The Jacksonville Jaguars continued their losing ways Week 13 as they fell to the Minnesota Vikings by the score of 27-24. The game was another extremely close one for the Cardiac Cats as they lost their fifth game by less than four points on the year.
The Jags fell to 1-11 on the year and have lost eleven games straight firmly entrenching themselves in the race to draft one of the top quarterback picks in the 2021 NFL Draft. Those draft picks could either be Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence or Ohio State Buckeyes signal-caller Justin Fields.
As usual, the Jaguars had some players who stood out Sunday despite the loss, while other notable players also struggled Week 13. Here are the winners and losers of Sunday’s matchup with the Vikings which ended up going into overtime:
Winner: LB Joe Schobert
One of the Jags’ biggest free-agent acquisitions has been former Cleveland Browns Pro Bowler linebacker, Joe Schobert. Schobert, who signed with Jacksonville this offseason on a five-year $47.5 million deal, currently leads the team in tackles with 57 total and was a force on the field against the Vikings. Schobert finished the game with 12 tackles, one sack, and a pivotal 43-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Schobert also teamed up with fellow standout linebacker Myles Jack to hold Vikings running back Dalvin Cook to 3.7 yards per carry and no touchdowns. Cook was the No. 2 running back in yardage coming into the game against the Jags with 1,130. While he finished the day with 120 yards rushing overall, he was bottled up early in the first half as he was held to only 21 yards rushing when looking at the first two quarters. Schobert and Co. did a fine job minimizing the amount of running lanes that Cook and the Vikings offense had early in the game.
While the veteran’s arrival in Jacksonville has been a mixed bag, he had a standout day against the Vikings and did his part to try and get Jacksonville the victory.
Loser: Luq Barcoo
It has been a tough year so far for Jaguars undrafted rookie cornerback Luq Barcoo.
After having a tough time in the early stages of Week 12’s game against wide receiver Jarvis Landry but later settling down, the San Diego State standout would struggle again Week 13. However, it didn’t come as a shock when considering his playtime in comparison to who he was covering in Vikings rookie receiver and ascending star Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson was surgical in his route running against Barcoo and the secondary, finishing the game with nine receptions for 121 yards. However, one of his highlight plays of the day came in the form of a 20-yard touchdown from Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Barcoo also gave up a huge 40-yard reception to Jefferson where Cousins simply dropped the ball right where it needed to be. That set up running back C.J. Hamm for a touchdown on the next play.
Due to a rash of injuries in the Jags secondary, Luq Barcoo has been called upon to step up more, however, it has been quite the trial by fire. Time will tell if he can improve in the coming weeks.
Winner: Dawuane Smoot
Jaguars defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot has developed into quite the underrated sack artist.
The third-year player out of Illinois University may have had his best game Week 13 as he finished the game with four tackles, two hits on the quarterback, and two sacks. When looking at his season overall, Smoot now leads the Jags with 4.5 sacks after Sunday’s game against the Vikings.
With the defense ravaged by injuries, Smoot has been called upon to apply pressure in the pass-rush and he has been successful in doing so. He now has a sack in back-to-back games after getting a sack against the Browns, too.
Loser: Mike Glennon
After a solid performance last week against the Browns, Jags quarterback Mike Glennon took a step back against the Vikings.
While the overall stat line wasn’t far from terrible as Glennon accumulated a 66.7% completion rate with 280 passing yards and a touchdown, he threw two very costly picks and made some critical mistakes down the stretch.
The first interception was a throw intended for tight end Tyler Eifert that was unfortunately ripped away by Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler. However, the second was a blatant misfire to receiver D.J. Chark Jr. that was easily taken away by Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith in overtime.
Glennon also took a safety in the fourth quarter after a fumble and two punts on the preceding drives. The journeyman signal-caller also contributed to the turnover issues even more by fumbling late in the third quarter. That fumble would then lead to a Vikings’ touchdown by Jefferson.
If it weren’t for the myriad of turnovers from Glennon, he would have had a great game as he and the Jags were spectacular in the first half with 162 yards passing and outperformed Cousins for much of the game. The result from Sunday’s game shows that there are still problems behind center for the Jaguars that will not be solved this season.