The Jacksonville Jaguars came close to being the No. 1 team in the AFC South, but ultimately a few crucial mistakes prevented that.
The Jacksonville Jaguars fell behind early to the Tennessee Titans by a score of 14-0 Sunday, and though they ultimately lost, the team showed resilience and grit that surprised many national pundits. Still, the game unfortunately put one in the loss column for Jacksonville, who will look to bounce back Thursday in a primetime meeting with the Miami Dolphins.
With the defense unable to stop Ryan Tannehill’s momentum, the Jaguars’ offense in particular were the most impressive part of Sunday’s showing though they committed some big mistakes. However, that could be said about each unit which all wish they could have a play or two back.
The player to probably start with would be Gardner Minshew II, who had a staggering day through the air, going 30-of-45 for 339 passing yards, three touchdowns, and two picks. While the interceptions were costly, Minshew undoubtedly kept them in the game, continually answering adversity.
Minshew in particular gave the Jags a chance when in crunch time, leading the Jags for two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter where the Jags knotted the score up at 30-30 with over seven minutes remaining in the game. Ultimately, with the Jags’ defense showing limited resistance the Titans were able to get a clutch field goal with over a minute and 30 seconds left in the game. During the following drive, Minshew had a pass batted at the line of scrimmage and was picked off, preventing a game-winning drive.
The other player who had a massive showing on offense was undrafted rookie running back James Robinson. After an impressive Week 1 showing, he showcased to the nation that his performance against the Indianapolis Colts was no fluke, registering 16 carries for 102 rushing yards, a yard per carry average of 6.4, and a touchdown.
Again, while fans probably would rather have the victory, Robinson’s day was just as encouraging as Minshew’s for the simple fact that the Jags waived former fourth overall pick Leonard Fournette. At the time, the move seemed to be a puzzling one that fans thought would hurt the Jags, but the rushing attack has thrived under the rookie, who now has 32 carries for 164 yards.
As for the bad, again, the defense allowed 354 yards after allowing 445 last week. That puts the group at 799 total yards allowed in two games. Simply put, that’s not good and must be corrected even with Minshew and company putting up solid figures.
The Jags appear to specifically be struggling to generate a pass rush, and it’s not exactly shocking when considering how young they are on the defensive line with players like Josh Allen, K’Lavon Chaisson, and DaVon Hamilton. While the team held Derrick Henry to just 25 carries for 84 yards, Tannehill was unstoppable going 18-of-24 for 239 yards, and four touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns were to tight end Jonnu Smith, who had four catches for 84 yards and was a handful for the Jags’ secondary.
After losing Calais Campbell, Marcell Dareus, Yannick Ngakoue, Al Woods, and Rodney Gunter, most expected there to be growing pains defensively. Hopefully, those can be addressed with experience as the Jags have a struggling Miami Dolphins team up next.
The Jags also had a costly onside kick attempt that failed and led to three points for the Titans. That was also the total that decided the game, but it’s a mistake that special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis and company will learn from heading forward.
As previously mentioned, the Jags’ next game will be a “Thursday Night Football” battle against the Dolphins. On paper the Jags a simply more talented and have shown it in the first two weeks, however, they shouldn’t overlook the winless Dolphins as they are similar to the Jags in a lot of ways.
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