Tag: Devin Lloyd

In which 2023 games did each Jaguars defensive star shine brightest?

The Jaguars’ defense tailed off late in the year, but it still had some impressive moments in 2023.

Before the 2023 season began, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive unit was expected to be a weakness. But there were a handful of weeks when defense won the game for the Jaguars.

When Jacksonville was at its best en route to an 8-3 start to the year, the defense was a key piece to the team’s success. The Jaguars’ played well as a unit, but the players stepped up individually at different points throughout the season.

While the defense eventually came unraveled and struggled down the stretch, here were the best single-game performances for each of the Jaguars’ key defensive players during the 2023 season:

Jaguars hire ex-LSU DC Matt House as linebackers coach

The Jaguars are reportedly hiring former LSU defensive coordinator Matt House to coach their linebackers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are hiring Matt House to their new linebackers coach, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

House most recently spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers before he was fired earlier this month. After the LSU defense ranked 41st in the country during the 2022 season, allowing an average of 354.6 yards per game, it plummeted to 108th in 2023 with the average yardage climbing to 416.6.

Prior to his time at LSU, House made a few coaching stops in the NFL. Early in his career, he spent one season as an assistant special teams coach with the Carolina Panthers and three as a defensive quality control coach with the St. Louis Rams.

House’s last NFL stop was a three-year stint as linebackers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. He also worked for three years as a linebackers coach at Kentucky while Jaguars pass rusher Josh Allen was at the school.

While Jaguars coach Doug Pederson elected to fire most of the defensive coaching staff, outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey was among those who were retained.

That could mean that House is tasked with working with the team’s inside linebackers. That group currently consists of Foye Oluokun, 2022 draft picks Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma, and 2023 pick Ventrell Miller.

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5 best Jaguars player prop bets for Week 15 vs. Ravens

Which Jaguars player do you expect to have a big game tonight against the Ravens?

No team has allowed fewer touchdowns than the Baltimore Ravens so far in 2023.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have the tall task of cracking through that defense Sunday night. While the Jacksonville offense has been inconsistent for most of the season and is now trying to function without Christian Kirk, it also found the end zone four times against the stout Cleveland Browns defense.

Jaguars tight end Evan Engram has especially hit his stride with three touchdowns through two games in December.

If you’re looking to get in on the action this week with some player prop bets, we’ve got you covered with a handful of wagers to make on the Jaguars. The following prop bets are available on BetMGM, with the listed odds last updated at the time of publication.

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Ten Jaguars players to watch in Week 15 matchup vs. Ravens

We’re looking at ten Jacksonville Jaguars to watch when they face the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15 on NBC’s Sunday Night Football

The Ravens are 10-3 among the four teams that can clinch postseason berths in Week 15.

Baltimore visits the Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5) on Sunday night in what could be a potential playoff preview.

Jacksonville will look to rebound after suffering their second loss in six days, as quarterback Trevor Lawrence finished 28 of 50 for 257 yards and three interceptions.

With preparation underway for both teams, here are 10 Jaguars to watch for in Week 15.

Why the Jaguars’ defense, and the ‘other’ Josh Allen, deserve your attention

The 8-3 Jacksonville Jaguars are getting it done with a defense that may have escaped your attention. It’s time to take a closer look.

Quite under the radar, the Jacksonville Jaguars have assembled a 8-3 record, and they’re currently the AFC’s three-seed, behind the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs. The prime mover for this improvement for a team that finished 9-8 last season, snuck into the playoffs, and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round, is a defense that currently ranks fifth in the NFL in DVOA — eighth against the pass, and first against the run.

And the prime mover in that defense is clearly EDGE Josh Allen — the Josh Allen who’s having the better season of the NFL’s two Josh Allen’s. The 2019 seventh-overall pick out of Kentucky has the league’s fifth-most pressures among edge-rushers, and his 13 sacks ranks third.

Against the Houston Texans last Sunday in a 24-21 win, that defense and Allen in particular made rookie phenom C.J. Stroud as uncomfortable in and out of the pocket as he’s been in his professional career. Per Pro Football Focus, Stroud was pressured on 28 of his 46 dropbacks, and that’s exactly what it looked like on tape.

“They really didn’t do too much,” Stroud said after the game of Jacksonville’s pressure looks. “They sent some pressure, but not as much as they did early on [in Week 3, when the Texans beat the Jaguars, 37-17]. They got us a couple of times in some weird fronts with some pressure looks. I’ve got to be better with throwing the ball high and things like that, but they really didn’t do much different. They’re a sound team. They’re up front. Josh Allen and [fellow EDGE Travon] Walker set the tone.”

Allen’s two sacks in this game showed how defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and defensive line coach Brentson Buckner are dialing things up in subtle ways to affect and upset opposing quarterbacks.

The first sack came with 3:14 left in the first quarter. Linebackers Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd mugged left guard Juice Scruggs. This made it a six-man pressure look with Olokun dropping and Lloyd occupying left tackle Laremy Tunsil, while Allen came off the left edge unblocked — not a great idea. At the same time, safety Tre Herndon blitzed from the other side on a delay from slot depth.

Allen’s second sack came with 2:24 left in the fourth quarter. Here, Allen was to Tunsil’s outside shoulder, and defensive tackle Angelo Blackson was to Scruggs’ outside shoulder. Blackson occupied Scruggs, and then Allen just made a great play, slipping through Tunsil and Scruggs and chasing Stroud down. This is a defense that can get after your quarterback in multiple ways.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys go deep on this Jacksonville defense, the secret stars that make it work, and how this can set the Jaguars up for success as the season continues.

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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring all of Week 13’s biggest NFL matchups, right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 13’s biggest NFL matchups

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys go deep on Week 13’s biggest NFL matchup with tape and metrics.

It’s time for Week 13 of the 2023 NFL season, including three Thanksgiving games, and the league’s first Black Friday contest ever. Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most important matchups:

Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys: Can Seattle fix its passing game, and deal with a version of Dak Prescott that might be the best we’ve seen?

Denver Broncos at Houston Texans: The underrated players who are at the heart of Denver’s drastic defensive improvement over the last five games.

San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles: How both of these teams set up future plays with current plays, and a throw from Brock Purdy you have to see to believe. Also, Jason Kelce might be playing the best football of his Hall of Fame career.

Kansas City Chiefs at Green Bay Packers: This Super Bowl I “rematch” comes at a time when Packers quarterback Jordan Love is coming into his own as a franchise quarterback.

Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars: We have not talked enough about the 9-3 Jaguars on both sides of the ball. We would like to apologize, and go deep on Jacksonville’s pressure packages, and how they get their receivers open with scheme.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Jaguars PFF grades: Best and worst performances vs. Texans in Week 12

Who was the best player on the field Sunday in the Jaguars’ 24-21 win?

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 24-21 win against the Houston Texans on Sunday was probably the most important and consequential of the team’s 2023 season so far.

By avenging their 20-point loss to Houston earlier in the year, the Jaguars took a strong command of the AFC South with six weeks of football left to play. And while many have made officiating the story of the game, the Jaguars simply made more plays than the Texans.

It’s no accident that Jacksonville finished with 445 yards of total offense, nearly 100 more than the Houston offense. The Texans recorded no sacks while the Jaguars brought down C.J. Stroud four times.

The analysts at Pro Football Focus graded every player’s performance in the critical Week 12 game. Here’s who PFF thought stood out most Sunday:

Jaguars PFF grades: Best and worst performers vs. Titans

PFF was especially impressed with Devin Lloyd and Calvin Ridley on Sunday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars got back on track Sunday with a 34-14 blowout of the Tennessee Titans that had no shortage of impressive performances.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence racked up 262 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and two rushing touchdowns. Wide receiver Calvin Ridley hauled in both of those touchdown passes during a 103-yard day.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Jaguars had two takeaways and Josh Allen, Travon Walker, Foye Oluokun, and Andre Cisco all recorded a half-sack each.

The analysts at Pro Football Focus dove deeper than the stats sheet, though. After breaking down every play and grading every player, here are the Jaguars who stood out most — both positively and negatively — against the Titans on Sunday:

Devin Lloyd, Foye Oluokun fined for Week 10 plays vs. 49ers

The Jaguars’ starting inside linebackers got a chunk taken out of their paychecks for plays against the 49ers last week.

Jacksonville Jaguars linebackers Devin Lloyd and Foye Oluokun both received fines from the NFL for plays during the team’s 34-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10.

Lloyd was fined $10,927 for a facemask penalty he picked up late in the first half. Oluokun received an even bigger $16,391 fine for unnecessary roughness on his third quarter sack of 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, his second sack of the game. No penalty was called on the play that earned Oluokun a fine.

Also noteworthy is that Jaguars guard Brandon Scherff didn’t receive a fine for a moment that 49ers defensive lineman Arik Armstead called a “dirty play.”

Prior to Week 10, the Jaguars had been fined just twice through the first nine weeks for game-related rules violations: a Week 5 hit from Jeremiah Ledbetter on the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen and a Week 8 hit from Adam Gotsis on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Kenny Pickett. Both plays were unpenalized.

Through 10 weeks, 280 total plays across the NFL have resulted in fines.

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Studs and duds in Jaguars’ 34-3 loss in Week 10 to 49ers

It was a rough day for almost every Jaguars player Sunday against the 49ers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t think they came out flat against the San Francisco 49ers. They simply got dominated.

“That’s what’s most frustrating is when you play like this and you can’t point to something during the week,” Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said after the game. “I thought we had a great week of practice, we had the right mindset, obviously there was some disconnect at some point to play that way, but I thought the energy was really good.

“We were all amped to play we knew this was a big game, knew this was a good team coming in here and we felt like we could take advantage of this opportunity and beat a good team and we didn’t. We played our worse game of the year.”

So who deserves the blame for the embarrassing 34-3 loss? And which players did alright, despite the lopsided score? Here are some studs and duds from the Jaguars’ Week 10 blowout loss: