The Jacksonville Jaguars are desperately searching for some way to be competitive after another frustrating game, which was a 37-7 beatdown from the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The offense hasn’t played well since the bye, but this was probably the worst outing yet for the group, while the defense regressed to the mean against one of the most talented offenses in football.
The Jaguars sit at 2-10, and for a squad that wasn’t particularly talented or deep in the first place and is now depleted by injuries, there isn’t much hope of turning things around this season, especially with upcoming games on the road against the division-leading Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots.
There wasn’t much positive to take away from the loss to the Rams on Sunday, but here’s what the snap counts from this game tell us.
*The following info was obtained by (NFLGSIS).
Offense
Analysis
- The Jags endured an injury on the offensive line in this one as center Brandon Linder had to leave this game. That gave opportunities to Tyler Shatley, who started five games while Linder was on the injured reserve. Will Richardson also saw snaps in Ben Bartch’s place (it’s unknown if he suffered an injury or was benched). That’s the last thing the Jags wanted to see against the Rams’ ferocious front four, and while quarterback Trevor Lawrence was sacked just twice, he was hit six times.
- After his second lost fumble in two weeks, James Robinson didn’t see much action. Carlos Hyde saw more reps but also had a lost fumble and didn’t find any more success than Robinson. Per coach Urban Meyer, Robinson is still not 100% as he battles back from heel and knee injuries.
- Laquon Treadwell, who was on the practice squad just a few weeks ago, has been Lawrence’s top target the last two weeks. He played the most of any receiver, while Tavon Austin saw his role diminish a bit. Jaydon Mickens, who returned to Jacksonville last week from the Tampa Bay practice squad, was only on the field for three offensive snaps but recorded catches on two of them for 10 yards.
- Without Dan Arnold available, James O’Shaughnessy was on the field for the bulk of the offensive snaps, but he only had two catches on six targets. Chris Manhertz saw more playing time than usual, but he wasn’t targeted and was mostly used for blocking, which is his strong suit. The same goes for Luke Farrell, who saw just 13 snaps in this one.
Defense
Analysis
- Tyson Campbell was once again the team’s No. 1 corner this week with Shaquill Griffin out, and though he wasn’t as impressive as he was last week, he had another solid game. He had to exit the game with an injury, giving a few snaps to Chris Claybrooks on the outside, but he would return to the game. Nevin Lawson struggled more in this start, allowing touchdowns to Van Jefferson and Odell Beckham Jr.
- It was a big matchup for nickel Rudy Ford against the NFL’s leading receiver in Cooper Kupp, and he struggled (as did others in the secondary). Kupp had 129 yards and a touchdown on eight catches, and as a result, Andre Cisco got some snaps in the slot later in the game. Cisco also saw one snap at safety, but Andrew Wingard was on the field for 67 of 68 defensive snaps.
- Jay Tufele was active for the first time in his career, and the rookie fourth-round pick had a tackle against the Rams. He played on almost half of all snaps, and if he can have a solid close to the season it would be a boon for the rookie class, which hasn’t seen many contributors outside of Lawrence and Campbell. He saw more snaps than Taven Bryan, whose role continues to be limited despite some improvements in his play. He had two tackles on Sunday.