Tag: J.C. Jackson

Chargers PFF grades: Best, worst performers in Week 8 win over Bears

Spotlighting Pro Football Focus’ highest and lowest-graded Chargers players from the win over the Bears.

In Week 8, the Chargers defeated the Bears, 30-13.

Along the way, there were some standout performers and others that were duds.

With That, here are the best and worst performers from Sunday’s contest, according to Pro Football Focus’ player grades.

Note: To be more accurate, this is based on players who played at least 35% of the snaps on offense (69) or defense (73).

Top 5 Offense

OL Jamaree Salyer — 73.6

WR Quentin Johnston — 72.3

OT Trey Pipkins – 70.4

TE Donald Parham Jr. — 67.2

OL Zion Johnson — 67.1

Top 5 Defense

EDGE Joey Bosa – 82.7

LB Kenneth Murray – 80.9

EDGE Khalil Mack — 76.9

CB Michael Davis — 71.9

EDGE Chris Rumph II — 71.1

Bottom 5 Offense

WR Joshua Palmer — 60.9

WR Keenan Allen – 60.8

RB Austin Ekeler — 56.4

C Will Clapp — 54.8

TE Stone Smartt – 40.8

Bottom 5 Defense

DT Morgan Fox — 62.8

S Derwin James — 61.0

DT Sebastian Joseph-Day — 55.8

DT Nick Williams — 37.0

DT Scott Matlock — 35.1

Studs and duds in Patriots’ disappointing 31-17 loss to Dolphins

Who were the Patriots’ studs and duds in Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins?

There were no miracles to be had for the New England Patriots in Sunday’s 31-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins. It was just more disappointment from a team that looked outmatched on the road.

The Patriots are clearly trying and competing every week, but those efforts are thwarted at every turn by one team seemingly always having the better built roster.

The blocking on the makeshift offensive line was once again abysmal, which initiated a snowball effect of a bad run game and lack of real passing opportunities. Mac Jones was a statue standing in the pocket with nowhere to go with the football.

And the defense couldn’t save him.

The unit typically throws on the red cape and keep things more competitive than it probably should be for the Patriots this season, but this time, they ran into an offensive juggernaut they couldn’t topple.

Here are the studs and duds from the game:

J.C. Jackson got traded to the Patriots just to get scorched by Tyreek Hill again

Tyreek Hill’s Dolphins picked on J.C. Jackson like he’s their little brother. AGAIN.

Earlier this season, it was pretty clear that veteran cornerback J.C. Jackson wasn’t going to figure “it” out with the Los Angeles Chargers. In a Week 1 matchup, Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill took Jackson to task in an 11-catch, 215-yard, two-touchdown performance. (The Chargers, of course, lost.)

When Jackson would later be traded to the New England Patriots, that meant he had another (unfortunate) matchup on hand with Hill and the Dolphins. On Sunday, it finally went about exactly as you’d expect. Late in the first quarter, Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa launched a perfect deep ball to Hill, who seemingly sped past Jackson so easily for a score that he might as well have not even been covering the electric playmaker.

In other words, Hill picked up right where he left off by burning Jackson. Again.

If that weren’t enough, with the Dolphins driving in late in the second quarter, Tagovailoa found Cedrick Wilson Jr. with a precise pass while Jackson was draped all over him. This after being called for a seemingly erroneous pass interference penalty on Hill.

The poor guy just can’t catch a break against this Miami team:

Dear reader, that is Jackson being directly responsible for two Dolphins touchdowns after already getting humiliated by them earlier this season. It was a tough (but probably inevitable) break for the defender.

Stock up, stock down for 12 Patriots players heading into Week 8

Who’s stock is up, and who’s stock is down in New England?

The 2023 season hasn’t gone as expected for the New England Patriots.

Those that expected the team to be competitive in the AFC East are likely surprised to see them sitting at 2-5 with little hope of competing for a playoff spot.

But even the team’s biggest skeptics didn’t expect to see them sink to the bottom of the division with talks of them being in line for a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL draft. There’s obviously the possibility of things changing with the Patriots coming off a huge upset win over the Buffalo Bills.

If they can somehow beat the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the schedule will lighten significantly, and they’ll have a real chance to start racking up wins. It’s a long-shot chance that’s heavily dependent on the players’ ability to elevate their game down the stretch.

Let’s take a look at the stock report for 12 Patriots players ahead of their Week 8 clash with the Dolphins. Who’s up and who’s down in New England?

10 highest-graded players for Patriots defense vs Bills, per PFF

Here are the top-10 highest-graded Patriots defensive players in Sunday’s win over the Bills

The New England Patriots defense might be banged up, but it isn’t broken.

They proved that to be the case in Sunday’s shocking upset victory over the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots’ defensive unit went toe-to-toe with quarterback Josh Allen and held one of the league’s more explosive offenses in check.

Even without key playmakers, such as linebacker Josh Uche and defensive end Keion White, the team still generated enough pressure on Allen to make him uncomfortable throughout the game.

On the backend of the defense, the cornerbacks didn’t trip over themselves when tasked with the responsibility of keeping All-Pro wide receiver Stefon Diggs from breaking the game wide open.

The J.C. Jackson trade is looking like a masterstroke move by coach Bill Belichick, while the returns of both Jonathan Jones and Jack Jones has made the unit formidable again.

Things won’t get any easier down the stretch, and we’ll see if the team can keep the momentum going. Here’s the top-10 Patriots defenders from Week 7, per Pro Football Focus grades:

Patriots CB J.C. Jackson weirdly held Stefon Diggs’ hand before a contested Bills pass

J.C. Jackson accidentally invented a new way to stop Stefon Diggs.

The New England Patriots might have pulled off a monumental 29-25 upset of the rival Buffalo Bills Sunday, but it was cornerback J.C. Jackson who seemingly innovated the most.

As Buffalo receiver Stefon Diggs ran a deep route and improvised with quarterback Josh Allen, Jackson was tasked with slowing the playmaker down. Eventually, once Diggs just threw his hand up while trying to get Allen’s attention, Jackson matched him. Of course, he might have matched him too much when he just resorted to holding Diggs’ hand.

And he wouldn’t let go all the way through an eventual incompletion. That’s one unique way of defending, I suppose.

Look, Diggs still ended up with six catches for 58 yards and a score, so it’s as not if Jackson shut him down. And it’s not as if this sort of defense is sustainable (was no one going to penalize this sequence for holding? It literally fits the definition).

But still, props to Jackson for giving us one of the funnier moments from Week 7.

5 big takeaways from Patriots’ 21-17 loss at Las Vegas

Here are 5 big takeaways from the Patriots-Raiders game

For the first time in three weeks, the New England Patriots scored a touchdown on Sunday afternoon. It only took over two hours of game clock and two agonizing blowouts to accomplish the feat.

The touchdown came against a Las Vegas Raiders team coached by former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Ultimately, like most of Bill Belichick’s former assistants coaching against him, McDaniels emerged from the game victorious. His Raiders won the matchup 21-17 in front of an energetic Las Vegas crowd.

The matchup gave Las Vegas their third win of the season while dropping New England to 1-5 on the year.

Here are five big takeaways from the game.

Brandon Staley on J.C. Jackson trade: ‘There was a body of work to go off of’

Brandon Staley spoke for the first time since J.C. Jackson was traded to the Patriots.

On Thursday, Brandon Staley spoke at the Chargers’ media availability for the first time since J.C. Jackson was traded to the Patriots last week. Staley opened his press conference by responding to the first question about Jackson by saying this:

We just felt like this was the best course for our team. There was a body of work to go off of. We felt like this direction was the best for our football team.

When asked to clarify if “body of work” meant on-the-field or off-the-field concerns, Staley said, “In all ways.”

The Chargers head coach was also asked about Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero’s report, which stated that Jackson had refused to enter the game against the Raiders when Michael Davis injured his ankle.

Staley refused to comment, saying, “I’m not talking anymore about J.C. We’re moving forward as a team, and that’s behind us.”

Staley also said that the Chargers fully believe in their secondary group without Jackson:

We believe in that group. That group is where we’ve played our best football as a team since we’ve been here. We have full trust in those guys. Those guys have played really well together. Now, they get to play together full time.

Michael Davis, Asante Samuel Jr., and Ja’Sir Taylor will attempt to hold down the secondary as the Chargers move forward. Deane Leonard and newly signed cornerback Essang Bassey will be the depth players in the room.

The ramifications of the Jackson signing not working out will eventually loom large for the Chargers. Specifically, a dead cap charge over $20 million will hurt them in balancing the books for 2024.

But for now, a clean break is the main story in the interim. Staley and the team hope it leads to a bounce back for a secondary group that’s primarily underperformed this season.

J.C. Jackson responds to question asking if Patriots feel the same without Tom Brady

J.C. Jackson got a tough question right out of the gates after the Patriots’ blowout loss to the Saints

The last time J.C. Jackson was a New England Patriot the team was a playoff contender.

It was back in 2021, which was the early beginnings of quarterback Mac Jones’ NFL career. The rookie showed promise with a Pro Bowl season and a playoff berth in his first year as a pro.

But that feels like a lifetime ago at this point.

The team Jackson returned to has slumped to a 1-4 record and looks to be one of the worst in the league. When speaking for the first time since being traded back to New England, Jackson responded to a question asking if things felt the same in New England without Tom Brady as the quarterback.

“It pretty much feels the same, but having Tom out here, I don’t know, man,” Jackson said. “That’s a weird question, but yeah, it feels the same to me, man.”

Jackson has been gone for the last two seasons, but he still knows how to answer questions like a perfect Patriot. Things obviously don’t look the same in New England as they did when Brady was under center.

One look at the current team and it’s clear Patriots fans don’t need Jackson to tell them that.

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Huge reinforcements expected to come for Patriots’ CB unit vs Saints

Help could be on the way for the Patriots at cornerback

New England Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones is progressing towards a return against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Coach Bill Belichick noted that Jones was able to do more in practice this week and could possibly play in Week 5. Per MassLive’s Mark Daniels, Jones is expected to return for the game, barring a last-minute setback.

The Patriots obviously need the help after losing wide receiver Christian Gonzalez to a shoulder injury last week.

“Yeah, that’s when the urgency picked up even more for me – if that’s even possible,” Jones said, when speaking with MassLive. “Just to see [Gonzalez] go down and know we were thin already at corner, it was tough to see.”

Jones has missed the last three games with an ankle injury.

Now, he is coming back at a time when the New England secondary is in desperate need of help. The Patriots already added depth at the position by trading for J. C. Jackson earlier this week. There’s a chance that both Jones and Jackson could be on the field together for Sunday’s game.

In addition to the injury to Christian Gonzalez, Jack Jones and Marcus Jones have been on injured reserve with ankle and shoulder injuries.

The Patriots have an uphill battle for the 2023 season overall. However, the return of Jones is a step in the right direction for a defense that needs to find its footing once again.

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