Although it was a loss, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ battle against the Minnesota Vikings was one of their more interesting games of 2020 as several players on defense played lights out in the process. In fact, the Jags’ defense flat out punched the Vikings in the mouth early, holding them to 115 total yards by the half.
One of those defensive standouts was pass-rusher K’Lavon Chaisson, who has been heavily criticized this year as a result of his performances. Sometimes in the league, it simply takes time for a rookie to find their footing and that may be the case with Chaisson, who had a significant impact Week 13.
While he only registered two total tackles, he played a key part in pressuring quarterback Kirk Cousins and ended Sunday’s game with five pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Some of those even led to sacks for his teammates. Of course, this also caught the eyes of coach Doug Marrone, who said he’s spoken to Chaisson about where improvements could be made.
“I thought by far this was the best he’s played since he’s been here which is really encouraging because it’s not from a lack of him not willing to put in the work or wiling to know what to do. It’s just getting out there and just keep going, keep going,” Marrone said.
“We had long discussions this week. I had discussions with him. I’m like, ‘Hey listen, don’t stop your feet before contact.’ He has been doing a good job in the run game, but he affected the quarterback Sunday.”
Chaisson’s performance isn’t surprising as many of the Jags rookies from April’s class are starting to put it together like Collin Johnson, Davon Hamilton (currently on IR), and Daniel Thomas (also on IR).
With Josh Allen on injured reserve, they will need someone on the edge to show consistency, and Chaisson, after a solid Week 13, could build towards that. When considering the game that Ryan Tannehill had on the Jags Week 2, Sunday’s AFC South battle with the Titans would certainly be the time to continue his success and finish strong to garner the attention of the next regime.