Jacksonville Jaguars: Do defenses really win championships?

Can the Jacksonville Jaguars top ranked defense put the team in position to win the NFL championship?

Two weeks ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars were considered to be serious contenders to win the AFC championship. After the lest , Jacksonville is third in the AFC South division. Given how their back-to-back losses have come, the question has to be asked: do defenses really win championships?

Bear Bryant once said that “offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.” Jacksonville has a very good defense. However, they have given up 70 combined points in the last two games.

Last season, the Jaguars defense forced turnovers and scored touchdowns on interceptions and fumble returns. Through six games, Myles Jack has the only defensive touchdown on his interception return in Week 1. The Jaguars have three interceptions as a team in 2018.

Injuries have played havoc with the Jacksonville offense. However, the offense is built to be the power rushing attack. Honestly, the NFL is moving away from that old school type of offense.

Opposing defenses have been able to stack the box and pressure Blake Bortles. With Leonard Fournette injured, the Jaguars are limited into being a short yardage offense. They have too many three-and-outs.

The new wide open attack offenses, like Kansas City, spread the defense to exploit matchups. Jacksonville has speed on defense, but is vulnerable in zone defense coverages. The Kansas City and Dallas offenses gained 828 total yards combined in the last two games against the top ranked Jaguars defense.

Doug Marrone expressed his frustration on the Jaguars performance. John Oehser of Jaguars.com quotes Marrone’s remarks:

"“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know we’re not a well-coached team right now, and that starts with me first. I’m accountable to all of them.”"

Jacksonville must find a creative way to deal with these spread-it-out offenses. They have to think outside their old school box. There is enough talent on the roster for new defensive schemes.

The season is still young and there are plenty of games to correct the current slide. Expect Marrone and his staff to make the right changes going forward.