The Jacksonville Jaguars suffered an embarrassing Week 3 loss to the Miami Dolphins, but as many expected, they have already put it behind them. With Week 4 now on their minds, nickelback D.J. Hayden in particular is confident in the Jags’ ability to bounce back as they’ve gotten off to a good week of practice.
“[There’s] a greater sense of urgency, body language,” said Hayden. “You know I’m a real superstitious type of guy and I just get feelings. It’s just something I can’t explain. There’s no textbook of how to explain that. I just get good feelings.”
Up next for the Jags are the Cincinnati Bengals, who have yet to register a win but have been very competitive to start this season. During their Week 1 meeting with the Los Angeles Chargers, they were a missed field goal away from heading into over time. The following week, they had a strong fourth quarter but ultimately lost the game by a score of 35-30. Lastly, on Sunday, they took the Philadelphia Eagles into overtime and ended the battle with a 23-23 tie.
Clearly, with first overall pick Joe Burrow keeping the Bengals in games, the Jags’ secondary is going to need to have a better showing than we’ve seen in the past two weeks. The Jags’ very own first-round selection, C.J. Henderson, in particular is a player who will need to bounce back after a rough night against the Dolphins where he allowed five targets for 62 yards and a touchdown.
CJ Henderson: 5 catches allowed on 5 targets for 62 yards and a touchdown. Also has a DPI and didn't touch his man down to start the night.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) September 25, 2020
With the tough showing now behind him, Hayden stated that he’s also confident in the rookie bouncing back as most of his issues were simple technique flaws that can be ironed out.
“CJ [Henderson] obviously had one rookie mistake and I think it was just little mistakes,” Hayden said. “It just kept tagging on. I feel like we didn’t give up any big, explosive plays, but like Coach [Marrone] said, they kind of did this nickel and dime stuff, just stuff here and there. But little technique stuff can fix that stuff right away and we can fix it, so I’m excited.”
As is the case with every team, it would also help if the Jags’ pass rush has a successful day. That may prove to be a little easier than it was in Weeks 1-3 as the Bengals’ offensive line hasn’t been good. If that’s the case, fans could see Henderson and Hayden bounce back, too, which could put the Jags at 2-2 heading into the second quarter of the season.