Nick Foles is remaining poised despite the Jags’ struggles and believes his teammates have what it takes to turn the season around.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars would have to win out all of their games if they wanted to get double-digit wins on the season, which is likely what it would take for them to make the playoffs. Despite the outlook of the team though, veteran quarterback Nick Foles has stressed remaining poised to his teammates, while at the same time showing urgency.
In his meeting with the media Wednesday, reiterated that he’s not pressing as the team prepares for the Tennessee Titans and believes in his teammates, who have the ability to turn things around. He also added that he understands things won’t come easy, which is why the team has emphasized the fundamentals in their preparation process.
“Not pressing means don’t freak out,” said Wednesday after practice. “I’ll let everyone else freak out. I’m not going to freak out. I’m going to continue to come to work. I’m going to continue to believe in my teammates. I don’t come in here and say, ‘Ah, it’s just going to happen.’ […] “We put in a lot of work. The coaches are working hard toward the game plan. We go out there and practice to fine-tune it.”
Clearly, Foles understands that he has to keep his composure as the team’s leader on the offensive side. He’ll also need to improve himself in a short amount of time as well because Sunday’s showing against the Indianapolis Colts isn’t going to cut it either. Although he was coming off a Week 1 collarbone injury, he made several throws to receivers in double coverage and wasn’t able to move the team down the field aside from in the second quarter. Ultimately, he ended the day 33-of-47 for just under 300 yards, two touchdowns and a pick.
Of course, it won’t all fall on Foles as he needs those around him to step up from the guys in the trenches to the guys on the outside not named DJ Chark. Another thing that would help is getting Leonard Fournette involved as he’s only had 19 carries for 63 rushing yards in his last two games.
Touchdown Wire ranks the 32 NFL teams in terms of stability and potential at the game’s most important position over the next 3-4 seasons.
Tom Brady might be the best quarterback ever, but he’s not the best in the NFL right now. He certainly won’t be the best in 2022.
He’s human, after all, and at age 42, regression is inevitable even for someone with six Super Bowl rings. That puts the New England Patriots in an uncertain situation at quarterback two or three years down the road. The New Orleans Saints, with 40-year-old Drew Brees under center, find themselves in a similar scenario.
Other teams, such as the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, likely will face difficult personnel decisions at the quarterback position much sooner than that. Only a handful of teams, notably the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, appear secure in their quarterback situation for years to come.
All this got us thinking about the quarterback situations of the future — and where each of the NFL’s 32 teams ranks in terms of preparedness at the game’s most crucial position.
By quarterback situations, we mean the full overview of each team’s quarterbacks group, including backups and a potential succession plan, if necessary. For this exercise, we will define the future as three to four years down the road.
To help form these opinions, we consulted with a blue-ribbon panel of one former head coach, two former general managers and one current general manager. They were asked for their thoughts on each team’s quarterback situation. They provided insight to inform our rankings.
With that in mind, we present Touchdown Wire’s future quarterback rankings for every NFL team, from worst to first:
32. Miami Dolphins
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Earlier this season, many observers accused the Dolphins of tanking to earn the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and presumably select a quarterback. Since then, Miami (2-8) has been eclipsed by the ineptitude of Cincinnati (0-10) and Washington (1-9), so the Dolphins might not get the first QB off the board. Currently, the Dolphins have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen on their roster. Rosen has failed in his playing time. There’s no way he’ll be back next year. The Dolphins have the option to hang onto Fitzpatrick, 36, who’s currently under contract next season at $5.5 million. It makes sense to keep Fitzpatrick around for one more year to help groom a young quarterback. That could be LSU’s Joe Burrow, Alabama’s Tua Tagavailoa (although his recent hip injury now complicates his draft status), Oregon’s Justin Herbert or Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts. Two members of my panel said they like Burrow better than Tagovailoa. Either way, it’s going to take some time to develop a young quarterback.
31. Chicago Bears
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For the moment, Mitchell Trubisky is Chicago’s starting quarterback. But it doesn’t appear that he will be in that role next year — although he remains under contract and the team holds a fifth-year option on the No. 2 overall pick from 2017. Given his level of play this season, it’s highly unlikely he will receive the option year, and he might not even see 2020 with the Bears — although the cap hit for cutting him would be slightly more than $9 million. The Bears are 4-6 after going 12-4 last year. There’s one main reason for the decline. That’s Trubisky. My panelists say he’s holding the offense back and could end up keeping a good team out of the playoffs. All four panelists agree Trubisky should be nothing more than a backup. Current backup Chase Daniel’s contract expires after this season. So there’s no telling who will be Chicago’s quarterback next year. Maybe the Bears will draft a quarterback. But with a talented roster already in place, the Bears should be first in line to sign New Orleans backup Teddy Bridgewater as a free agent.
30. Cincinnati Bengals
David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Veteran Andy Dalton has been benched, and the Bengals are giving rookie fourth-rounder Ryan Finley a shot. There should be no turning back to Dalton, even though he remains under contract for 2020 with a $17.5 million scheduled salary. The Bengals can cut Dalton after the season without any salary cap ramifications. It’s too early to judge Finley. Cincinnati is going to end up with an early draft pick and could have a shot at Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert or Jalen Hurts. The Bengals will be starting over. But, given their current state, that’s not a bad thing. “Dalton had more than enough time and couldn’t win consistently,” one panelist said. “I have no idea what they have in Finley. But they have to draft a quarterback if they’re sitting there at No. 1 or 2.”
29. Washington Redskins
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
The current situation is a mess. Veterans Colt McCoy and Case Keenum, who clearly aren’t the answer, each is in the last year of their contract. The Redskins have little choice but to play rookie Dwayne Haskins, who has five interceptions and two touchdown passes, the rest of this season. Call it an audition for Haskins. But this situation is complicated because the Redskins currently have interim coach Bill Callahan, who took over when Jay Gruden was fired. There will be a new coach next year, and he might not like Haskins. With an early draft pick likely, the new coach might want his own guy. Give up on Haskins after only one season? Arizona did it with 2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen after drafting Kyler Murray. All four of our panelists said Haskins was overrated when he was drafted.
The Jags should expect a scrappy Titans team Week 12 after they will be coming off their bye with momentum from their win against the Chiefs.
While their fanbase is still recovering from Sunday’s deflating loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Jacksonville Jaguars must now let it be nothing more than a moment in the past. Up next for them is a team who may be even more desperate than the Colts were in the Tennessee Titans, who look to be a better team than they were Week 3 when the Jags beat them on “Thursday Night Football.”
All of that said, here are three things to know as the Jags and Titans gear up for their second meeting of 2019:
Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
The Titans have a lot to play for with the No. 9 seed in the AFC
The Titans will come into Sunday’s game with plenty to play for — and quite frankly — more than the Jags. As of Tuesday, they have the ninth seed in the AFC playoff picture with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills in their way for a wild-card slot.
The Jags took another drop in USA Today’s power rankings after Week 11’s loss to the Colts, however, the fall was minimal.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars were pummeled by the Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday and their playoff chances declined drastically as a result. They also took a small slide down USA TODAY’s power rankings, coming in at the No. 22 spot after previously being ranked No. 20.
22. Jaguars (20): Focus has been on quarterback transition, but what about a defense burned for nearly 60 points and 800 yards over its past two appearances?
Our comrade Nate Davis is right, while Nick Foles’ day was unimpressive outside of the first quarter Sunday, the Jags’ defense gave up an embarrassing total of 264 rushing yards on the day. Colts running back Marlon Mack had a solid day, rushing fo 109 yards and a touchdown before sustaining a hand injury and having to leave the game. To make matters worse, the Colts’ No. 2 tailback, Johnathan Williams, had an even better day, accumulating a career-high of 116 yards on 13 carries.
The Jags’ struggles on defense Sunday weren’t exactly surprising because they’ve been one of the worse teams in football when it comes to stopping the run under Todd Wash in 2019. Previously, they were gashed by the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans in London.
As for Foles, he was 33-of-47 for just under 300 yards and a pick in his return. He had some solid moments to open the game but was clearly pressing afterward. He had several moments where he was throwing in double coverage but thankfully the Colts weren’t able to cash in on those opportunities. He’ll need to have a better day Sunday as the Titans have been very opportunistic against the Jags in the past.
The Jags came into Week 12 listed as underdogs for the second consecutive week after their bye.
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Just as they did Week 11, the Jacksonville Jaguars will enter Week 12 as underdogs on the road against the Tennessee Titans. They also will be an underdog by 3.5-points for the second consecutive week, per BetMGM.
The Titans will be coming off their bye week with a 5-5 record, the No. 3 spot in the division and No. 9 seed in the playoff race. Prior to that, they had a huge win against the Kansas City Chiefs Week 10, which could give them the necessary momentum they need to make the playoffs heading forward.
The Jags, on the other hand, had a much more different experience in their last game and were defeated handily by the Indianapolis Colts by a score of 33-13. Sunday marked the return of veteran quarterback Nick Foles, who looked healthy but didn’t have an eventful day outside of the first quarter. He’ll be looking to have a better day against a Titans defense that is ranked No. 22 against the pass and No. 14 against the rush.
The total for Sunday’s game is currently set at 41.5 points. The money line is set at +140 for the Jags, which means a wager of $100 on them would pay out $140.
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They’ll look to stay hot coming off the bye week as they face the visiting division rival Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6) on Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Tennessee Titans (5-5) have evened out their record following a 35-32 victory over the Kanasas City Chiefs.
They’ll look to stay hot coming off the bye week as they face the visiting division rival Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6) on Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Titans are favored to just that by a point spread of (-3.5), according to Bet MGM.
The most recent clash between the two teams ended in a 20-7 Jags victory in Jacksonville, Florida, but both teams have undergone some changes since that matchup.
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Nick Foles has made his return under center, but the Jaguars offense didn’t exactly ignite upon having him back. Jacksonville’s ground game particularly suffered in last week’s loss to the Colts, with just nine combined rushing attempts for a total of 29 yards.
Play-calling was incredibly questionable, given Leonard Fournette’s meager eight carries. The former LSU standout is one of the most established rushers in the league, so one would think the Jags would want to integrate him far more into their game plan.
The Titans have also made a quarterback switch, benching Marcus Mariota in favor of Ryan Tannehill in the third quarter of Week 6’s shutout loss to the Denver Broncos.
The team hasn’t looked back since, with Tannehill posting a 3-1 overall record as the starter.
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The signal-caller totals 1,161 passing yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions since taking over.
The Titans and Jaguars are set to kick off at 3:05 p.m. CT on Sunday in Nissan Stadium.
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Fans feel as though there wasn’t a lot of good to take from the Jags loss to the Colts but at least Foles looked to be 100% from his injury.
Time is slowly ticking away on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ season.
The Jaguars concluded Week 11 with a brutal 33-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. With this loss, the Jags sit at 4-6 on the year and will move further down the standings in the AFC. This all but eradicates their chances of making the playoffs.
Sunday’s game was also a huge deal because it marked Nick Foles’ return from the collarbone injury he sustained Week 1.
How would Foles measure up to a tough division rival in the Colts? Here are the good, the bad and the ugly moments from the Jaguars loss vs. the Colts:
1. The good: Foles’ shoulder looks well and healthy
Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
While the final result on the scoreboard wasn’t particularly desirable, Foles showed that he is perfectly healthy and appeared to show no setbacks from his injured shoulder. Foles threw 47 passes and had 33 completions, proving that he can handle a high volume of passes. He even showed off some great intermediate accuracy on his two touchdown throws to wide receiver DJ Chark Jr.
There were many questions as to rather or not Foles would be able to return to form after his injury and it seems for now that everything looks fine health-wise for him. It’s an encouraging sign for a quarterback that the Jaguars will be committed to for three more years.
While football will always remain a team sport, it doesn’t stop certain individuals from being more important than others; especially when their presence alone separates you from the pack. On Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts (6-4) witnessed that kind …
While football will always remain a team sport, it doesn’t stop certain individuals from being more important than others; especially when their presence alone separates you from the pack. On Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts (6-4) witnessed that kind of player return to action for them and the results were evident.
In his first full game back since Week 8, quarterback Jacoby Brissett produced two touchdowns and led the Colts to a much-needed 33-13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6). With the JB7 under center, the first place AFC South leader played their best game in recent weeks and seems to be back on track as six games remain in their season.
Here are five takeaways from the Colts’ 33-13 win over the Jaguars.
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
JB7 literally makes a huge difference
Even during Brissett’s good start to this season, there were still various Colts fans and media who weren’t on the bandwagon. After every game, including JB7’s standout performances against the Falcons and Texans, those same people continued to wonder if he was actually capable of being this team’s quarterback.
But after not having the NC State product available for action over the last two weeks, there were little to no complaints from JB7’s doubters as he once again displayed his obvious talent and leadership. Although his final numbers weren’t the best (15/24, 148 passing yards, one passing touchdown to one INT), the Colts’ QB1 impact was still felt throughout Sunday’s game.
Against the Jaguars, we saw the same Brissett who took care of the ball, made the right adjustments pre-snap, and had a couple of sensational plays to either extend or conclude Colts’ offensive drives.
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.
