Considering Jacksonville earned one of the franchise’s biggest wins in recent memory on Sunday, it shouldn’t be surprising that several players had fantastic performances.
According to the metrics from Pro Football Focus, the Jags had six qualifying players earn a grade better than 75 in the 9-6 win over Buffalo, and given the fact that the defense shut down one of the most talented offenses in football, it shouldn’t be surprising that four of those players play on defense.
The highest graded Jaguar on Sunday was Chris Manhertz, who only made one catch for nine yards in the passing game. But his impact this season (and on Sunday, especially) has mostly been felt in the blocking department. Manhertz is one of the league’s better blocking tight ends, and he earned an 88.8 grade because of it. The Jags managed 79 yards on the ground without James Robinson available.
Next up is linebacker Damien Wilson, who wasn’t too far behind Manhertz with an 85.8 grade. Wilson is having a very solid season lining up next to Myles Jack, and he had seven total tackles with a hit on the quarterback and a pass breakup.
Sticking with the defense (and looking at the secondary, specifically), cornerback Shaquill Griffin (81.8) had one of his better games of the season. He spent most of the game lined up on superstar receiver Stefon Diggs, and while Diggs had six catches for 85 yards, Griffin didn’t give up many costly plays while totaling three tackles and a forced fumble.
Rudy Ford (78), who plays nickel (had 46 slot corner reps) and was on the field for all but one defensive snap, had arguably the best game of his NFL career, totaling six tackles, three pass breakups, and his first interception as a professional.
Turning our attention toward the offensive line, Ben Bartch has done a very solid job filling in for the injured A.J. Cann, and he’s making a strong case for being a starter on the interior next season (Cann’s contract expires after 2021). He earned a 77.5 grade, the highest of anyone on the offensive line.
Finally, there’s the player you might have expected to see higher on this list. Josh Allen was dominant against the quarterback who shares his name, totaling eight tackles, a pick, a sack, and a fumble recovery. However, Allen only graded at a 75.5, and the reason for that was that he actually struggled in the pass rush, per PFF, earning just a 60.6 grade in that regard. Still, it’s hard to find much fault in his performance.
Earlier, I mentioned qualifying players. That’s important, because if you don’t factor in snap counts, there’s one player who graded above everyone previously mentioned, and that’s backup quarterback C.J. Beathard. He entered the game in the second quarter after Trevor Lawrence suffered an ankle injury, and while he only saw six plays of action, it was an impressive six plays.
He was 2-of-2 for 33 yards, earning praise from Lawrence postgame, and that was good enough to earn a stellar 96.7 grade. Obviously, it was a small sample size, but Jacksonville should feel good about its backup quarterback in the event of a more significant injury to Lawrence.