Tag: Detroit Lions vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Postgame analysis: Jags make it five-straight losses after flat showing vs. Lions

The Jaguars looked lifeless in their Week 6 meeting agains the Lions, who were able to garner over 400 total yards on the day.

Despite the Detroit Lions having a lackluster season of their own, the Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t provide much of a challenge for their feline foes Week 6. In fact, they ultimately ended up embarrassingly falling to the Lions, with the final score being 34-16.

When looking at the score it goes without saying both sides of the ball struggled, but for the sake of this post, we’ll start with the offense. The unit scored under 17 points for the third time in four weeks. They also were only able to garner 275 total yards and a big reason for that was because of their ineffectiveness on the ground, where they exited the game with just 44-yards. That’s certainly not a number that will make fans happy, especially when considering the Lions were ranked 30th (170.3 YPG average) against the rush coming into the game.

When looking deeper into the issues on the ground, the Jags played from behind a majority of the game, and when they did run the ball, the run lanes simply weren’t there when the Jags went to star running back James Robinson. As a result, he ended the day with just 12 carries for 29 yards.

As for quarterback Gardner Minshew II, it was a rough day, especially in the first half. The second-year quarterback, in particular, had a very bad interception which was a deep attempt to D.J. Chark Jr. in the first quarter. The ball had very little velocity on it and ended up in the hands of Lions defensive back Duron Harmon.

From that point, Minshew’s day didn’t get much better as it was a struggle to get the offense going when the game was in range. He eventually finished the day 25-of-44 for 243 yards, a touchdown, and the aforementioned interception.

As for the defense, it was another day where they allowed just over 403 yards. They struggled to get off the field as the Lions registered a time of position figure of 35:57 to the Jags’ figure of 24:03. Regardless of what the source was, Matthew Stafford and company had little issues moving the ball.

As far as players go, running back DeAndre Swift looked to be the biggest problem for the Jags, ending his day with 14 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns. That was good for an 8.3 yard per carry figure.

As for the leader in receiving, Kenny Golladay led the way with four receptions for 105 yards (good for a 26.3 YPC average). Meanwhile, Stafford was 19-of-31 for 223 yards, one touchdown, and a pick.

With such a loss, one can’t help but think the Jags’ season is over at this point if they already didn’t. The team came off a three-game stretch where they lost to winless teams and were still flat. That said, many fans have voiced their displeasure and willingness to move on from coach Doug Marrone, but owner Shad Khan hasn’t indicated that he’s ready to do so — at least not before the season.

Regardless of who is the coach Week 7, the Jags’ next game will be on Sunday on Oct. 25. That game will take place on the West Coast against the Los Angeles Chargers, who are currently 1-4.

Lions pivotal play of Week 6: Key stop turns into scoring drive

The Detroit Lions beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-16. With a key stop, the Lions scored on their next drive and rode to victory.

The Detroit Lions did what they needed to do in Week 6 and secured their second victory of the season, taking care of the Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 34-16.

The Lions looked like a brand new defense after the bye week, only allowing 44 yards on the ground to the Jaguars, where the Lions were previously averaging 170 rushing allowed on this season. Additionally, they dialed up several timely blitzes, found a way to pressure Gardner Minshew, and forced two turnovers.

On offense, the Lions leaned on rookie running back D’Andre Swift, who put together a 116 rush yard, two-touchdown performance, leading a newfound resurgence in the running game.

The pivotal point in the game came in the third quarter, with the Lions leading 17-3, and Matthew Stafford had just thrown an interception deep in their zone. If the Jaguars were able to rally and score, it would’ve brought the contest to a one-score game.

Thankfully, the defense continued its stout play and helped keep the Lions chances of winning this game alive. After forcing a Jaguars to a fourth down, Jacksonville opted to go for it due to their kicking woes. Amani Oruwariye was able to break up the pass intended for D.J Chark and force a turnover on downs.

On the ensuing drive, the Lions would begin 86 yards from paydirt but the offense was up to the task. After a pass to Marvin Jones, a couple of short runs from Adrian Peterson, and a nice catch and run from Danny Amendola, the Lions were looking to be in business.

A Stafford hard count was able to draw the Jaguars offsides giving them a free play, and he was able to find Kenny Golladay 48 yards down the field setting up the offense right at the goal line.

Stafford found Golladay again, putting the ball at the one-yard line and two plays later the Lions punched it with a T.J Hockenson fourth-down touchdown catch — the 265th touchdown pass of his career, giving Stafford at least one touchdown pass versus all 31 NFL opponents.

The Lions were up 24-3 after that score and controlled the rest of the game thereafter, nailing down the win.

Between the shutdown run defense and a commitment to the running game, there was plenty to like from the Lions victory over the Jaguars. The Lions will be heading to Atlanta next week to face the Falcons and hope to continue this upward trajectory.

Jon Brown makes first kick of his career on any level vs. Lions

Jags PK Jon Brown had a life changing moment Sunday, making his first kick ever in a game on any level.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have struggled to find a guy at kicker since Josh Lambo was place on injured reserve after Week 2. However, they may have found an option to get them through his absence.

Their new kicker, Jon Brown, was able to nail a 31-yarder in the first quarter, putting the score at 7-3. But why is this important, you ask? Well, it not only marked Brown’s first regular season attempt, but it was his first field goal attempt on any level. That includes his high school and collegiate career as he was a soccer and kickoff specialist before entering the league.

The Jags signed Brown to their practice squad on Oct. 9 and eventually had to promote him to the active roster after cutting Stephen Hauschka on Monday.

Brown also had an attempt in the second quarter for 32 yards, but missed it wide right. However, with two quarters remaining in the game and the Jags down 17-3, he could see plenty of opportunities to prove himself — even if it’s just for extra point attempts.

 

3 Jaguars to watch on defense vs. Detroit Lions

With the Jags desperately needing a win, it would be nice for CB Sidney Jones to continue his play from Week 5 to aid the defense.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will host the 1-3 Detroit Lions this afternoon in a game that could have huge long-term implications on both franchises. With both squads coming into this matchup with a single win on the year, a loss will undoubtedly move the looser closer to an eventual departure from their coaches.

After missing several starters in last week’s disappointing defeat to Houston, Jacksonville’s defense should be bolstered by the returns of Myles Jack and C.J Henderson, who were both dearly missed in that 30-14 loss.

The only major issue the Jaguars still have to deal with is edge-rusher Josh Allen. Allen was missing in last week’s defeat and didn’t practice on Friday and has been ruled out for a second straight week. With one of their most reliable playmakers potentially out again, here are three Jaguars to watch on defense against the Detroit Lions.

Sidney Jones IV

Sidney Jones IV came in from the practice squad after being released by the Philadelphia Eagles only three years after being a second round pick. A limited risk pickup with plenty of upside, Jones has shown already that he may have a long term future as part of the Jaguars’ defense.

In the loss last week Jones was arguably the Jaguars’ best player. On just 38 snaps, the 24-year-old had four pass breakups, three tackles and an interception. With D.J Hayden on injured reserve with a hamstring issue and Tre Herndon having to move inside, another strong performance from Jones could prove he is a piece the team can build around at the nickel spot.

K’Lavon Chaisson

K’Lavon Chaisson has had an up and down start to his NFL career. While he’s registered a sack this season, he’s still struggling to consistently win pass-rush reps. Todd Wash has openly said that he can only get both Chaisson and Josh Allen on the field in certain packages, which has led to limited snaps for the rookie.

However, in last week’s loss to Houston, Chaisson saw a huge increase in snaps thanks to Allen’s injury, but was unable to turn those reps into any meaningful production.

With Allen now ruled out, the focal point of the Jaguars’ pass rush will once again be the former LSU Tiger. Fans will be keen to see an upturn in fortunes for their team’s top-20 draft pick.

Dawuane Smoot

Where Chaisson struggled on Sunday, Dawuane Smoot absolutely shined. A third-round pick from 2017, Smoot has been used as a rotational lineman for the majority of his career, but really came into his own in the loss to Houston. He finished the day with a sack, one tackle for loss, and four quarterback hits.

The former Illinois University star was taken on Day 2 to be the long-term replacement for the ‘Mayor of Sacksonville’ Calais Campbell as the team’s big-bodied strongside edge rusher. With Campbell traded to Baltimore in the off-season, this year is when the Jaguars will really get to see what they have in their fourth-year pass rusher.

An unrestricted free agent after 2020, Smoot will be hoping for more games like last week’s as he gets closer to negotiating a contract extension.

Lions vs. Jaguars: 3 keys to a Jacksonville victory

With an extraordinary talent in James Robinson on their offense, the Jags must him accumulate 20+ carries if they want a Week 6 win.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will host the Detroit Lions this afternoon and are hoping to stop their four-game slide before the team’s bye week. The Jaguars haven’t won since their Week 1 victory against Indianapolis, but this game presents a good opportunity for the team to get back into the win column.

Detroit has faced their own fair share of struggles to start the year, with one win in their first four games. NFL Media members have ramped up the pressure on Matt Patricia as he continues to struggle in his first gig as a head coach. Oddshark have now placed him as the second most likely head coach to be fired next and a loss against an underperforming Jags team might be the final nail in the coffin.

So, how do the Jaguars win this game? Well, here are three things they must do if they want to come out on top Week 6:

Run the ball often and efficiently

In the Jaguars only win this year they only asked quarterback Gardner Minshew II to throw the ball 20 times. Compare this to his minimum 40 attempts in the following four games and it becomes quite easy to see where the Jaguars offense is going wrong.

Rookie running back James Robinson has emerged as a genuine franchise back and potential rookie of the year contender. Use him. This team has been built toward running the ball consistently and effectively ever since Doug Marrone took over in 2016. The fact that Robinson hasn’t broken 20 rushing attempts in a single game yet is staggering.

If the Jaguars can work the ball on the ground early, the likelihood is that Minshew won’t be asked to save the game for the team later on, which is where things usually start to go wrong for the enigmatic signal-caller.

Blitz on early downs

Defensive coordinator Todd Wash seems to have an aversion to sending pressure on early downs, but this Jaguars defense will be too easy to pick apart if they don’t start to mix up the blitz package.

Against good quarterbacks like Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson, the Jaguars stayed relatively safe when it comes to dialing up pressure. That allowed the opposition far too much time to pick apart the Jags’ young and inexperienced secondary.

With linebacker Myles Jack returning from injury, Wash should be more creative in his blitz packages to try and disrupt Pro-Bowl quarterback Matthew Stafford. Otherwise, it’s going to be another long day for the Jacksonville defensive unit.

Win the turnover battle

Last week the Jaguars did well on this front, picking off Deshaun Watson twice. Unfortunately, their offense coughed up the ball twice, too, giving the Texans their first two turnovers of the season.

The Jaguars need to limit individual errors which cost the team points. If the offense can keep the ball out of the opposition’s hands and move the ball effectively, it would help the defense and overall team in a big way.

Creating turnovers hasn’t been a huge cause for concern this season, with five picks in their first five games. Obviously, those numbers can always improve, and if the team is able to put Stafford under pressure early then there is a real chance they could force some bad decisions from him.

Lions vs. Jaguars: Week 6 Jags Wire staff picks and predictions

Despite the Lions having just one win, there isn’t a lot of confidence in their opponents, the Jacksonville Jaguars, who also are struggling.

With no positive COVID-19 tests for the Jacksonville Jaguars (and league-wide), the Week 6 game against the Detroit Lions is a go. The game will be one between teams that should end up atop the draft order, though there is time to turn things around.

Both teams will come into the game with two wins combined, and a win could get some positive momentum going as we approach the mid-season mark. Here’s how the Jags Wire staff is feeling about what the outcome of the Battle of the Felines could be Sunday:

James Johnson (@Sportsgrind_Don): Lions 27, Jaguars 24

The Jags and Lions will enter this game with hot seat staffs desperate for wins. Matt Patricia’s time with the Lions has been worse than Doug Marrone’s tenure in Jacksonville (23-32 record) as he’ll enter Week 6’s game with a 10-25 record as their head coach.

As for the teams, both have suspect defenses, especially against the run. That said, the team that does that the best likely will win the game, however, Jay Gruden hasn’t shown that type of commitment to the run. That said, I could see the Jags dropping Gardner Minshew II back over 30 times, which actually might play into Patricia’s hand as the Lions are at least decent against the pass (No. 11).

Phil Smith (@PhiltheFilipino): Lions 31, Jaguars 24

Detroit is off to their own slow start after giving up a few leads early on this season. Matthew Stafford also appears to be somewhat off his game thus far. Well, as Jaguar fans we all know that the best way to remedy your quarterback’s struggles is to play against Todd Wash’s defense.

Following three straight losses, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to believe that the Jaguars can right this ship anytime soon. A solid portion of the fanbase would prefer they continue to lose, anyway. Well, they’ll get their wish as Matthew Stafford and T.J, Hockenson will carve this defense up. I expect solid performances from James Robinson and Laviska Shenault, but the Jags will still fall.

Daniel Griffis (@DanDGriffis): Lions 28, Jaguars 17

The Jaguars are in, well, a slump. The offense and defense are both struggling and some recent injuries have derailed an already thin roster. Hopefully, with the return of some key players this week against the Lions, the defense can slow down an ever-consistent Matthew Stafford. The Jaguars need to return to the run-game and take some stress off the right arm of Gardner Minshew if they hope to win this one. Start FAST!

Robert Ricks (@rrickswriting): Jaguars 33, Lions 28

The Jaguars need a bounce back after dropping four straight games. With the defense slowly but surely returning to health and cornerback Desmond Trufant for the Lions out, there will be a lot of passing yards from both quarterbacks. Jaguars come out on top in a must win matchup.

Will Frost (@willfrost_): Lions 34, Jaguars 21

Realistically, the loser of this game should probably leave their head coach on the tarmac. Both teams have been overwhelmingly disappointing so far this season, which makes it a winnable game for both sides.

Linebacker Myles Jack and cornerback CJ Henderson being back should help the Jaguars’ defense improve from last week, but Matthew Stafford is far too good of a quarterback to struggle against their lackluster pass-rush. If he’s given time (as most opposing quarterbacks have been so far this year), it could get ugly fast.

Jacob DeLawrence (@_Jdela): Lions 34, Jaguars 31

The Jags return home and look to finally put an end to their four game losing streak as they host the 1-3 Lions. Both teams have underperformed and are facing scrutiny from their fanbases. Adrian Peterson has found a home in Detroit and somehow managed to keep Father Time at bay. While he is expected to see limited duty, that just opens things up for D’Andre Swift and Kerryon Johnson to have solid days on the ground against a team that has struggled. Somehow this game turns into a shootout due to poor defense on both sides and Stafford proves he still has enough left in his tank and wins a close one.

Jags, NFL have zero positive tests heading into Week 6’s games

The Jags had no positive COVID-19 tests on their active roster Sunday before their Week 6 game against the Lions.

After a player on the practice squad tested positive and several others were placed on their Reserve/COVID-19 list, the Jacksonville Jaguars (and the NFL) had zero positive tests on their active roster prior to Week 6’s schedule of games. With that, the Jags will take on the Detroit Lions as planned today while the NFL’s other 10 games will proceed as scheduled, too.

The Jags moved to remote operations yesterday as a result of the news. They also started the process of contact tracing to identify players who were in contact with the player who tested positive. Once that was done, the team  placed a total of 12 players from their practice squad on Reserve/COVID-19 in addition to veteran defensive end Josh Mauro. Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the reason behind that decision was because their contact tracing system identified a proximity issue.

The Reserve/COVID-19 list was made this season for both players with the coronavirus and those who’ve been in contact with a person or people who are infected. In the Jags’ case, the practice squad players weren’t grouped with those on the active roster, so the issue seems to have been contained.

 

Experts favoring the Detroit Lions over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6

With their matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Detroit Lions are heavily favored to claim victory this week, with 70-percent of the experts picking them to win.

The Detroit Lions return from their bye week in the battle of big cats facing off against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6. The last time these two teams faced off was in 2016 and that resulted in a 26-19 Lions victory.

Even though both teams have been unpredictable in 2020, but according to NFL Pickwatch, 70-percent of the experts agreed the Lions would be able to squeeze out a victory on the road against the Jaguars.

The Lions have been heavily picked against over the last three games and haven’t been favored in a game since their season opener — and this game has a much larger pick differential than in Week 1. With the Lions schedule easing up, hopefully, we will see these more often.

Coming off their loss to the Saints, the Lions desperately needed the bye week to compose themselves and figure what is and isn’t working. With their run defense in shambles and offense inconsistent, they had plenty to look over. With an extra week to prepare for this matchup, one will hope they found a way to get creative on offense and defense, either be disguised blitzes or getting their playmakers open more often.

While the Lions made history blowing four consecutive double-digit leads, the Jaguars also earned a spot in NFL infamy by allowing three winless teams to secure their first victory against them — allowing the  Dolphins, Bengals, and Texans to each get their first win of the season in the last three weeks.

The Jaguars offense has the tools to keep them in games, leaning on undrafted rookie running back James Robinson and Gardner Minshew. Unfortunately, their defense and special teams have faltered and have been their untimely downfall.

The Lions desperately need to claim victory over a Jaguars team who haven’t been playing well, and if they can master the key concepts highlighted in this week’s Honolulu Blueprint, the Lions can push the trajectory arrow up and claim their second victory of the season.

Jaguars are a 3-point underdog vs. Lions in latest odds update

The Jags still remain underdogs to the Lions this week despite getting a few defensive starters back.

The Jacksonville Jaguars continue to have rough luck with the sportsbooks these days.

According to the latest odds update from BetMGM, the Jaguars are now a three-point underdog against the Detroit Lions, who they will face on Sunday. It will be the third consecutive week where the Jags will be playing as the underdog. In fact, the last time the Jags were a betting favorite was in their Week 3 matchup against the Miami Dolphins, a game in which the Dolphins would go on to win by a score of 31-13.

The money line is actually closer in the Jags’ favor now with them carrying a +135 figure ($100 wager to win $135). The Lions will only be a slight -159 favorite ($159 wager to win $100). The over/under has increased to 54.5 points as of this writing.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Jags elevate DE Jabaal Sheard for Week 6 game vs. Lions

The Jags have decided to elevate some veteran help on the edge of their defensive line as Josh Allen was ruled questionable Week 6.

The Jacksonville Jaguars utilized a standard elevation from their practice squad to promote defensive end Jabaal Sheard to their active roster. As a result, the veteran will be available to take the field Sunday against the Detroit Lions.

The decision comes after starting defensive end Josh Allen was ruled questionable on Week 6’s final injury report and was a non-participant in Friday’s practice.

Sheard signed with the Jags on Oct. 12 after working out for the team on Oct. 6. Prior to this year, the Hollywood, Florida native played for the team that drafted him, the Cleveland Browns, for four seasons before joining the New England Patriots (2015-16) and Indianapolis Colts (2017-19).

Sheard will be entering his tenth season when he takes the field Sunday. During his time with the Browns, Colts and Patriots, he was able to garner 103 career starts, 387 total tackles, and 51.5 sacks.

If Allen can’t go, Sunday’s game will mark the second consecutive matchup he’s missed with a knee injury.  That said, it appears the Jags wanted a veteran like Sheard to help alleviate the pressure off K’Lavon Chaisson, who is trying to find his way as a rookie this season.