A Troubling Start In Jacksonville

by PhoenixJaidin | 8 years ago | 2 Comments

After a solid offseason and winning season that lead to a quick exit in the Wild Card round, the Jacksonville Jaguars looked poised to strike at the AFC South division title again. But a few hiccups at the beginning of this season has lead to a challenging start in the race for the AFC South.

An early loss to the newly rebuilt San Francisco 49ers left Jacksonville fans stunned, as the former 0-16 team upset the big spread favored home Jaguars, 24-20. The #1 overall pick in the draft, quarterback Kasey Johnston finished with 249 yards, a touchdown to Torrey Smith, and an interception nabbed by former AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year, Jalen Ramsey. But it was Carlos Hyde, who plundered for only 54 yards on 18 carries, who found paydirt twice to lead the Niners over the Jaguars. Blake Bortles finished with 301 yards, a pair of touchdowns to two of his wideouts, Allen Hurns and Marqise Lee, and an interception that was taken by safety Eric Reid, effectively ending the game and shutting down the Jaguars chance at a comeback. TJ Yeldon and Chris Ivory split the carries, as Yeldon finished with 75 yards on 17 carries, while Ivory ended with 52 yards on 14 carries.

Reeling from the upset, the Jaguars struggled in their first divisional matchup with the Indianapolis Colts, but managed to pull out the win, 27-21. Bortles completed 16 passes for just 175 yards, throwing a touchdown to Hurns but also getting picked off by linebacker Gerald Hodges Jr on a beautiful deflection play by the Colts defensive line. Yeldon managed just 27 yards on 11 carries, but did score a touchdown, but it was the defense that won the day, as Andrew Luck managed 315 yards and a pair of touchdowns to speedy wideout Phillip Dorsett, but also got picked off 3 times, including 2 to Myles Jack and a pick six to rookie corner Roshawn Avant, the Jaguars' second round draft pick.

After another poor showing, Coach Phoenix came down on his team hard in the review room, and they spent the entire week figuring out what needed to change. And in their second divisional match of the season, it proved fruitful as the team looked like the Jaguars of last season, beating the Houston Texans 39-14. Bortles finished with 294 yards and three touchdowns, finding Hurns, Rashad Greene, and Julius Thomas for scores, while star wideout Allen Robinson lead the team with 85 yards on 4 catches. Balancing the pass game was Yeldon, who recorded his first 100 yard game of the season, as he ended with 124 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Meanwhile the defense hounded rookie signalcaller Trett Lowry of the Texans, as he finished with only 135 yards and 2 touchdowns (though the system somehow recorded a 3rd for him on a close call play to Braxton Miller that was overturned), but he also got picked off 4 times, as linebacker Christian Jones and Prince Amukamara each grabbed one and Ramsey grabbed two.

With all the momentum, the Jaguars looked ahead to their third divisional round as they were to face off with the Tennessee Titans, but just before game time, both coaches went down with food poisoning after sharing a meal together with their families. The result was an ugly battle between the two teams' assistant coaches that ended with a Titans victory, 24-21. Neither team ran particularly well, as Yeldon finished with 77 yards on 28 carries, but did score, while new veteran fullback Anthony Fasano plunged in on a four yard run to score as well. Bortles was picked off by Jason McCourty but did find his slot receiver Marqise Lee for a touchdown, along with 138 yards throughout the game. Marcus Mariota was less than stellar, but managed to lead his team to victory in the end, as he threw a touchdown to Tajae Sharp while also running a touchdown in himself. He was picked off, however, as veteran safety, Tashaun Gipson, who has found himself amidst trade block rumors, pulled it down, as did rookie safety Diamond Bragg.

After the disastrous food poisoning incident, Coach Klepper was able to return for the game against the home defending Seahawks, but it wasn't his usual game, as he was still struggling with exhaustion and hangover-like effects. Double that with the early game time, and he found himself struggling to focus and lead his team, and gave Bortles a poor play, that led to his pick for the day, which was grabbed by veteran linebacker KJ Wright. Yeldon, however, saved the day as he toted the ball 16 times for 110 yards and a pair of scores, and led his team to victory over the Seahawks, 16-14. Julius Thomas was the big name in the game as he grabbed 7 catches for 140 yards, including a huge wheel route that set up the Jaguars for their first score in the 3rd quarter. In a crazy sequence of events, Russell Wilson managed to lead his team on a huge final drive that culminated in his one touchdown, a long throw into the end zone where Jermaine Kearse outjumped Ramsey and came down with the score. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, as early game kicking issues on both sides settled the score, with the Jaguars kicker, Jason Myers, missing an extra point to leave the game open, but the Seahawks kicker Randy Bullock missed a go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter.

Trying to get over the hump, as his decorated team that was projected to be sitting atop a pretty 4-1 record with a possible 5-0 start, were upset by the newly revigorated 49ers and a case of missing-coach-itis in a crucial divisional matchup with last year's AFC South runner ups, the Titans, the Jaguars now look forward to finishing strong, with their coach back to full health. But it all starts with week 6, as they turn around and immediately get their healthy rematch with the Titans. After that, they run into Foxborough and do battle with the New England Patriots, before enjoying a bye week. Then, weeks 9 and 10 finish their divisional duels as they host the Houston Texans before traveling to Indianapolis to bring the battle to the Colts' front door.

Expected to really turn it up and make the jump into the elite discussion, Bortles has started slow once more, finishing 5 games with just 7 touchdowns to 4 interceptions and a paltry 1245 passing yards. At the rate he is on, he is projecting to throw just 22 touchdowns, to 13 interceptions, and just under 4000 passing yards. To repeat the success he has enjoyed the last few seasons, he will need to not only step up his game, but find a way to get his favorite star wideout involved in the dangerous Jaguars passing attack, as Allen Robinson has yet to score a touchdown, and is averaging a measley 52 yards a game.

TJ Yeldon is showing the same drive he had last season that produced solid, stellar results, as he is projected to finish the year with over 1300 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. Meanwhile, with so few touchdowns going around, it's hard to say who will benefit the most, but for now, Allen Hurns leads the way with 3 touchdowns, Marqise Lee has a pair of scores, and Rashad Greene and Julius Thomas have each found paydirt once.

Defensively, this was the unit that was supposed to surpass the success the Jaguars had last year, both stuffing the run and guarding the air. Paul Posluszny, John Simon, and Telvin Smith each have 2.5 sacks while Dante Fowler Jr has 2 himself. Rookie frontman Jacorie Ballard has just 1 sack, but also recovered a fumble for a touchdown. Jalen Ramsey leads the defense with 3 interceptions, and Myles Jack has taken 2 away. Veterans Christian Jones, Tashaun Gipson, and Prince Amukamara have each nabbed an interception, but the shining spots are rookie Diamond Bragg who has one interception, and rookie Roshawn Avant, who also has one interception, but scored with his pick six on his very first recording interception of his young career.

Moving forward, this team now has a lot to prove and needs to do so quickly in order to stay on top of their division. With a quick stretch of games that will settle the divisional records, Jacksonville hopes to emerge out of week 10 with a firm grip on the divisional tie breakers and a challenging records to support their claim to the divisional title. We'll be back with more after week 10!