The Jacksonville Jaguars wrapped up another tough matchup Sunday as they faced off against an old AFC foe in the Cleveland Browns. They once again fought valiantly but were unable to capitalize, falling to the Browns by a score of 27-25.
The loss marks the tenth consecutive defeat for the Jags in 2020 as they haven’t tasted victory since their 27-20 Week 1 win against the Indianapolis Colts. The Jags were also eliminated from playoff contention for the eighth time in Shad Khan’s nine years as owner.
Despite the loss, some of the Jaguars players’ stepped up this week, while some did not. Here are the winners and losers from Week 12’s matchup against the Browns:
Winner: QB Mike Glennon
Here’s a name that most Jags fans weren’t expecting in the “winners” category.
Journeyman quarterback Mike Glennon made his first start since 2017, which dates back to when he was with the Chicago Bears. He had a pretty impressive day, going 20-of-35 (57.1%) for 235 yards and two touchdowns. One of his two touchdowns was a beautiful 46-yard strike to rookie wide receiver Collin Johnson, which was the longest pass on the day. It’s also his first multiple touchdown game since 2014 as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While the stats weren’t eye-popping by any measure, Glennon’s ability to play mistake-free football put the Jags in multiple positions to win the game. He didn’t turn the ball over, take any sacks, and also didn’t hesitate to attempt to move the ball downfield as evidenced by his 10 completions that traveled 10 or more yards.
The Jaguars will take on the Minnesota Vikings Week 13 on a road trip to Minneapolis. Depending on how practice shapes up throughout the week, we could either see Glennon again as the starter, or Jags fans could see the return of their enigmatic signal-caller Gardner Minshew II as he recovers from a thumb injury.
Loser: The entire Jaguars secondary
Football is a team game, and on defense, much critical communication is required to prevent big plays. However, the Jaguars’ defense didn’t fare well as Browns receiver Jarvis Landry had a huge game as he finished with 143 receiving yards on eight receptions and a touchdown.
The starting tandem of Luq Barcoo and Tre Herndon had no answer as Landry would eviscerate the Jags defense en route to his first 100-yard game since Week 12 of 2019. Even when the corners gambled and got a decent jump on the ball, Landry was still able to complete catches. The former Pro Bowl receiver has struggled all season as he did not have a touchdown coming into the game against the Jags.
In comparison to past performances, this seemed to be a better outing from the defense, however, it still wasn’t enough to slow down a struggling Jarvis Landry. The Jags ultimately allowed 459 yards and over half of those yards came through the air.
Winnner: The Jaguars’ rookies
The Jaguars came into the league as the youngest team in the NFL, however, their rookies proved to play a vital role in helping them stay in the game.
Johnson had a career day as he torched the Browns’ defense for four receptions and 96 yards to go along with a touchdown. He came into the game with only seven receptions and 69 yards and one touchdown for the entire season.
With fellow wide receivers D.J Chark Jr. and Chris Conley inactive due to rib and hip injuries respectively, the rookie stepped up big to try and help the Jags get the win.
Also contributing heavily to the Jaguars’ offense on the day and the entire season is undrafted free agent running back James Robinson, who has fully staked his claim in the league. Robinson had a magnificent day setting a career-high in scrimmage yards with 159 with 128 of those yards being on the ground. The Illinois State University product also scored a four-yard touchdown to make it 27-25 but the Jaguars were unable to score on the ensuing two-point conversion.
Robinson has been a force all season ranking third in the NFL in rushing yards coming into the game with 762. His performance on Sunday will push him even closer to every running back’s goal of a 1,000-yard rushing season. He has already made history this year being one of five undrafted rookies in history to record 1,000 total scrimmage yards in a season.
Even though the Jags are a young team, the rookies showed up against the Browns, and hopefully, they can be utilized more in the coming weeks.
Loser: Doug Marrone
Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone might start seeing the writing on the wall soon.
After the loss to the Browns, the Jaguars relieved general manager Dave Caldwell of his duties, ending a seven-year tenure with the team. Former San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke will be the interim for the time being. Generally, when a prominent front office person is fired, the coach is not too far behind and that could mean bad news for the job security of Marrone.
Marrone’s coaching tactics also have not been indicative of someone who is fighting for their job. Simply put, he showed a lack of aggression this Sunday against the Browns when some fans expected more.
There was one instance where the Jags’ offense were in scoring territory on their six-yard line when Marrone decided to settle for a 24-yard field goal by kicker Aldrick Rosas. The offense put on an impressive 11-play, 69-yard drive and the chance to put up some meaningful points could have changed the result of the game.
The Jaguars’ front office seems intent on letting Marrone finish out the season and only time will tell what they decide to do in the offseason about his job status. Losing a close game like this against the Browns most likely will not help those matters.