The Jacksonville Jaguars weren’t able to feed off the momentum they had last week in Oakland and fell to the Atlanta Falcons Sunday by a score of 24-12. The game marked their fifth double-digit loss since the bye week as the Jags fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter and could never recover. It also gave them their seventh double-digit loss season with Shad Khan as owner.
There were issues all over the place, but the defense probably was the biggest one as they allowed quarterback Matt Ryan and company to have success at will. The veteran had 384 passing yards on the day, 166 of which went to Julio Jones, and 82 of which went to Austin Hooper.
Coming into the game, we mentioned how strong the Falcons’ passing game was and they showed why they were the NFL’s fourth-ranked team through the air. Jones especially couldn’t be stopped even with the Jags’ best cornerback, A.J. Bouye, on him.
The Jags also didn’t fare well against the rush. The Falcons’ top rusher on the day, Brian Hill, had seven carries for 66 yards, which was good for a whopping average of 9.4. Their second-leading rusher, Devonta Freeman, had 13 carries for 53 yards (4.1-yard average) on the day and a touchdown.
The Jags also didn’t have a strong day on offense. They were only able to garner a total of 288 total rushing yards in comparison to the 518 the Falcons had. Gardner Minshew II finished the day with 181 passing yards and a touchdown, which went to receiver Chris Conley. The touchdown pass marked the third consecutive scoring connection between the two as they linked up for two touchdown passes last week against the Oakland Raiders. However, it ultimately proved not to be enough.
The Jags now have one game left on the season, which will end what has been a catastrophic year. That game will take place at TIAA Bank Field at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.