Tag: James Robinson

First Half Highlights: Chargers vs. Jaguars

The Chargers lead the Jaguars by the score of 16-14 at halftime.

The Chargers lead the Jaguars by the score of 16-14 at the halfway mark.

It’s been tale of stories. Los Angeles was lights out in the first quarter, but the script shifted in the second quarter as Jacksonville started to find their groove.

L.A. used the bye week to get more creative on offense, as they’ve shown a handful of new play designs, including one by wide receiver Joe Reed on a jet sweep.

Quarterback Justin Herbert has been up and down today, but he did manage to expand the team’s lead with a beautiful pass to tight end Donald Parham down the seam.

The Chargers were up 16-0 when the momentum started to go in the Jaguars’ favor.

Running back James Robinson has carried the team with 97 total yards and two touchdowns.

4 things to know about Chargers’ Week 7 opponent, Jaguars

Preview of the Los Angeles Chargers’ Week 7 opponent, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Chargers are fresh off a bye and will return to the action this Sunday against the Jaguars.

Here are four things to know about Los Angeles’ Week 7 opponent:

Not as good as stats suggest

Quarterback Gardner Minshew was given the keys to prove that he’s capable of being the team’s long-term starter. But aside from the season opener where he caught the nation’s attention against the Titans, he has not played well. Minshew is sixth in the NFL with 1,682 passing yards and tied for eighth with 11 touchdowns. However, five of the eight touchdown passes he’s thrown since Week 1 have come with the Jaguars down double digits. He has turned the ball over eight times, five of which were interceptions. Minshew has struggled with throwing to receivers down the field and into tight coverage. For a Chargers defense that has given up over 300 yards passing in three of their five games played, this could be the turning point.

Poor against the pass

Quarterback Justin Herbert has been rock solid in his first four starts. Heading into this weekend, there’s a strong possibility that Herbert’s dominance continues, even with potential season-high numbers in hindsight. The Jaguars have given up 293.3 yards of offense in each of their last three games against the Bengals, Texans and Lions.

Struggling to stay upright

The Chargers’ pass rush started out hot, but they cooled down significantly the past couple of games. Sunday would be the perfect time to heat up again, as they’re set to go up against a Jaguars team that has given up the fourth-most sacks in the league, and ranks 30th in pass-blocking, per Pro Football Focus. Minshew does have the tendency to leave the pocket quite a bit, which doesn’t necessarily justify poor offensive line play. But nonetheless, Los Angeles has to take advantage of a soft spot.

Defense is beat up

The Chargers took a toll with injuries prior to the bye week, but the Jaguars have taken quite the beating, too, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Key defenders like linebacker Myles Jack, defensive linemen Josh Allen and Abry Jones and safety Jarrod Wilson are all questionable this week. Not having them available could lead to a field day for Herbert and company.

Targets, Touches and TDs: Week 7

Ranking the top and bottom rookies looking ahead in fantasy football.

Nearly six weeks and more than a third of the way through NFL 2020, the contenders are starting to separate themselves from the pretenders.

In our fantasy football realm, the same process is underway with the wheat starting to distinguish itself from the chaff. As usual, this season’s crop of rookies is well-represented in both bins, and that’s our focus in this week’s edition of TTT.

We starting by ranking the top eight fantasy rookies so far and judging their rest-of-season staying power at their current level of production on a 1-10 scale, going from least to most likely. Then we’re doing the same with our top five rookie fantasy disappointments, and rating their respective chances to improve upon their current level of production on the same 1-10 scale.

It’s all to help fantasy general managers make better lineup and roster decisions with the typically volatile first-year players as the stakes grow increasingly larger in the rapidly approaching second half of the fantasy season.

Arguably, the case can be made that a rookie or two (see Edwards-Helaire, Clyde) simultaneously belongs on both of our lists here, but to avoid any spoiler alerts, you’ll just have to read all the way through to find out if any do, in fact, achieve that dual distinction.

One quick note on our fantasy rookie ranks: More weight is given to the more valuable fantasy positions where scarcity helps elevate a running back over a similarly performing wide receiver, for instance. A rookie’s average draft position is factored in, as well, with later-round standouts given precedence over a similarly performing high draft pick.

And you’ll soon notice that no tight ends appear on either list, simply because there have been no fantasy rookies of note so far this season.

All that established, we dive right into our top eight 2020 fantasy rookies to date, with rankings and statistics through play Sunday in Week 6 …

Best fantasy rookies (so far)

8. QB Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

Current position rank (total standard-scoring fantasy points): 16 (125.5 in 6 games)

Positional ADP: 19

Most impressive achievement: The No. 1 overall pick has delivered consistent production, putting up at least 20.1 fantasy points in five of his six starts and throwing for at least 300 yards in four of six outings.

Staying power: 7. There are worries about Cincy’s offensive line — only the Eagles’ Carson Wentz at 25 times has been sacked more than Burrow’s 24 takedowns — but he’s surrounded by a strong cast of weapons and also has displayed some underrated rushing ability with 87 yards and two touchdowns on the ground to date.

7) RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs

Current position rank (fantasy points): 19 (74.2 in 6 games)

Positional ADP: 7

Most impressive achievement: The expected workload has been there with CEH averaging 21.3 touches and 113.7 yards from scrimmage per game, but the lack of touchdowns has been a downer as he’s accounted for only one of K.C.’s five rushing scores.

Staying power: 4. At least Edwards-Helaire owners could cling to the fact that he’s garnered 79 percent of the running back touches over the team’s first six games. But that number almost certainly will go down, starting in Week 7, with the Chiefs signing veteran RB Le’Veon Bell, who figures to command a hefty share of targets and goal-line work. And if Bell is more like Steelers Bell than Jets Bell, CEH could find himself relegated to a No. 2 role.

6) RB Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

Current position rank (fantasy points): 14 (70.9 in 6 games)

Positional ADP: 18

Most impressive achievement: The no-frills Taylor has had at least 14 touches and 62 total yards in each contest and has been efficient as a receiver, catching 16-of-17 targets for 162 yards.

Staying power: 9. It’s a bit concerning that Taylor has only seen 12 rushing attempts in each of the last two contests and has scored once since Week 3, but he’s the lead back on a run-heavy team that doesn’t need aging QB Philip Rivers dropping back too many times.

5) QB Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Current position rank (fantasy points): 22 (107.2 in 4 games)

Positional ADP: 31

Most impressive achievement: Since stepping in on short notice for the injured Tyrod Taylor in Week 2, Herbert has hit the ground throwing, compiling at least 22 fantasy points in each of his first four starts and totaling 10 TDs with only three interceptions. His average of 26.8 fantasy points per game ranks seventh at the position — impressive for a rookie and even more impressive in a season of record offensive numbers across the league.

Staying power: 8. Herbert is surrounded by a strong supporting cast — especially when RB Austin Ekeler returns — but he’s even produced while targeting unknowns such as WRs Jalen Guyton and Tyron Johnson and has the makings of a surprise QB1 finisher.

4) WR Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

Current position rank (fantasy points): 4 (71.7 in 6 games)

Positional ADP: 48

Most impressive achievement: After a concerning slow start with only six total targets and 7.0 fantasy points combined in his first two games, Jefferson has been nothing less than fantasy’s No. 1 wideout since Week 3, reeling in 23-of-30 targets for 467 yards, three TDs and 66.7 fantasy points.

Staying power: 6. Jefferson has definitely started on a boom-or-bust track, but he and fellow top-five fantasy WR Adam Thielen have combined to command 44.9 percent (75 of 167) of the Vikings’ passing game targets so far. Minnesota always prefers to lean on the ground game, but a brutal defense is likely going to force Kirk Cousins to air it out more than the Vikes would like.

3) WR CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys

Current position rank (fantasy points): 17 (56.6 in 5 games)

Positional ADP: 37

Most impressive achievement: Lamb has not only rapidly fit in with one of the league’s best offenses and passing attacks, he’s leading the way with 433 receiving yards and 56.6 fantasy points — tops among the team’s talented pass-catchers. And it’s his consistency that gives him the slight edge over Jefferson here as Lamb has had at least 10.9 fantasy points in every outing.

Staying power: 6. There’s some real and justifiable concern with starting QB Dak Prescott going down for the season in Week 5, but veteran Andy Dalton is among the league’s more capable backups. There’s also the narrative that the Cowboys will turn to the run more now with Dalton under center after ranking as the league’s second pass-heaviest offense (66.2 percent) through Week 5, but Dallas’ abominable defense (league-high 36 points surrendered per game entering Monday night) doesn’t figure to play along.

2) RB James Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars

Current position rank (fantasy points): 8 (80.9 points in 6 games)

Positional ADP: 53

Most impressive achievement: Undrafted out of FCS Illinois State, Robinson has seized hold of the Jaguars’ starting RB gig and hasn’t let go. He has accounted for 85 of the Jags’ 91 RB rushing attempts and 362 of the team’s 379 RB rushing yards while catching 23 of 26 targets for 207 yards. Only two other players (Alvin Kamara and Derrick Henry) through Sunday had more yards from scrimmage than Robinson’s 569.

Staying power: 8. Even though the Jags own the league’s lowest rushing-play percentage (32.3), when they do run, it’s with Robinson and he’s well on the way to becoming this season’s out-of-nowhere RB1 surprise.

1) WR Chase Claypool, Pittsburgh Steelers

Current position rank (fantasy points): 5 (71.6 in 5 games)

Positional ADP: 78

Most impressive achievement: Pittsburgh’s latest wideout sensation has quickly emerged as the best fantasy weapon on a stacked Steelers offense, thanks largely to his six TDs (two rushing), tied for second among league wide receivers. He leads the Steelers in receiving yards (335) with 141 more than JuJu Smith-Schuster, who has six more receptions.

Staying power: 5. Claypool is tied for only fourth on the team in targets (24) and that’s with fellow wideout Diontae Johnson (26 targets) missing nearly two full games with a back issue. Claypool also has been involved as a ball-carrier with six rushes for 21 yards and two TDs, but his overall video game numbers — 14.0 yards per target and six TDs on only 23 touches — are simply unsustainable and don’t be surprised if he falls back toward the WR pack in the Steel City.

Most disappointing fantasy rookies (to date)

5) WR Jalen Reagor, Philadelphia Eagles

Current position rank (total standard-scoring fantasy points): 118 (9.6 in 2 games)

Positional ADP: 53

Statistical shortfall: With pass-catchers Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson and Dallas Goedert battling injuries, the door was wide open for the speedy first-round selection to step in and make an immediate impact, but he’s fallen prey to the same Philly injury curse (torn thumb ligament) and has been limited to 100 early-season snaps, resulting in five catches for 96 yards. That’s deprived the Eagles and many of his fantasy owners of a much-needed weapon.

Chances to improve: 9. Reagor is due back after Philly’s Week 9 bye, and even if he’s slow to heal, misses that mark by a couple weeks and winds up playing only half a season with average WR4 production, it will be better than next to nothing.

4) RB Zack Moss, Buffalo Bills

Current position rank (fantasy points): 62 (13.4 in 3 games)

Positional ADP: 40

Statistical shortfall: We have another injured-addled pro debut so far here, as Moss entered Buffalo’s Week 6 Monday night game with only 20 touches on 67 snaps in two games due to a toe issue. He exited with 25 touches. Moss also had a track record of missed time and health issues in college at Utah, and so far, it’s looking like more of the same at the next level.

Chances to improve: 9. Buffalo lead Devin Singletary has been struggling, totaling only 46.5 fantasy points in the Bills’ first six games, so Moss has a legit shot at taking over Buffalo lead-back duties if he can stay on the field.

3) WR Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos

Current position rank (fantasy points): 52 (32.6 in 5 games)

Positional ADP: 39

Statistical shortfall: The opportunity has been there for the taking in a Denver offense missing three of its top passing-game targets (TE Noah Fant and WRs Courtland Sutton and K.J. Hamler) for most of the season, but the first-round pick has failed to take full advantage, catching 17 of a team-most 33 targets for 266 yards and one TD so far. Dropped passes have been a problem in Jeudy’s inefficient 51.5 catch percentage.

Chances to improve: 8. Sutton is gone for the season and QB Drew Lock has only played two full games so far. The Broncos also have gone up against some tough secondaries (Steelers, Bucs and Patriots) so look for Jeudy’s efficiency and production to start trending in the right direction, even though his fantasy ceiling looks to be WR3 production.

2) RB J.K. Dobbins, Baltimore Ravens

Current position rank (fantasy points): 40 (34.8 points in 6 games)

Positional ADP: 30

Statistical shortfall: If we had known this summer that the rushing numbers (attempts and yards) would be down for both QB Lamar Jackson and lead RB Mark Ingram this season and the Ravens would still be a top-two NFL rushing squad, Dobbins would’ve been a much hotter fantasy commodity. Instead, Dobbins is averaging only six touches and 38 total yards per contest, and following 14.2 fantasy points with two TDs in Week 1, he hasn’t cleared 6.1 points or found the end zone in five games since.

Chances to improve: 7. Dobbins is averaging 1.7 more yards per rush and 1.6 more yards per touch than either Ingram or fellow RB Gus Edwards and has caught 11 passes to a combined three for the other two backs, easily making him the team’s most efficient RB so far. That should earn the rookie more touches and snaps down the stretch, especially if Ingram’s Week 6 ankle injury proves to be anything serious.

1) RB Cam Akers, Los Angeles Rams

Current position rank (fantasy points): 75 (11.7 in 4 games)

Positional ADP: 25

Statistical shortfall: The second-round pick did miss Weeks 2 and 3 with a rib injury, but has seen only 27 touches in the Rams’ other four contests — including none Sunday night in Week 6 — for a total of 117 scoreless total yards. Fellow backs Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown, meanwhile, are averaging 13.2 and 11.2 touches per contest, making Akers the third wheel in the L.A. backfield.

Chances to improve: 5. Akers certainly has potential for bigger and better things in an above-average offense, but the other two backs appear to offer more explosion (Henderson) and sound veteran consistency (Brown), and the rookie really might need an injury to one of those two to approach any kind of usable touches.

Chargers QB Justin Herbert current favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will have 11 games to show that he’s the best rookie.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has made national headlines for phenomenal performances the past four weeks.

Herbert has earned three NFL Rookie of the Week awards within that time, and he now sits atop of betting odds to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

According to Sports Betting Dime, Herbert is the frontrunner at +125 while Bengals’ Joe Burrow trails him at +260.

Behind those two, there’s a significant gap. Chiefs’ Clyde Edwards-Helaire has +700 odds, and both Cowboys’ Ceedee Lamb and Jaguars’ James Robinson have +1500 odds.

Herbert has shocked the nation with his play. Many thought that he needed a year to transition to the NFL. But he debunked that narrative not long after he was thrust into the action in Week 2 against the Chiefs.

In four starts, Herbert has thrown for 1,195 passing yards with nine passing touchdowns and has added another touchdown on the ground.

While Herbert has yet to pick up his first professional win, he has been the main reason why Los Angeles has been in every game and has come within one score against top teams like the Chiefs and Buccaneers.

“I belong out here,” Herbert said. “Do things right on and off the field, you prepare, you work hard, you eat the right food, you work hard in the weight room and good things will happen. It’s unfortunate that we haven’t won any  but I know they’re coming.”

The good, the bad and the ugly from the Jaguars’ 34-16 loss vs. Lions

There isn’t a lot to smile about in the Jags’ locker room, but Keelan Cole has been a bright spot for the team.

The wheels continued to fall off for the Jacksonville Jaguars as they have lost their fifth-straight game by falling to the Detroit Lions by a score of 34-16. With the loss, the Jaguars fall to 1-5 and continue to have a firm grip on last place in the AFC South. The Jaguars have fallen apart on defense allowing thirty points per game in their five losses. The Jags last win came in Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts where they won 27-20.

While things have continued to get ugly for the Jaguars, there were some positives mixed in with the negatives to take away from the game. Here are the good, the bad, and the ugly moments from Week 6’s matchup:

The good: Have a day, Keelan Cole

Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

While the offense has had some stagnant moments, one player that has stood out in the past few weeks is fourth-year wide receiver, Keelan Cole.

Cole finished Sunday’s game with a career-high of 143 receiving yards on six catches. He failed to score in the game but he has been a favorite target of quarterback Gardner Minshew II lately. The figures he was able to garner Sunday put him at three receiving touchdowns on the year, in addition to 362 yards and 27 receptions.

With star wide receiver D.J. Chark Sr. struggling to consistently stay on the field due to various injuries, Cole has done a tremendous job of stepping up and being a reliable source of offense.

The bad: Gashed on the ground…again

Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

While the offense has not fared great, the defense has been substantially worse especially on the ground.

The Jaguars came into Sunday’s matchup against the Lions with the No. 30 ranked run defense, which was allowing 136.6 yards per game while Detroit came into it with the league’s worst run defense allowing 170.3 yards per game. However, it was the Lions who got the better end of the ground game as they finished with 180 yards rushing. Lions rookie running back D’Andre Swift had a career game as he diced the Jags defense to the tune of 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Jaguars running back James Robinson could not take advantage of a great matchup as he finished with only 29 yards on the ground but he did manage to sneak in a receiving touchdown.

The Jaguars’ defense has allowed 100 yards rushing in every game except their Week 1 game against the Indianapolis Colts. It appears Todd Wash’s defense has not adapted to the struggles of the opponent’s rushing attack as the linebackers have continued to take poor angles and opposing running backs continue to find themselves in the second level of the defense.

The Jaguars’ defense is not trending on getting better anytime soon so it looks like this may be a long season on that side of the ball for Jags fans to endure.

The ugly: The slow departure of Minshew Mania

Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

Another game, another lackluster performance from Gardner Minshew II.

This was a game that was primed for Minshew to prove that he is the answer to the quarterback misery that Jacksonville has faced, however, he’s come up short as of late. Minshew finished Sunday’s game against the Lions with 25-of-44 passing for 243 yards, one touchdown, and an interception.

Minshew has not been what fans would call “awful,” but his play has not elevated the team into a competent offense. The Jaguars have failed to score 20 or more points in two straight games with Minshew averaging only 5.8 yards per attempt in those games. The Jags’ games against the Lions and the Houston Texans were premium matchups for Minshew to take advantage of, however, he and the Jags offense failed to do so.

The Jaguars have been a horrible first half team this season. When looking at their last three games, they’ve only been able to come away with touchdowns twice (once against both the Bengals and Texans). Their total average for those games is 7.7 points per game in the first half, which explains a lot. While the Jaguars have noticeably played better in the second half, it’s still not enough to translate into wins as they are always trailing for the season.

The jury is still out on if Minshew is a franchise quarterback, especially after he has not taken advantage of weaker defenses and key matchups. While all of the Jaguars’ struggles can’t be blamed on Minshew, he has not solidified his position as the future signal-caller for years to come in Duval.

If the losing continues, the Jaguars might be looking to the upcoming draft to search for their next quarterback.

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 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.

Jay Gruden discusses game plan and unsuccessful fourth-down call vs. Texans

Jay Gruden wishes he could have the Jags’ failed fourth-and-one attempt against the Texans back as it was a momentum changer of the game.

Several issues held the Jacksonville Jaguars back in their last game against the Houston Texans, but the biggest one fans have pointed to was the offensive play-calling. While offensive coordinator Jay Gruden has been one of the brighter spots of what could be a fired coaching staff, he didn’t call his best game Sunday.

One thing many in particular were puzzled by is the lack of commitment to the run as the Texans came into the game dead last in rush defense, allowing an average of over 170 yards a game. The issue is something that has also been a problem aside from Week 5 (the defense hasn’t helped), and as a result, the Jags have the lowest run percentage in the league (33.44%). With a stud tailback like James Robinson, that’s a figure many feel is unacceptable and something Gruden was asked about in his most recent media session.

“Yeah, for sure. Every week our design is to go in there and run the football, pound the football. Unfortunately I’ve done a poor job of sticking with it, so it’s something we have to, obviously, get better at and be aware of the game, the situation, and all that,” Gruden said.

“Obviously, sometimes late in the third quarter, fourth quarter, if you take out that part of the game in the last two or three weeks, it’s hard to run the ball, but we do have to do a better job early in games to try to maintain the run and keep our linemen pounding the rock a little bit and keeping the pressure off Gardner [Minshew II].”

Keeping the pressure off of Gardner Minshew II is something that could help the young signal-caller, who is already having trouble playing from the pocket as it is. Despite that, he’s registered 40 passing attempts or more in all but one of his games with the only exemption being the Jags’ only win of the season against the Indianapolis Colts (20 attempts). For this reason, fans will be watching the Jags’ play-calling closer than ever in hopes that they pound the ball a little more.

Of course, when looking at Sunday’s game in particular there was one play that garnered a lot of conversation — and not in a good way. That was the fourth-and-one gadget play in the third quarter where the team tried to roll James Robinson out right for a pass. The play resulted in a fumble (recovered by Houston), and after having some days to think about it, Gruden discussed wanting that play back Wednesday.

“That’s a play I’ll lose sleep over for many, many nights and I regret calling, obviously. It was a gadget play. We worked on it, really practiced with James [Robinson] trying to sell it and get James O’Shaughnessy to the corner. We were hoping with the wildcat formation that they would trigger the corner. They brought the safety out of the box, which we knew they would do,” Gruden added.

“We felt like we had a pretty good look. Ideally, that’s a third-and-1 call where you can go for it on fourth down or maybe four-minute where you’re trying to seal the game, not a fourth-and-1 call. I should’ve left that in the hands of our offensive linemen and James Robinson, in my opinion, and I regret that dearly, just so you guys know.”

If this coaching staff is going to have any chance to stick around, it’s going to hinge on Gruden’s abilities because he has the better unit. He’ll have an opportunity to turn things around against another poor rushing defense in the Detroit Lions this week who rank 30th. Time will tell if he’s learned from the mistakes of Week 5 and the first quarter of the season as the Jags’ schedule is slated to get tougher.

Jags RB Devine Ozigbo designated to return from IR

The Jacksonville Jaguars could be on the verge of getting one of their training camp standouts back.

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced that running back Devine Ozigbo has been designated to return from the team’s injured reserve list Wednesday. With that being the case, they now have 21 days to officially place him on the active roster.

After an impressive training camp, Ozigbo was placed on injured reserve prior to the Jags’ Week 1 game against the Indianapolis Colts with a hamstring injury. That resulted in rookie James Robinson seeing a bulk of the snaps Week 1, allowing him to solidify himself as one of the league’s top running backs.

Currently the Jags have three running backs on their roster in Robinson, Chris Thompson, and Dare Ogunbowale. As previously stated, Robinson has handled a majority of the workload on offense accumulating just under 200 offensive snaps (59%). Thompson has mostly been used on third-downs, accumulating 119 snaps (36%) while Ogunbowale has only seen five offensive snaps (2%) and 55 special teams snaps (42%).

The Jags will be taking on a Detroit Lions team that is currently 30th against the run and has allowed an average of 170.3 yards on the ground. That makes for the perfect situation to possibly ease Ozigbo into the lineup, but Robinson has more than proven he can handle things in the backfield if the Jags want to wait.

Good, bad, and ugly from the Jags’ loss to the Texans

There wasn’t a lot of good to take from the Jags’ loss in Houston, but there were two defensive players who stepped up and did their part.

The Jacksonville Jaguars three-game skid increased to a four-game one Sunday after the team lost yet another game to another winless team in the Houston Texans. As a result, they made history, becoming the first team to ever lose three games to winless opponents.

With such a terrible achievement to their names, it feels like the team is due for a rough season and could meet the expectations of those who deemed them a three-win (or less) team. Yet, here at the Jags Wire, it’s our jobs to provide our readers with insight on just what went right and wrong for the team Sunday — even in the toughest of times.

That said, here are the good, bad, and ugly moments that came from Week 5’s loss:

The good: CB Sidney Jones IV and DE Dawuane Smoot stepped up

Coming into Sunday’s game, it was a given that the Jags’ defense would struggle with starters Myles Jack, CJ Henderson, and Josh Allen all sitting out with injuries. That’s exactly what happened as the Texans’ offense was 14 yards shy of 500 on the day. However, there were some players on the Jags’ unit that stood out and took advantage of their increased playtime.

Cornerback Sidney Jones IV was a member of the secondary that fans who watched couldn’t help but notice as he was in on two plays that caused turnovers. The first was a pick on Deshaun Watson who was trying to hit receiver Will Fuller in the middle of the field. Defensive end Dawuane Smoot (who we’ll discuss in just a bit) got a piece of the ball while trying to get to the quarterback, causing the ball to lose some velocity and Jones to make a play on it.

Jones also was able to cause a pick through a pass deflection that was intended for Fuller in the third quarter. Watson tried to hit the veteran receiver on an outside post and Jones was able to tip the ball. Wilson then plucked it from the air and returned it deep into Houston territory.

Ultimately, Jones finished the game with three tackles, a pass breakup, and a pick and now has a Pro Football Focus grade of 73.6. At this rate, it appears he may have secured a spot starting as a boundary corner with Henderson, which will allow Tre Herndon to remain at nickel for D.J. Hayden who is on injured reserve.

As for Smoot, he had a solid day with the increased reps he got due to Allen’s injury. In addition to the aforementioned pass deflection we mentioned, he was a nuisance for Watson, registering a sack and three quarterback hits. Those are totals that led the team in both categories and should result in the staff utilizing the fourth-year player more down the road.

The bad: Missed opportunities to score by the offense

When looking back at the game, there were three opportunities where the Jags were able to get inside the Texans’ 22-yard line but came away with zero points. There were two opportunities late in the second quarter that they squandered, then there was another in the third quarter where they had a fumble.

When looking at these moments, many fans weren’t high on the play-calling, which is a change from the past few weeks. If there has been anyone the fanbase felt was worth praising, it was offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, but that wasn’t the case Sunday.

The play in particular that didn’t sit well with fans was the aforementioned fumble from James Robinson that occurred in the third quarter. The Jags simply tried to get too cute with the play call, putting Robinson in the backfield as a wildcat quarterback. With the rookie rolling out right to find an open target, he fumbled the ball and it was recovered by J.J. Watt.

Of course, when the offense looks back at the film on Monday, they are going to want each failed series back. Unfortunately, there will be no time machine to jump in and correct things, so they will just have to settle for improving their red-zone offense in the future.

The ugly: The kicking game

In the two aforementioned series where the Jags weren’t able to score, they brought newly signed kicker Stephen Hauschka on to the field — and just like the offense — he came up short. The first attempt was for 24 yards and ended up missing wide left. The second kick, which was a 49-yard attempt, was short. Had the Jags been able to make both kicks, they would’ve gone into the half with some momentum and a 13-10 lead.

After the two missed kicks late in the second quarter, the Jags elected to keep Hauschka on the sidelines (aside from their extra-point attempts), which possibly played a role in the team going for the fourth-and-one attempt on Houston’s 8-yard line in the third quarter that led to Robinson’s fumble.

Thankfully, help might be on the way to correct the Jags’ flaws in the kicking game. Their initial starter, Josh Lambo, will be eligible to return from IR Monday if healthy from a right hip injury that occurred before the Jags’ game against the Miami Dolphins.

The last update the media was able to provide on Lambo was that he was off crutches last month. Hopefully, that leads to a return to the practice field soon but we’ll have to monitor the injury report on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to further make a call.