Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 Takeaways from Week 1 vs Texans
By Ryan Disdier
1. This defense is legit
Last year, Jacksonville recorded 33 sacks. Against Houston, the team recorded nine. It was truly impressive to watch, as Tom Savage and Deshaun Watson were harassed for a majority of the day. Five Jaguars had a sack, including newcomer Calais Campbell notching four.
Additionally, Yannick Ngakoue had two sacks and two forced fumbles, and safety Tashuan Gipson nabbed an interception. All around, it was an absolutely dominating performance from the Jaguars. In the first half, Savage really couldn’t do much of anything. Jacksonville’s pass rush was too swarming and too consistent for him to function properly.
As a unit, Jacksonville only allowed 203 net yards of offense. DeAndre Hopkins was held in check, and the Texans were unable to do very much of anything. I don’t think it’s premature to label this defense very good, either. People seemingly forget the Jaguars finished 2016 with the NFL’s sixth-best defense. The group only got better, and the game against Houston shows that.
Next: NFL 2017: Predicting each team's Win-Loss record
Watching the Jaguars pass rush dominate Houston must feel good for fans of the team. However, quarterback ineptitude may have seriously aided the defense in general. Next week, Jacksonville faces a much tougher offensive line, and a much better quarterback in Marcus Mariota. I think that game will be the real indicator of whether this defense can be an elite unit in 2017.