Jacksonville Jaguars: Cautious preseason plan goes awry in Baltimore

The Jacksonville Jaguars decided to play it safe with their playmakers but they could not make a play all night in their preseason opener against Baltimore.

The Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Baltimore Ravens, 29-0, in a lackluster performance to begin the 2019 preseason. Head coach Doug Marrone made the decision to play it safe instead of risking injury to a starter. Jacksonville could not find anyone to replace the noted playmakers that were on the sidelines.

Marrone did not play 30 of his players in the first preseason game of 2019, according to Jacksonville.com. Obviously, he did not want to risk losing anyone to a season-ending injury in a meaningless preseason game. However, Marrone probably did not expect to be held scoreless throughout four quarters.

The plan appeared to be simple: Let’s see what the backups can do against the Ravens starters. The Jaguars were never in the game. Perhaps Marrone wanted to see someone elevate their game while in the spotlight. He must have been disappointed.

Gardner Minshew started and played the first half at quarterback. He completed 7-of-14 passes for 46 yards. Tanner Lee and Alex McGough combined for 19 yards on three completions with two interceptions. The Jaguars allowed four quarterback sacks in the game. Jacksonville also ran the ball for only 68 total yards. Alfred Blue ran the ball five times for 20 yards. Ryquell Armstead and Devonte Mays combined for 42 yards on 16 carries.

After the game, Marrone reflected on his team’s performance. John Oehser of Jaguars.com reported the following comments from the head coach:

"“We’ve got to figure out who’s going to be on this team. They’ve got to go out there and they have to compete at a high level, and they have to be able to compete and win when the lights come on.”"

On the defensive side of the ball, the Jaguars allowed only one touchdown. The Ravens starters scored a first quarter touchdown. Jacksonville played better against the Ravens reserves as the game progressed.

Philadelphia comes to town for the next preseason game. Will Marrone continue his safe approach or will he want to give his team a spark? It’ll be interesting to see over the three exhibition contests remaining before the regular season.