DJ Chark had another 100-plus yard day and this week it was against the Colts, who are a top-10 ranked unit against the pass.
There wasn’t a lot of positives to take from the beatdown the Jacksonville Jaguars suffered at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts Week 11 but DJ Chark at least was one player who brought some fight. The second-year receiver came into Week 11 as one of the AFC’s top receivers and showed the Colts’ No. 9 ranked passing defense exactly how much he’s improved since his rough rookie campaign.
By the time the game was over, Chark accumulated over 100 yards on the day and two touchdowns, at least leaving those who own him on their fantasy rosters happy. Here are all of his catches against the Colts, who seemingly had no answers for the young speedster Sunday:
The Jags’ performance against the Colts was very poor but Yannick Ngakoue was solid as usual.
The Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts duked it out at Lucas Oil Field Sunday afternoon and it didn’t end well for the Jags. In fact, it was a beatdown for the Cardiac Cats, who fell by a score of 33-13.
As there is in any game there were some players (and coaches) who came out winners and losers from the process and here are four members of the Jags in particular who caught our eyes:
Winners
Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
WR D.J. Chark Jr.
DJ Chark Jr. is a player who we’ve often placed here in the winners category and with Nick Foles back under center, he didn’t disappoint once again. Chark had his third 100-yard game of the year and second game with two touchdowns. He set the tone early by linking up with Foles for a touchdown pass in the first quarter and was the most consistent player throughout the game.
Although the game had gotten out of hand late, he added another touchdown reception to his résumé, giving him eight on the season which is tied for the most in the league. The 104 yards he was able to accumulate on the day also put him at 796 yards total on the season, good for ninth in the league.
Chark’s performance against the Colts No. 9 ranked defense further makes his case to attend the Pro Bowl this season after a drastically improving upon his rookie season. At the rate he’s going he’ll eclipse 1,000 yards in two to three weeks, which hasn’t been done since 2015 when the Allen Brothers did it.
Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
DE Yannick Ngakoue
In a performance where the Jags’ defense was gashed and allowed 264 rushing yards, there was some good play on the edge. Yannick Ngakoue, in particular, was a player who caught my eyes on several occasions as he was a handful for the Colts talented offensive line.
Ngakoue ultimately finished the day with four tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. Unfortunately, the Jags weren’t able to recover the fumble, however, that’s certainly not his fault.
Many fans already had questions as to why Ngakoue hasn’t gotten paid yet and the performance he had against a quality Colts unit will only make fans scratch their heads more. Then again, maybe the front office will have a change of heart and get something done as Ngakoue now has 34.5 career sacks to his name and has been a turnover causing machine for the franchise
But they’re not the only team in the league that has failed at times to use their most important rushers properly.
The Tennessee Titans have made some baffling decisions on offense this season — one of which was not giving the ball to running back Derrick Henry enough.
The Titans seem to have corrected that issue now, though, as Henry finished last week’s 35-32 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs with 188 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
But they’re not the only team in the league that has failed at times to use their most important rushers properly.
Just as the team did in its loss to the Houston Texans in London earlier this season, they hardly gave former LSU standout Leonard Fournette a chance to be a part of the ground attack — even though he should be the player at the heart of it.
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He finished out Sunday’s 33-13 divisional loss to the Indianapolis Colts with just eight carries for 23 rushing yards. Fournette also reeled in seven receptions for 34 yards, but didn’t account for a score.
This is curious, considering that Fournette is recognized as one of the league’s best rushers.
The fact he still finished as Jacksonville’s leading rusher at the end of the contest brings light to just how much their run game struggled, with Ryquell Armstead being the only other player to record a rushing attempt.
He had just one carry for six yards on the day.
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It will be interesting to see just how much of a workload the team gives him as they travel to Nissan Stadium to face the Tennessee Titans at 3:05 p.m. CT on Sunday.
While the Jags loss to the Colts was a big blow to their playoff hopes, Nick Foles says the team must remain poised heading forward.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars 33-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts is one in which the fans may not be taking well but the players on the team understand they must quickly put it behind them. As one of the leaders on the team, quarterback Nick Foles especially has to have short-term memory despite his return being a rough one.
“I think the big thing is don’t press,” Foles said after the game per Mike DiRocco of ESPN. “I think it’s easy to press in this situation and think the sky’s falling, the world is over. It’s not. We’re blessed to play a game. The big thing for guys right now is go home. You’ve got family at home. You have a wife. Go love her. Go be with her. If you have kids go be with your kids. […] We are 4-6. That is the situation. But we can’t win six games at once.”
Foles’ heavily anticipated return got off to a a solid start. He was able to hit DJ Chark Jr. for their second touchdown connection of the year with roughly seven minutes left in the first quarter. After that, however, he wasn’t able to make many impact plays heading forward. In fact, he had some ball placement issues, threw in double-coverage on occasions and threw a pick in the process of going 33-of-47 for just under 300 yards.
In years past, fans would have to worry about how the locker room would handle a loss of this magnitude but it appears Foles has the right mind-set to relay to his comrades. Hopefully, they take his advice for Week 12’s game against the Tennessee Titans, which would give them a sweep over their longtime rivals.
The players nominated for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award have been announced.
The 32 player nominees for the sixth annual Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award were announced last week. Each NFL team nominated one of its players for the award, which recognizes players around the league who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship on the field.
The award is presented each year to an NFL player who best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition.
The nomineese:
2019 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award Nominees
» Arizona Cardinals C A.Q. Shipley » Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones » Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson » Buffalo Bills LB Lorenzo Alexander » Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey » Chicago Bears DB Kyle Fuller » Cincinnati Bengals DE Sam Hubbard » Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb » Dallas Cowboys CB Byron Jones » Denver Broncos LB Von Miller » Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford » Green Bay Packers CB Tramon Williams » Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson » Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton » Jacksonville Jaguars DL Calais Campbell » Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes » Los Angeles Chargers LB Thomas Davis Sr. » Los Angeles Rams S Eric Weddle » Miami Dolphins C Daniel Kilgore » Minnesota Vikings DE Danielle Hunter » New England Patriots WR Matthew Slater » New Orleans Saints T Terron Armstead » New York Giants DL Dalvin Tomlinson » New York Jets DL Steve McLendon » Oakland Raiders QB Derek Carr » Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz » Pittsburgh Steelers RB James Conner » San Francisco 49ers T Joe Staley » Seattle Seahawks LB K.J. Wright » Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB Lavonte David » Tennessee Titans C Ben Jones » Washington Redskins RB Adrian Peterson
A panel of former players — Warrick Dunn, Pro Football Hall of Famer Curtis Martin, Karl Mecklenburg and Leonard Wheeler — will select eight finalists (four in the AFC and four in the NFC) from the 32 nominees. The winner of the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award will then be determined by a vote of current NFL players.
Past recipients:
» 2018: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints » 2017: Luke Kuechly, LB, Carolina Panthers » 2016: Frank Gore, RB, Indianapolis Colts » 2015: Charles Woodson, CB, Oakland Raiders » 2014: Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals
The Jags entered Sunday’s must-win game needing to show some life and did the exact opposite.
The Jacksonville Jaguars came into Week 11’s game against the Indianapolis Colts looking to capitalize on a must-win situation but that did not happen. In fact, it wasn’t even a close game as the Jags fell flat with the final score being 33-13.
The Jags were coming off their bye week almost at full strength with just one player on their injury report, while the Colts were without their top receiver, T.Y. Hilton, however, that did not matter. The Colts offense still found success on the ground as the Jags’ defense had another terrible outing against the run. By the time the clock hit 0:00 the Colts had garnered 264 rushing yards mostly thanks to Jonathan Williams, who had 116 yards and Marlon Mack, who exited the game early with an injury but had 109 yards and a touchdown. Simply put, Week 11 marked yet another poor showing from Todd Wash, which should leave the status for his job potentially in the air.
The Jags’ offense wasn’t much better, however, and that was despite the return of Nick Foles from his Week 1 collarbone injury. The veteran had a forgettable day despite the plethora of passing attempts he made (33-of-47) and passing for just under 300 yards and a pick. Of course, those stats were padded due to the Jags being behind for most of the game. Additionally, he had some poorly thrown balls throughout the game, but it’s worth noting he’s just returning from a two-month hiatus. Still, it was not a performance fans will be happy about — and rightfully so.
The Jags also had some questionable offensive play-calling by John DeFilippo. Similar to their previous loss to the Houston Texans in London, the team didn’t give Leonard Fournette a lot of carries early and it resulted in him finishing the game with just eight total carries (for 23 rushing yards) on the whole day. With him being one of the league’s top rushers many fans will question his usage, which is puzzling, to say the least.
In all probability, the Jags have played themselves out of postseason contention although the Houston Texans lost handily Week 11 as well. Still, they will have to get over this loss quickly with a trip to the Tennessee Titans coming up. Kickoff for that game will be at 4:05 EST on Nov. 24 via CBS.
The Indianapolis Colts (6-4) bounced back against the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6) on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium with a 33-13 win.
The victory, combined with the Houston Texans’ loss, moves them into first place ahead of the Thursday night bout that features both teams. This was a complete team win with strong performances on both sides of the ball.
Here are the studs and duds from Week 11:
AP Photo/Michael Conroy
STUD: RB Marlon Mack
The Colts got back to their roots of dominating in the run game. Mack, behind the offensive line, spearheaded the rushing attack. Though he eventually left with a hand injury and didn’t return, Mack was the engine that kept the offense rolling.
Mack left halfway through the third quarter but finished taking 14 carries for 109 yards and a strong touchdown. The third-year back had five runs of 10 yards or more on the day. It remains to be seen if he will be healthy enough to play on Thursday night.
former Notre Dame stud offensive guard Quenton Nelson and the rest of the offensive line performed one of the best group touchdown celebrations to date
The Indianapolis Colts are in a dogfight for a playoff spot, battling with the Houston Texans for the AFC South lead.
In an important divisional game for the Colts on Sunday, they started slow but began to pull away from the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second half.
After the Colts scored to go up 16-7 in the third quarter, former Notre Dame stud offensive guard Quenton Nelson and the rest of the offensive line performed one of the best group touchdown celebrations to date.
The Jags exited the first half of their game against the Colts with an injury to one of their reserves on the defensive line.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars came into Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts relatively healthy but will leave it with at least one injury. Defensive end/ linebacker Lerentee McCray exited the first half with a hamstring injury and is questionable to return.
It’s unknown as to what play the injury was sustained on but if he can’t return the Jags have plenty of depth on defensive end with Yannick Ngakoue, Josh Allen and Dawuane Smoot.
McCray hadn’t registered any stats before the injury, however, he has five total tackles on the season.
