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Jacksonville’s West Coast woes reared their head again on Sunday as the team fell to 2-10 on the season with a 37-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Once again, the Jaguars’ offense was completely inept, and while the defense had played better in recent weeks, the shorthanded group was exposed against an elite Los Angeles offense.
The Rams got out to an early 10-0 lead, and it looked like rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence would have to fight his way out of a deficit yet again. The team responded with a touchdown drive, but that was all the offense it would manage for the rest of what was possibly the most futile game in what has been an entirely futile season.
Beating one of the best teams in the NFL was likely never in the cards, but the complete lack of competitiveness is certainly a cause for concern. The Jags looked entirely overmatched on both sides of the ball, and as long as that’s the case, things aren’t going to get much better in Jacksonville.
Here are the takeaways and notes.
No sign of improvement on offense
If you were hoping to see Lawrence and the offense take a step forward against what is probably the best front four in football, you were sorely disappointed on Sunday. Outside of the 13-play, 73-yard touchdown drive, there wasn’t much to talk about.
Lawrence completed 16 of his 28 passes for 145 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, while running back James Robinson was active but limited, seeing just eight carries for 24 yards. Carlos Hyde saw nine carries for 24 yards as well, though he did find the end zone for Jacksonville’s lone score.
It wasn’t a great game for the offensive line against a unit that features Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd, and Von Miller. Though it only gave up two sacks, the Rams’ defense was credited with six quarterback hits.
It’s hard to have many expectations for an offense that just gets even more shorthanded each week, but the lack of talent on that side of the ball continues to hinder Lawrence’s development as a rookie.
The defense couldn’t slow the Rams down
This is a Rams offense that has struggled in recent weeks, but as has been the case for many struggling offenses this season, this represented a “get-right” game for the unit. Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who had thrown pick-sixes in each of the last three games, bounced back in a big way.
He was 26-of-38 passing for 295 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, the NFL’s leading receiver, Cooper Kupp, did a lot of damage and finished the game with 129 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
But the Rams’ success on offense wasn’t just through the air. Running back Sony Michel had 121 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Jacksonville’s defense has been a lot better in recent weeks, but this game showed quite a bit of regression, albeit against a very talented offense.
The Jags have been getting a lot of pressure over the back half of the season, but they only sacked Stafford once and were only credited for two hits on the quarterback. Some defensive struggles in this game were to be expected, especially with cornerback Shaquill Griffin out, but the team didn’t show much life on that side of the ball on this one.
Other notes
- Without Griffin in the fold, Tyson Campbell and Nevin Lawson got to start on the outside. Both had to exit the game with injuries at some point, but Lawson really struggled when on the field. He gave up touchdowns to both Van Jefferson and Odell Beckham Jr., though the pair was held largely in check outside of that. It was a tough matchup for an inexperienced cornerback group, but it certainly showed why this team needs Griffin in the fold.
- The offensive line took another major hit in this game as center Brandon Linder left with a back injury. He was listed as questionable to return, but he didn’t see the field again after exiting in the first half. Linder spent a good portion of the season on injured reserve, returning to the fold last week. Meanwhile, Will Richardson saw snaps at right guard where Ben Bartch (who possibly sustained an injury) had been previously taking snaps. However, that didn’t seem to change much and isn’t likely to be permanent.
- Laquon Treadwell had another very solid game, and he’s been Lawrence’s favorite target the last couple of games. He had four catches for 62 yards, followed by Laviska Shenault Jr. with 30 yards on three catches. No one else in the receiving corps had more than 13 yards.
- With Dan Arnold now on injured reserve, the recently returned James O’Shaughnessy saw the bulk of the work at tight end, but he had just two catches on six targets for 13 yards. We haven’t gotten to see a lot of O’Shaughnessy this season, as he went on the injured reserve after Week 2 and just returned this week.
- Though Lawrence didn’t have any turnovers, the Jags had three fumbles with one each coming from Lawrence, Robinson, and Hyde. The fumbles by Robinson and Hyde were lost, and the former has now lost fumbles in back-to-back games after not losing any in his career prior to last week.
