have gotten off to a slow start and the Jags have done a decent job of hanging around.

Needless to say, with there being a lack of scoring, there hasn’t been a lot of highlight moments in the game, but one did occur on defense for the Jags. While it wasn’t a turnover (which is what this team needs the most), their star edge rusher, Josh Allen, was able to make a historic sack by sacking the player on the opposite side of the ball who has the same name.

While the Bills’ Josh Allen has been having an MVP caliber season, the Jags’ Josh Allen hasn’t looked too bad either and came into Sunday’s game with a Pro Football Focus grade of 84.6. Earlier this week he said he was looking forward to the challenge of getting to the Bills quarterback, who has been playing well.

“I mean, like I said, Iā€™m just looking forward to playing against this team and then looking forward to playing against him,” Allen said. “Heā€™s been playing at a high level of recent. Heā€™s been evading sacks recently, heā€™s been getting out of the pocket, his O-line does a really good job of protecting him. I love this challenge. Weā€™re going to get after them but we have to do it early and throughout the whole game.”

Now with around two minutes left in the third quarter, the Jags will hope their Josh Allen has more highlight moments left in him as it’s shaping up to be a defensive game.

Update: Jags pass-rusher Josh Allen just picked off the Bills’ Josh Allen late in the third quarter.

Josh Allen reflects on his growth in Year 3

“You know, I definitely wanna be one of those guys that people talk about and people know about,” Allen said. “I want to be respected by my peers.”

On Sunday, Jacksonville edge rusher Josh Allen will be trying to bring down a quarterback who shares his name — albeit, in a more recognizable manner. Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen is in the midst of a fantastic follow-up to his breakout season last year, and he’s a real MVP candidate once again. But he’ll be facing against the other Allen, who brought down Seattle quarterback Geno Smith twice last week in what was his best game of the year.

“I know weā€™re about to play against another freaking Josh [Allen]. Got a little beef with that but heā€™s been a helluva player,” Allen told Pro Football Focus. “You know, I definitely wanna be one of those guys that people talk about and people know about. I want to be respected by my peers. I know itā€™s not given. I know I have to work it and Iā€™m gonna work my ass off just to be the best out there and get my name called as, ‘OK, this dudeā€™s a top guy in the NFL that you need to keep an eye on.’ So, thatā€™s one of my goals, earning the respect of my peers and go out there and have fun.”

Allen’s 91.4 grade from PFF over the last three games is the third-highest among defenders, and after an injury-plagued sophomore season in 2020, Allen could be in the middle of a breakout season. Per PFF, he also has a 25.3% pass-rushing win percentage (ranking sixth), 11.0 pass-rush productivity figure (sixth), and an 18.7% pressure rate (seventh).

ā€œI know they know that I can rush, but I have to be the one to know, ā€˜OK, you can rush your ass off, Josh. Just go out there every play and just win your one-on-ones.ā€™ And thatā€™s what I try to do consistently, and when those opportunities come, I have to make a play,ā€ Allen said.

Allen told PFF that getting better at finishing doesn’t just mean adding sacks to his stat sheet; he also wants to get his hand on the ball and force fumbles. That was a strength of his in college at Kentucky, where he forced 11 in his final three seasons. He forced three as a rookie but has none in the two years since.

ā€œItā€™s all about the ball,ā€ Allen said. ā€œThatā€™s the real focus for every top pass rusher that Iā€™ve ever talked to. Thatā€™s the only reason why Iā€™m here, that I got drafted in the top 10. Itā€™s just all about the ball, especially when youā€™re rushing the passer.

ā€œWhen you get the ball out, if you think about it, if you get the ball out itā€™s a strip, sack fumble, scoop and score, fumble recovery, you know what Iā€™m saying? Thatā€™s giving your team back the ball, thatā€™s putting points on the board for yourself, and thatā€™s giving an opportunity for the offense to come back and the defense to get off the field. Finishing means a lot, youā€™ve got to get the ball. Thatā€™s how I look at it. The ballā€™s the game, whoever has the ball controls the game. So go get that ball back, control this game and win it.ā€

Allen’s play is starting to reflect the player he was drafted to be, and with K’Lavon Chaisson struggling on the other side, Allen must develop into a franchise pass rusher. Right now, he’s playing like a guy you can build a defense around, and if he can finish plays with just a bit more consistency, he has all the tools to be an elite edge rusher in this league.

Urban Meyer breaks down Josh Allen’s development after fantastic game against Seattle

Meyer discussed Allen’s progression after notching two sacks in the loss to Seattle.

Edge rusher Josh Allen has had a bit of a slow start to his 2021 season. Big things were expected of the former top-10 pick, whose production had dipped since his rookie season. That was largely due to the fact that he was playing outside his natural position.

It was expected that new defensive coordinator Joe Cullen’s scheme, which uses 3-4 as a base look more frequently, would fit his strengths as an edge rusher.

To an extent, that was true, as he has been consistently among Jacksonville’s highest-graded players this season. But that didn’t translate into production, and he had just 2.5 sacks on the year heading into Sunday.

After a two-sack day, he nearly doubled his season total. On Monday, coach Urban Meyer said he’s pleased with the way Allen, one of the franchise’s centerpieces, is playing right now.

“Yeah, I love where heā€™s at,” Meyer said. “First of all, his leadership is great. Heā€™s a guy that I lean on for leadership in the locker room and I mean, you think about the way he played in that second half. They were on fire, him and (Dawuane) Smoot, they were all over the field. They were enjoying it, they were having fun, trying to get some momentum for our team. So, they wereā€”heā€™s been playing great, he was exactly what you want.”

Asked to elaborate on what made the difference this week, Meyer referenced something he had discussed recently. He said that the team is doing a good enough job of getting pressure from the edge, but it isn’t getting the interior push necessary to keep a quarterback from stepping up in the pocket to avoid the heat.

The first-year head coach added that the team did a much better job in that regard on Sunday.

“I think the correlation between any pushā€”I felt like we had much more push inside,” Meyer said. “I think heā€™s always been playing (well), but I also think that when the quarterback can step up, they say, ā€˜Whereā€™s Josh Allen?ā€™ Well, Josh Allen is actually doing pretty good, itā€™s just we donā€™t have any push. And I think DaVon (Hamilton), Roy (Robertson-Harris) and Malcom (Brown) had a little bit of push for us inside. And I think Jihad (Ward) as well, a couple times. So, thatā€™s all correlated of the twoā€”why would (Dawuane) Smoot and Josh (Allen) have a good day? Itā€™s the cumulation of interior push as well.”

Getting pressure had been one of Jacksonville’s biggest problems heading into last weekend. The team tied with Kansas City at the bottom of the league with eight total sacks.

While it didn’t do much to affect the outcome, getting sacks (three in total) was at least one positive from the game. With Smoot continuing to come along, the pass rush could improve if Allen plays like he did on Sunday moving forward.

Jags Week 8 Player of Game vs. Seahawks: DE/LB Josh Allen

Josh Allen has been a machine when it comes to rushing the passer coming into this week, and he continued that trend Sunday by garnering two sacks.

While the Jacksonville Jaguars defense has largely failed to stifle opposing defenses, allowing the second-most yards per game of any time, one player has stood out from the rest in the last few weeks. That player is Jags defensive end, Josh Allen.

Many looked to Allen to lead this defense in 2021. Early on, he struggled to find his footing coming off of a disappointing 2020 season that ended in a knee injury. In the last three games, though, Allen looks better than ever. While he might not be earning awards statistically, his presence has no doubt been felt.

According to Next Gen Stats, Allen was third in pass rush win rate among all edge rushers in Weeks 5 and 6. If I had to guess, he might be either first or second after his game against the Seahawks.

Allen got off to a fast start against Seattle and kept the heat on high, breathing down the neck of quarterback Geno Smith the entire game. Heading into the game, Seattle’s tackles had allowed 18 pressures over their last three games, and Allen came prepared to take advantage.

Allen finished the game with six total tackles, four of which were tackles for loss. He also had his first multi-sack game of the year, notching two in the game, bringing his season total to 4.5. As a result, he’s earned the nod for player of the game Week 8.

Allen has been the defense’s sole bright spot, while the secondary and interior pass rush is struggling mightily to slow down offenses. Coach Urban Meyer noted this earlier this week, pointing out Allen’s and DawuaneĀ Smoot’s high level of play.

If this team wants to have any shot to win, the rest of the defense will have to raise their level of play to match that of their star pass rusher. Allen is showing up and showing out week after week, but will the rest of the team step up?

Jags activate Josh Allen off Reserve/COVID-19 list, waive CB Corey Straughter

The Jags have their best pass-rusher back and he’s now ready to take the field for their preseason opener agains the Texans.

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced that edge rusher Josh Allen returned from their Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday, which will make him available for the regular season. They also waived cornerback Corey Straughter as the team has to trim their roster down to 53 players by 4 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

Allen, who is expected to be the Jags’ top pass-rusher, was placed on Reserve/COVID-19 on Aug. 23. That resulted in him missing the trip to New Orleans last Monday and also gave K’Lavon Chaisson, Dawuane Smoot, and the rest of the Jags’ pass-rushers plenty of reps in their last two games.

According to the leagueā€™s COVID-19 protocols for 2021, vaccinated players won’t be subject to quarantine after a close contact situations, where as unvaccinated players who are in the same situation must isolate for five days.

Allen played in the Jags’ first preseason game against the Cleveland Browns and tookĀ 12 defensive snaps. He registered a tackle and had a key pressure in that game as well.

As for Straughter, he had participated in all of the Jags’ preseason games. He had two assisted tackles in the teams last game. If they want to continue developing him, the Jags could put him on their practice squad if he clears waivers.

Jags DE/OLB Josh Allen placed on Reserve/COVID-19 list

The Jags will be without one of their defensive leaders during their trip to New Orleans as Josh Allen was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

Josh Allen didn’t make the trip with the Jacksonville Jaguars to New Orleans as the third-year pass-rusher has been placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. The team made the announcement official Monday morning, just about 10 hours before their second preseason game with the Saints.

Allen’s designation on the list doesn’t necessarily mean he tested positive for the coronavirus, but could also mean he was in close contact with someone who tested positive. As a result, the Jags will now lean on a mix of K’Lavon Chaisson, Dawuane Smoot, Jordan Smith, Jihad Ward, and a few others to generate pressure on the edge.

Allen, who is one of the Jags’ leaders, is a player the staff has high hopes for in 2021, and hopefully, he’ll be able to get back on the field soon as the regular season is approaching. He started in last Saturday’s game (had 12 defensive snaps) where he was able to register a tackle and had a key pressure in the first half of the game.

With the Jags’ last preseason game taking place on Sunday and their first regular season game taking place on Sept. 12, Allen has plenty of time to get back on the field. In the meantime, we’ll be sure to provide everyone with any updates on Allen when the Jags resume practicing this week.

Jagsā€™ pass rush viewed as biggest unanswered question

ESPN believes the Jagsā€™ pass rush has a lot of questions to answer, which is fair when looking at how young the group is.

From hiring a new coaching staff, to adding various free agents and rookies, the Jacksonville Jaguars made a lot of moves this offseason. As a result, the group will look significantly different than it did in 2020 when the team won just one game.

However, one thing that still concerns fans heading into camp is the pass rush. The reason for that is because the Jags are young there, and if they are to have success on the edge, they will need two players under the age of 25 to lead them in Josh Allen and Kā€™Lavon Chaisson.

When it comes to this concern, fans seemingly arenā€™t the only ones worried as ESPNā€™s Mike DiRocco recently listed it as the Jagsā€™ biggest unanswered question.

Pass rush? The switch to a 3-4 under coordinator Joe Cullen meant the team had to rework the defensive front, but it also allows Josh Allen and K’Lavon Chaisson to move to their more natural OLB/DE positions. That should free up Allen, who had 10.5 sacks as a rookie in 2019, to be more disruptive. The hope is the move does the same for Chaisson, who struggled last season as a rookie and had just one sack. But the only other player on the roster with double-digit career sacks is DE Dawuane Smoot (11.5), so the Jaguars will need to be creative to pressure the quarterback. Expect a lot of blitzes and alignments to try to create some confusion, but even if that works, the team should still prioritize adding pass-rushers in 2022. — Michael DiRocco

This offseason, the Jags added a veteran who is familiar with the new system in Jihad Ward and drafted Jordan Smith, too. However, Ward only has eight career sacks throughout five seasons, while Smith is viewed as a developmental rusher.

With that being the case, DiRocco is right about the Jags needing to draft a pass rusher in 2022. If not that, they could look for a notable addition in free agency.

As for the Jags current group, it should take a sizable step. Both Allen and Chaisson are playing in positions more natural to them, which should help them easily surpass their sack totals from 2020.

Trevor Lawrence assists Jags fan with home decor

The rookie Jacksonville quarterback came through clutch for a Jags fan who appealed to him for approval on decorating his home with jerseys.

Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence came up clutch for Jaguars fan Logan Nugent. After Nugent’s fiance, Amber Phommathep, said he couldn’t hang up jerseys of Lawrence, Josh Allen and Myles Jack unless the former acknowledged him, the rookie first-overall pick gave his approval on Twitter.

“It went crazy from then,” Nugent told ESPN’s Mike DiRocco. “My phone hasn’t stopped buzzing since 7 p.m. [Thursday] night.”

Allen initially responded to the tweet urging Lawrence to reply, and a former Jags player got in the mix as well when current Baltimore Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell said Nugent shouldn’t put the jerseys in the living room.

“They don’t have to do stuff like that [respond to fans’ tweets], and I know they get tweets like this all day,” Nugent said. “It’s awesome.”

The couple are big-time Jaguars fans who took their engagement photos in custom No. 21 jerseys that said “NUGENT” on the back. Now, it seems their home decor will reflect that, much to Phommathep’s chagrin.

Poll: Could Jacksonville double its sack total in 2021?

After finishing 31st in the league with just 18 sacks in 2020, it’s feasible that the Jags could double that total to 36 in 2021.

The Jacksonville Jaguars couldn’t get much pressure at all against opposing quarterbacks last season. In 16 games, they managed just 18 sacks. Only one team, the Cincinnati Bengals, was worse, and 16 teams more than doubled that total. That means that, if Jacksonville were to increase that total from 18 to 36 in 2021, that would still have just been about average relative to the rest of the league last year.

Is it feasible to expect the Jags to do this? New defensive coordinator Joe Cullen seems to think so. On Tuesday, he told the media that he has faith in the team doubling its total this season.

ā€œI absolutely do [think it is],ā€ Cullen said. ā€œI absolutely feel like we could. Part of that is playing with leads, part of that is that you get out in front of people, but yeah, I absolutely do. I think we had 18 or 19 last year, but for the people that we have and the guys that we have, the depth that we have, yes, I believe thatā€™s a realistic goal.ā€

The Jaguars certainly added more pieces this offseason. Former first-round pick Josh Allen had a down year in 2020, finishing with only 2.5 sacks, matching last year’s free-agent acquisition Joe Schobert. Dawuane Smoot led the way with 5.5, and no other player on the team totaled more than one.

Roy Robertson-Harris is the most high-profile of those additions, and his 2.5 sacks last season would have been tied for second-best on the team. Fellow new signee Jihad Ward totaled three last year, while Malcom Brown, who was acquired in a trade with the New Orleans Saints, had one.

We’ve already written about the likelihood of a bounce-back season for Allen, and it seems fair to expect that he’ll be closer to the 10.5 sacks he reached as a rookie. Expectations are also high for K’Lavon Chaisson, who was a bit disappointing as a rookie but will now be playing his more natural position.

ā€œā€¦ We have a really good group of defensive linemen that were here, Kā€™Lavon [Chaisson], Josh [Allen] had 10.5 sacks [in 2019],ā€ Cullen said. ā€œThen the free agent acquisitions we were able to bring in, Roy Robertson Harris, Jihad Ward, those guys have gotten after the quarterback in this league. Iā€™m excited to work with Taven [Bryan], bringing Malcom Brown here.

ā€œWe have a good group and the two young guys that we brought in via the draft. Weā€™re excited and Iā€™ll tell you itā€™s going to come from a lot of different area. Itā€™s going to come from the pressure that we bring in terms of blitzes, itā€™s going to come from a four-man rush, and really, itā€™s going to come from a collective unit defensively, our rush work, but also our coverage being able to make the quarterback hold the ball. Itā€™s going to go hand in hand but Iā€™m excited and really, weā€™ll find out in the fall.ā€

Coming off a season that netted the fewest sacks for the franchise since 2009, when it managed just 14, there’s really nowhere to go but up. Considering the fact that the top-10 teams in terms of sacks last year each finished with more than 40, it’s not unreasonable that Jacksonville could reach 36.

But it won’t be easy, and the veteran additions, as well as rookies Jay Tufele and Jordan Smith, will need to step up if the team is going to reach it. Let us know in the poll down below if you think Jacksonville will total at least 36 sacks in 2021.

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