The Jacksonville Jaguars once again came up short Week 13, falling to the Minnesota Vikings in overtime by a score of 27-24. That put the team at a record of 1-11 on the season, which is the first time in team history that has happened.
However, despite having an eyesore of a record, there were some standouts on both sides of the ball. For Pro Football Focus, the biggest of those standouts were tight end James O’Shaughnessy on offense and cornerback Tre Herndon on defense as both players garnered the highest grades of their respective units.
#Jaguars highest graded players on Offense and Defense yesterday were:
🔹TE James O'Shaughnessy 90.3
🔹CB Tre Herndon 85.6#JAXvsMIN #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/hsFf6fPxsI— PFF JAX Jaguars (@PFF_Jaguars) December 7, 2020
O’Shaughnessy’s high grade has come as veteran quarterback Mike Glennon has favored him as a target since entering the lineup. In fact, one of the reasons the veteran quarterback could be starting over Gardner Minshew II is because of his ability to connect in the middle of the field a tad better. While Minshew is a quarterback who can make something out of nothing on occasions, a weakness for him this season has been his inability to connect in the interior of the field.
O’Shaughnessy ultimately ended up with four catches for 41 yards (a season high), which was good for third on the team. He was targeted six times overall (the most all season) and was able to haul in one of the longest passes of the day for 24 yards.
Herndon, who took the field for his third consecutive start Sunday, was a noticeably active tackler and led the team in the category. He ultimately finished the game with nine in all (one of which was in the backfield) and a pass breakup.
With the Jags being without their best cornerback, Sidney Jones IV, Herndon’s performance certainly helped the Jags, who fared pretty well against Kirk Cousins and the Vikings’ offense early in the game. They held the unit to 115 total yards by the half and Herndon is one of the player who definitely contributed to their struggles to get going.