Jacksonville Jaguars: Lackluster performances decide defensive struggle
By Larry Brake
The Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Tennessee Titans, 9-6, due to an overall lackluster performance from several key contributors.
After an emotional win against New England last Sunday, expectations were very high for this divisional rivalry game. The Jacksonville Jaguars are on a mission to prove, once again, that they are contenders not pretenders. Jacksonville still has much to prove after this lackluster performance, losing 9-6 to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in Week 3..
Once again, Leonard Fournette did not play due to his hamstring injury. Left tackle Cam Robinson is gone for the season and A.J. Cann did not play either. Aren’t we told that this roster has players who can step up and perform?
The Jaguars defense played well all day long in just giving up three field goals. Calais Campbell recorded two sacks. Jacksonville’s secondary gave up only 100 passing yards. However, they had no help from the offense.
The horizontal running game could not find any momentum. From sideline to sideline, the running backs struggled to find any running lanes. Corey Grant had a difficult time trying to convert on the fake punt as he ran parallel to the line of scrimmage. Grant carried the ball six times for 11 yards. T.J. Yeldon topped all Jaguars in rushing with 44 yards on seven carries. Blake Bortles ran for 27 yards on five carries.
Bortles struggled throwing the ball. He completed 21-of-34 passes for 155 yards. Most of all, he did not throw any interceptions. However, he did not throw a pass for more than 20 yards past the line of scrimmage. According to NFL.com Next Gen Stats, only six of Bortles’ throws were over six yards downfield.
Doug Marrone and his staff must coach more aggressively especially in the play calling. It’s a little crazy that the Jaguars are so inconsistent from week to week. Apparently, this team will perform great on even numbered weeks, unlike last year’s odd numbered week’s performances.
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There’s no doubt that Tennessee is inside the Jaguars head. Good teams find a way to win despite the distractions. Tennessee leads the AFC South division with the 9-6 victory. The season is still young.
Jacksonville host the New York Jets next week. Expect the team to regroup and hopefully Fournette and Cann will play.