Jacksonville Jaguars: Home wins remain hard to come by
By Larry Brake
The Jacksonville Jaguars were hoping to notch back to back wins as they faced the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6, but couldn’t capitalize at home.
The Jacksonville Jaguars, in must-win mode, felt that they could gain a rare win at home in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Rams. After trouncing the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road, there was excitement building prior to the kickoff.
Following the opening kickoff, the confidence and excitement deflated the Jaguars fanbase. The Rams Pharoh Cooper ran practically untouched 103 yards for a touchdown. The EverBank Field faithful collectively thought, “Here we go again!”
The Jaguars played from the 25-yard line after the ensuing Rams kickoff and a touchback. How would Jacksonville respond? Blake Bortles handed the ball to Leonard Fournette and, 75 yards later, the game was tied, 7-7. The stadium erupted with excitement and joyous celebrations.
After the Jaguars defense forced the Rams to punt, Jacksonville had the ball deep in their own territory. The Rams forced the Jaguars offense off the field. Disaster happened as Brad Nortman shanked a 16-yard punt. A long 54-yard field goal then put Los Angeles ahead, 10-7.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
Falling behind off that botched punt and field goal, the Jaguars offense drove the field with a creative selection of plays. From the 22-yard line, they dialed up a screen pass to Chris Ivory who, after a fake jet sweep, scored the go-ahead touchdown.
The Rams, however, scored on a short pass to retake the lead 17-14. How would the home team respond? Both teams traded punts until another troublesome event occurred.
Jacksonville faced a third down deep in their end of the field. Marqise Lee raced across the field looking to catch the pass. The Rams defender made contact prior to the arrival of the pass, but there was no call by any officials on that side of the field. With the missed call, they lined up to punt, but Los Angeles blocked it, coming untouched through the A-gap. LA recovered it and scored to go ahead 24-14, which is how the first half ended.
In the third quarter, lightning struck again, however. The Rams threw a pass over the middle when Telvin Smith dislodged the ball from the receiver. Aaron Colvin came up with the recovery and tried to score — but a whistle was blown. The official, who did not see interference before, called the receiver down by contact.
Next: 2017 NFL Power Rankings: Week 7
The ball was awarded to Jacksonville after a play review, but the damage was done as Colvin’s score didn’t count. Jacksonville traded field goals to end the game, 27-17. For a team who looked so good against Pittsburgh, you’d think that they’d be able to put it together at EverBank. However, this Jaguars team is struggling at home.