Jacksonville Jaguars: Overtime loss stings, but could have been worse

The Jacksonville Jaguars fell in overtime to the New York Jets, 23-20. If not for the Jags’ heroic fourth quarter, though, it could have been worse.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were looking to move to a 3-1 record heading into their Week 4 game. Jacksonville’s first possession looked great as it ended in a touchdown. Afterwards, the Jaguars offense drifted into mediocrity, however, and eventually fell to a 2-2 record. Yet, they’re still tied for first place in the AFC South division.

At the start of the matchup, the Jaguars defense held the New York Jets offense on their first possession. The Jets offense ran three plays and punted. Jacksonville took over at their own 39-yard line. Blake Bortles, the good Bortles, threw a touchdown pass to Leonard Fournette. Jason Myers added the extra point to go ahead 7-0. Bortles ran and threw the ball very efficiently in the first drive.

Lightning struck on the Jets first play from scrimmage. Bilal Powell ran 75 yards for a touchdown. The play was reviewed, showing that Powell was not down by contact as he got up to run untouched into the end zone.  After both teams traded field goals, the Jets ripped another long touchdown run to lead 17-10.

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The Jets added another field goal — and then the Jaguars defense woke up. Myles Jack scooped an errant lateral pass and scored. Later, A.J. Bouye intercepted a pass, which led to the game-tying field goal in the fourth quarter. The Jacksonville defense played well enough for a Jaguars victory.

In addition to forcing seven turnovers, Jacksonville recorded five sacks. Bouye’s interception breathed life into the Jaguars when things looked grim. However, a late penalty on Paul Posluszny sealed the Jaguars defeat, 23-20.

As good as the defense was, there were issues on offense. The Jaguars abandoned the running game early. After the Jets tied the game, Jacksonville decided to give the passing game a try.  Instead of pounding the ball, like on the first possession, they threw away any momentum.

Bortles threw the ball 35 times for 140 yards and an interception. He completed just 15 passes for an average of 9.3 yards per completion. His interception was also nearly his 12h pick-six of his career.

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It also appears that the Jaguars have decided to utilize the running back-by-committee approach. This approach may prolong Fournette’s NFL career, but why is Chris Ivory running the ball on third-and-1? Fournette was drafted to be the featured running back — let him play that role. L

et’s hope that Fournette gets more carries in that type of situation in the upcoming games.