Tag: rayshawn jenkins

Jaguars defense gives ‘advice’ to Steelers WR George Pickens after win

“You don’t fire up a bunch of hungry dogs.”

Jacksonville Jaguars players didn’t have much to say Friday when asked about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ George Pickens calling them a “hope defense.” Safety Andre Cisco only called it “an interesting choice of words.”

The Jaguars saved their talking about it until Sunday in the locker room after a 20-10 win in which Pickens had one reception for 22 yards that was the Steelers’ only touchdown of the day.

“We heard some chatter before the game that we didn’t like,” Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins. “It really pissed us off, they shouldn’t have put that out there for us to hear that. They said we got ‘hope defense’ or something like that. We were hoping they would’ve came in here and put up a better fight.”

Safety Andrew Wingard, who started in place of Cisco, also jumped in with some thoughts on the Pickens comment that clearly didn’t sit well with Jaguars players.

“He needs some advice going forward, you never put pressure on yourself,” Wingard said. “You never put expectation on yourself. He did that. If hoping is getting a dub, we’ll take the dub. … You don’t fire up a bunch of hungry dogs. It’s not smart. George, do better.”

“He’s a young player, but you can’t chat before the game,” Jenkins added. “We didn’t say nothing the whole week. We just put it in the chamber and when it was time to come out, we started firing on all cylinders.

The 261 yards of total offense allowed was a season-best mark for the Jaguars defense, despite the team being without Cisco and cornerback Tyson Campbell.

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Jaguars defense unfazed by Derek Carr: ‘He’s gonna check down, check down, check down’

The Jaguars defense was unfazed by Derek Carr, with safety Rayshawn Jenkins saying after the game, ‘He’s gonna check down, check down, check down’

This is a tough quote on Derek Carr, but it lines up with what we saw on Thursday night. The Jacksonville Jaguars defense was not fazed by the threat of big plays from the New Orleans Saints quarterback in their 31-24 win. Afterward, Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins let everyone know just how little he and his teammates thought of Carr’s ability to attack them over the top.

All they had to do, Jenkins said, was just keep everything in front of them: “We know that’s Derek Carr’s game. He’s gonna check down, check down, check down. We just have to win the game down the field and that was the mindset of the DBs. We’ll let him have the checkdowns; we’ll come up, rally, tackle that and get rid of the shot plays.”

Carr’s longest completion of the night was a 21-yard pickup early in the second quarter by Alvin Kamara, who made a nice play in space to gain most of that after the catch. Kamara led the team with 12 receptions for 91 yards; Carr was unable to put the ball where his wide receivers could have a chance to catch it on deep shots to Michael Thomas, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed in other opportunities.

And this was a big criticism of Carr during his nine-year Raiders career. He was dinged for being too eager to throw a pass short of the first-down marker and force his running backs or tight ends to move the chains. The Saints forced him to throw downfield often early this season, but that’s obviously not a style of offense Carr is comfortable running. It’s worth asking whether he’s even capable of it. With opposing defenses keying in on his vulnerabilities so successfully, he’s got to show the Saints he can win in different ways.

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Montaric Brown answered the call when the Jaguars needed it

Montaric “Buster” Brown made plays in big moments in his first start of the year.

Montaric “Buster” Brown was on the field for one defensive snap in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ first five games. But he was tossed into action in Week 6 when cornerback Tyson Campbell pulled up grabbing at his hamstring against the Indianapolis Colts.

After that game, Brown said “[when] my number gets called, I gotta step up.” On Thursday night, he stepped up.

Against a New Orleans Saints offense with three-time Pro Bowler Michael Thomas and 2022 first-round pick Chris Olave at wide receiver, Brown didn’t look like an inexperienced liability. Instead, the second-year cornerback was credited with allowing only four receptions on 10 targets.

When the Saints had one play left to tie or win the game in the final minute, quarterback Derek Carr looked to Olave to beat Brown one-on-one. The Jaguars 2022 seventh round pick shut the play down.

“I was expecting the fade the whole time,” Brown said in the locker room after the win. “They kept trying it, I wasn’t thinking about nothing inside. It was the fade. And they threw it. I was expecting it the whole time.”

It wasn’t a perfect performance from Brown, who missed a couple tackles in space. But it was a showing that earned him compliments from coaches and teammates after the game.

“We were missing Tyson Campbell, so it’s next man up, and Buster’s the next man,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said. “He’s worked hard to put himself in this position. He works hard in practice.

“It’s not always going to be perfect or pretty or all of that, but you know what? He made plays when he needed to, and that’s the most important thing. Really proud of the way he played today.”

“He’s only in his second year, so he’s still growing,” Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins said. “He’s still got way more room to grow, but man, way to start off in his first start. Man, hats off to Buster with that ‘next man up mentality’ and doing what he had to do to get the job done.”

The Jaguars haven’t provided a timetable for Campbell’s injury. The third-year cornerback was listed as a non-participant in the team’s week worth of practices and was officially ruled out Wednesday.

If Campbell isn’t ready to play in Week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Jaguars have reason to feel like they have a competent replacement on the outside in Brown.

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Rayshawn Jenkins: ‘That’s Derek Carr’s game. He’s gonna check down’

Saints running back Alvin Kamara led his team in receiving yards, but that wasn’t a surprise to the Jaguars defense.

The leading receiver for the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night was running back Alvin Kamara, who finished with 91 yards on 12 receptions. That came as no surprise to the Jacksonville Jaguars defense, according to safety Rayshawn Jenkins.

“We know that’s Derek Carr’s game. He’s gonna check down, check down, check down,” Jenkins said in the locker room after a 31-24 win. “We just have to win the game down the field and that was the mindset of the DBs. We’ll let him have the check-downs, we’ll come up, rally, tackle that, and get rid of the shot plays.”

While the Saints found an offensive rhythm late in the game, for the most part it was mission accomplished on that front for the Jaguars defense. Carr completed just one pass on the night that gained more than 20 yards, a dump-off to Kamara in the second quarter that went for 21.

Saints wide receiver Chris Olave caught seven of 15 targets for 57 yards and receiver Michael Thomas caught three of his seven targets for 42 yards.

The Jaguars aren’t the first team to defend Carr with that game plan. His now-Saints teammate, Tyrann Mathieu, gave a similar assessment in 2019 after his Kansas City Chiefs beat the Carr-led Oakland Raiders.

“Tight ends, running backs, check-downs, that’s his game,” Mathieu said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “We were able to capitalize when he did try to throw it downfield.”

The Jacksonville defense followed a similar path to victory.

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Jaguars PFF grades: Best and worst performers vs. Bills

These are the Jaguars players who had the best and worst performances in the 25-20 win on Sunday, according to PFF.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t blow out the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, but the 25-20 win in London may have been the most complete performance of the team’s 2023 so far.

A Jacksonville offense that previously shot itself in the foot made a few of the same mistakes, but still managed 474 yards of total offense against a Bills defense that hadn’t allowed 400 in a game prior. The Jaguars defense kept Buffalo to seven points through the first 55 minutes of the game before allowing a couple frantic touchdown drives near the end of the fourth quarter.

It was the most impressive win of the season for the 3-2 Jaguars, but which players stood out in the victory? The folks at Pro Football Focus went over the game with a fine tooth comb to grade every player’s performance.

These are the Jaguars players who had the best and worst showings in the win, according to PFF:

Studs and duds in Jaguars’ 25-20 win vs. Bills

Who stood out most in the Jaguars’ massive 25-20 win against the Bills?

The Jacksonville Jaguars got a massive win in London, beating the previously red-hot Buffalo Bills, 25-20.

While it was another game that saw Jacksonville making some crucial errors that wasted offensive opportunities, the Jaguars got points when they needed them late. Trevor Lawrence orchestrated 93- and 75-yard touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to lead the Jaguars to a victory.

The Jaguars defense allowed only seven points through the first three quarters and kept a Bills offense that averaged 41 points in the last three weeks to less than half that total Sunday.

Ultimately, the positives vastly outweighed the negatives for the Jaguars in the upset win. Here’s who stood out most for Jacksonville:

5 Jaguars players to watch vs. the Texans in Week 3

Here are five Jaguars players to watch when they look to take down the Texans in Week 3:

The Jacksonville Jaguars now sit at 1-1 with a tilt against the Houston Texans slated for Week 3.

Jacksonville’s electric offense had trouble against the Kansas City Chiefs last week, but its defense kept it in the game. Houston’s team has less firepower on offense and fewer showstoppers on defense, so the Jaguars have a prime opportunity to bounce back.

The Texans fell to 0-2 after they suffered losses to the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts in their first two games of the season.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch in their Week 3 home game versus the Texans:

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce didn’t make any friends in win vs. Jaguars

#Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins was none too pleased with Kelce’s conduct in the #Chiefs’ win over Jacksonville in Week 2.

Travis Kelce is one of the most beloved players in Kansas City Chiefs history but didn’t make any friends in his Week 2 performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

After the game, Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins had some choice words to say about Kelce, who seemed to have gotten under his skin as Kansas City secured its first win of the 2023 season.

“Of course [Kelce is] a good player, but he’s a little too extra, at times,” Jenkins said in an interview with News4Jax after the Jaguars loss. “He gets to disrespecting, he feels like he’s above people. We’re all men out there, let’s just play the game.”

Whatever Kelce said to Jenkins or other members of Jacksonville’s secondary must have really struck a nerve. The All-Pro tight end was flagged for his conduct on the field in the game and may be wise to tone down his bravado in the Chiefs’ Week 3 matchup against the Chicago Bears this weekend.

Rayshawn Jenkins on Travis Kelce: ‘He feels like he’s above people’

Rayshawn Jenkins says he didn’t appreciate Travis Kelce’s disrespect Sunday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars left the field with frustration, embarrassment, and disappointment Sunday after a 17-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. A few words said by Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce during the game only added more irritation in the Jaguars locker room.

“Of course [Kelce]’s a good player, but he’s a little too extra, at times,” Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins told News4Jax. “He gets to disrespecting, he feels like he’s above people. We’re all men out there, let’s just play the game.”

The Chiefs put the game on ice in the final minutes when Patrick Mahomes connected with Skyy Moore on a 54-yard pass that all but guaranteed the Jaguars wouldn’t get another possession. After that play, both Kelce and Jenkins were called for unnecessary roughness penalties.

Tempers flared some more after the final whistle.

“We’ve got dogs on defense, so a lot of guys are not going for that,” Jaguars safety Andre Cisco told reporters. “If you’re calling the guys names, or whatever the case may be. A little bit of that was going on, so guys just have to step up to the plate and just be like, ‘We’re not backing down.'”

Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun said it was clear that Kelce was visibly frustrated throughout the game, but also said it hurt when the tight end was able to point to the scoreboard in the final minutes.

Kelce, who missed Week 1 due to a knee injury, finished his 2023 debut with four receptions for 26 yards. While he scored a 9-yard touchdown early in the second half, the Jaguars felt pretty good about their performance against the eight-time Pro Bowler.

“The stats speak for themselves,” Jenkins told News4Jax. “What did he have, like 26 yards or something like that? I think they all came from zone coverage. Any time he was matched up with me, I handled my business.”

Last season, Kelce caught 20 passes for 179 yards with three touchdowns in two matchups against the Jaguars.

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Studs and duds in the Jaguars’ 17-9 loss vs. Chiefs

Trevor Lawrence didn’t have his best day in a Week 2 loss to the Chiefs.

The Jacksonville Jaguars offense didn’t look like a scary unit in Week 2. It struggled to get out of neutral against the Kansas City Chiefs and never scored a touchdown in the 17-9 loss.

While it was a rough day for the Jaguars, it also wasn’t without its bright spots. A couple players stood out on offense even if they couldn’t find the end zone, and the Jacksonville defense did well to hold the always potent Chiefs to 17 points.

Here are some studs and duds from the Jaguars’ Week 2 home loss against the Chiefs: