After a 1-0 start to the season and a win against division rival Houston, the Jaguars returned home to Everbank, in hopes of starting the season 2-0. For the Jaguars, things couldn't have gone worse in their week two matchup against the Titans. If you're on social media you might be under the impression that dooms day is upon us, but I'm here to tell you it's not -- heck, we're only two games into the season. The Jaguars are still 1-1, tied for first in the division, and have a favorable upcoming schedule. But let's take a look back at what went wrong on Sunday against the Titans.
1. The Jaguars were out physicaled by the Titans at the point of attack. A week after the Jaguars lines on both sides of the ball handled their business in Houston, the Titans returned the favor by pushing the Jaguars off the ball time and time again in the pass game and wearing them out with the ultra physical runners DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry. The Jaguars newest moniker "Sacksonville" fell flat on it's face Sunday. The only sack recorded by a Jaguar was earned by Myles Jack. Not one of the Jaguars fearsome defensive lineman were able to get home against the slithery Marcus Mariota. On the other side of the ball the Jaguars offensive line wilted. They struggled to create running lanes against the Titans front seven and took their turns missing assignments. Cam Robinson was noticeably beat several times by pass rusher Brian Orakpo. This was a reality check for both lines of scrimmage. The Jaguars offensive line only gave up two sacks on the day, but they were clearly not up to snuff in this one. How they respond will be telling. 2. The Jaguars really miss Allen Robinson. Against a team that plays competent defense, the Jaguars couldn't establish any rhythm through the air. There were several drops by receivers, again, and Blake Bortles greatly struggled. He threw 2 interceptions and lost a fumble on a strip sack. It seems like negative plays just find Blake Bortles. Without his safety valve, Allen Robinson (out for the season with a torn ACL) Bortles was lost and so was the offense. A-Rob was the best player on the offensive side of the ball for the Jaguars this offseason and preseason, and not having him against the Titans quality defense rendered the Jaguars offense ineffective. Now, the final result makes it appear as if the game was never in question, but the Jaguars were in the game until late in the third quarter. If Allen Robinson had played the Jaguars offense surely would have earned a few more first downs, and might have been able to put up a TD prior to the game being out of hand. 3. The secondary needed this reality check. After an absolutely dominating effort by the Jaguars DBs in week one, the Jaguars cornerbacks and safety feel back down to earth. Each player was beaten at least one, most of them more than once. Marcus Mariota expertly extended plays and lets his receivers work themselves open. His completion percentage wasn't all that impressive, but he guided the Titans offense to an average of 6 yards per play on the day and shredded the Jaguars when it mattered most. AJ Bouye and Jalen Ramsey need to come out much stronger against the Ravens in week three. BONUS TAKE: 1. The Jaguars, again, were called for 10 penalties in this one. They've now racked up 20 penalties in just two weeks, many of which have extended drives for opponents or stalled drives by the Jaguars. This team is play undisciplined football right now - if they hope to compete for a playoff spot, they'll need to greatly reduce the penalties. What's your biggest takeaway from the Jaguars week two loss? Let us know in the comments below! |
This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of CookiesSHOP GENJAGPODCASTPowered by RedCircle LATEST VIDEOTWITTER
Voted #1 Blog in Jax
|