Tag: nfl regular season week 2

The Good, the bad, and the ugly from the Jags’ 33-30 loss vs. Titans

The Jags were super competitive in Sunday’s game against the Titans but they certainly had their good, bad, and ugly moments.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were riding high with a huge Week 1 win over the Indianapolis Colts and were hoping to continue their momentum against a consecutive AFC South rival in the Tennessee Titans.

The Jags fought extremely hard and provided one of the more entertaining games of the day, however, the Cardiac Cats couldn’t pull off the upset as they fell to the Titans by the score of 33-30. With the loss the Jaguars fall to 1-1 on the season, but are still in a good position in the division.

The Jaguars have looked extremely solid in their two games even though they were projected to be one of the worst teams in the league. However, it does not mean that the Jags have been perfect in their pursuit of winning football games.

Here are the good, the bad and the ugly moments from the Jaguars and Titans matchup:

The good: A day of firsts for the Jaguars

Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

The Jaguars have the youngest roster in the NFL currently and while younger rosters usually struggle, the Jags have gotten some immediate dividends from their young stars.

Rookie cornerback C.J. Henderson started things off last week against the Colts by recording his first interception. Fellow 2020 first-rounder K’Lavon Chaisson would follow things up by recording the first sack of his NFL career Sunday:

Chaisson finished the game with two tackles including his aforementioned sack.

To add to the rookie first festivities, undrafted rookie running back James Robinson rushed for the first touchdown of his NFL career:

Robinson would go on to have an incredible game rushing for 102 yards and a touchdown. He also had a big gain of 39 yards one place, which was his high on the day.

In Sunday’s game against the Titans, the Jaguars proved they have a young core that will potentially be great for years to come.

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Postgame analysis: Jags fall to Titans in a 33-30 nail-biter

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.

Listen to the latest from Jags Wire’s own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast “Bleav in the Jags.” Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.

 

Tyler Eifert scores his first career touchdown with Jags vs. Titans

Tyler Eifert put the Jags on the board vs. the Titans with his first TD as a Jag.

The Jacksonville Jaguars finally got on the board in their heated AFC South matchup with the Tennessee Titans.

After throwing a costly interception that led to a 9-yard touchdown from Titans wide receiver Corey Davis, Jags quarterback Gardner Minshew II found tight end Tyler Eifert for a huge 19-yard touchdown reception:

The reception is Eifert’s very first touchdown in a Jaguars uniform. With the touchdown the Titans now lead the Jags 14-7 in the second quarter.

Jags vs. Titans: Dede Westbrook among inactives for second straight week

Dede Westbrook has found himself on the Jags’ inactives list for the second time in 2020.

The Jacksonville Jaguars released their list of inactives for Week 2’s game against the Tennessee Titans. Just like last week, receiver Dede Westbrook has surprisingly been listed amongst the group for the second consecutive time.

Westbrook is coming off a 2019 season where he ranked third on the team in receiving with 660 yards. However, after dealing with a shoulder injury during training camp, he slid down the Jags’ depth chart as rookies Laviska Shenault Jr. and Collin Johnson flashed. Additionally, Keelan Cole had an above average camp, which gave the Jags a solid amount of depth at receiver.

As for the Titans, they had a few notables on their inactives list due to injuries. As expected, A.J. Brown (knee bruise) was among the list after being ruled out Friday. Vic Beasley, who has missed a lot of time on the practice field since joining the Titans, won’t play either after being ruled questionable with a knee injury, too.

3 Jaguars to watch on defense vs. Titans

The Jags will need a solid day against the run defensively if they are to beat the Titans and one key who could provide that is Taven Bryan.

With a win today, the Jacksonville Jaguars will be alone at the top of the AFC South. Yes, we are only in Week 2 of the season, but starting the season 2-0 with back to back division wins would be an immense show of strength for a team everybody thought was tanking.

The Jaguars have not enjoyed playing the Titans in recent years, going 2-6 against Tennessee since the start of 2016. Much of their struggle boils down to the emergence of running back Derrick Henry, who is undefeated against the Jags every time he has rushed for over 50 yards.

Of course, it was against Jacksonville that Henry had his best career game. On December 6 2018, the former Heisman Trophy winner ran the ball for 238 yards and four touchdowns. Simply put, the Jags must minimize his impact if they are to win Sunday.

Here are three defenders to keep an eye on in today’s Week 2 matchup:

Taven bryan

Much was made of the improvements made by Taven Bryan over the course of the offseason. He finished the season strong last year and showed flashes of why the Jaguars took him in the first-round back in 2018, but Marrone expects him to anchor the defensive line on a consistent basis this season.

It will be imperative that he closes down gaps at the line of scrimmage and penetrates the Titans’ offensive line if the team has any chance of shutting down Henry. The Jaguars’ defensive front has lost multiple starters since the end of 2019, which means the pressure now falls on Bryan who has learned under Calais Campbell and Marcell Dareus before the departures.

K’Lavon Chaisson

It was an up and down start to K’Lavon Chaisson’s NFL career. The first-rounder had an interception called back for a hold on D.J Hayden, but he really struggled to win pass-rush reps against a strong Indianapolis offensive line.

With another physical, run-first team on the slate later on today, Chaisson will be tasked with learning quickly to try and become the latest of this class of rookies to really leave his mark on an NFL game.

Josh Jones

Josh Jones found himself doing the rounds in Jacksonville media, as he discussed his tough journey before finding his feet as an NFL starter with the Jaguars. Jones had a good game against Indianapolis, but with fellow safety Jarrod Wilson now on injured reserve with a hamstring issue, the onus is really on him to assert himself and help young safety Andrew Wingard.

The Jaguars secondary looked good last weekend, thanks largely to C.J Henderson’s dominant debut. However, Jones will have a lot to do this afternoon, both in coverage and in the box as Jacksonville will likely be stacking eight or nine against this potent run game.

Listen to the latest from Jags Wire’s own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast “Bleav in the Jags.” Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.

 

3 Jaguars to watch on offense vs. Titans

The Jaguars will need Andrew Norwell and Jawaan Taylor both to have a solid day in the trenches if they are to beat the Titans Sunday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have the opportunity to stay undefeated and be alone at the top of the division with a win in Nashville Sunday afternoon. After a surprise win at home against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1, the Jags will be hoping to continue that momentum into this game against another division rival as they look to steal a match on the rest of the AFC South.

To many people’s shock, the Jaguars’ offense was largely effective in last week’s win. Gardner Minshew II went 19-of-20 and leads the NFL in the completion percentage category, whilst rookie running back James Robinson looked like a starting calibre rusher in his NFL debut.

Simply put, the unit will need to score points in abundance if they are to keep pace with running back Derrick Henry and the Titans this week. With that in mind, here’s three Jaguars to watch on offense in Week 2.

Laviska Shenault Jr.

Laviska Shenault Jr. quietly had one of the better performances on the team last weekend. The staff said they would use him in a variety of ways this offseason and they stuck to their word early. Shenault was given the ball out of the backfield twice and even lined up at wildcat quarterback at one point, in addition to receiving multiple targets as a receiver.

When looking at his stats, Shenault was the only rookie receiver to catch a touchdown last weekend, scoring on a nice in-route for a 15-yard touchdown. If the Jaguars want to keep the defense guessing, Shenault will be used to create mismatches on defense early and often Week 2.

Andrew Norwell

Norwell has come under a lot of criticism by Jaguars fans and media in recent years. It is safe to say that the team expected a lot from the former All-Pro having made him the richest interior lineman in the entire NFL when he signed in 2017.

Fortunately, he looked vastly improved in Week 1 (registering a 73.3, per Pro Football Focus) as the Jaguars were able to keep Minshew’s pocket clean and saw his production improve as a result. Given the talent in the Titans’ front-seven, Jacksonville needs Norwell to repeat last week’s showing if they want to keep their quarterback off the grass.

Jawaan Taylor

Two offensive lineman you say? It could be one of those games.

Taylor makes the cut here because he flashed very brightly last week. Taylor showed vast improvements in the second half of 2019 and started this year relatively strong. Whilst the Jaguars did allow multiple sacks last weekend, the former Florida Gator lit up Colts’ All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard on a screen play.

The second-year tackle will be lining up against Jadeveon Clowney for much of this game. That means it will be imperative for Taylor to slow down the former first overall pick.

Taylor and the Jags’ offensive line will have to be physical with the Titans’ defensive line to set the tone Sunday. If they can stay on the field that keeps Henry off of it and gives the Jags an opportunity to win the time of possession battle.

Listen to the latest from Jags Wire’s own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast “Bleav in the Jags.” Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.

Will the Jags-Titans Week 2 game be on TV in your area?

The Jags and Titans game will air at 1 p.m. ET on CBS and this week’s coverage will be wide-spread in various southern states.

Just two weeks into the NFL season the Jacksonville Jaguars have found themselves in a predicament where they could be in first place in the AFC South. Simply put, a win against the Tennessee Titans Sunday would do that, but with their last victory in Tennessee coming in 2013, the Jags will have some history to overcome.

Just as it was last week, the Jags’ game will be shown on CBS in the 1 p.m. window for Sept. 19’s lineup of games. Per 506 Sports, those who live in the green shaded areas will be able to see the game.

This week, Andrew Catalon will serve as the play-by-play analyst while James Lofton will serve as the color commentator.

The Jags will enter Sunday’s game with a 21-30 all-time record against the Titans and a 9-16 record against them at Nissan Stadium. However, if there is one part of history they can look at positively, it’s the fact that Gardner Minshew II is 1-0 against Tennessee.

Minshew started in the Jags’ Week 2 meeting against the Titans in 2019 and had an impressive night against them to kick off the movement known as Minshew Mania. He completed 20-of-30 passes for 204 passing yards and two touchdowns that night.

In addition to Minshew needing to have a good game, the Jags’ defense will need to tighten up against the run as running back Derrick Henry has been a huge issue for them. If they can make both keys to victory happen, then they have a solid chance to end up 2-0 heading into their primetime matchup against the Miami Dolphins.

 

Listen: Jags Wire, Bleav in the Titans break down Week 2’s game

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a big game coming up Sunday against the Tennessee Titans and it’s one with huge implications. Simply put, a win would put them at first place in the division, something nobody thought would even be a thing for them when …

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a big game coming up Sunday against the Tennessee Titans and it’s one with huge implications. Simply put, a win would put them at first place in the division, something nobody thought would even be a thing for them when looking at the roster turnover.

Both teams were previewed in the latest crossover episode of the “Bleav in the Jags Podcast” which also featured the “Bleav in the Titans Podcast” hosted by Davey Hudson and former Titans defensive back Denard Walker.

In episode 34, the hosts of both teams specifically discussed the takeaways that came from Week 1, the keys for victory for both teams, and some predictions for the outcome of Week 2’s game.

Listen to the latest from Jags Wire’s own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast “Bleav in the Jags.” Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.