From setbacks before they stepped on the field, to poor offensive play and self-inflicted wounds, there is plenty to discuss in the Jacksonville Jaguars week two analysis.
Jacksonville Jaguars Week Two Analysis: An Unmitigated Disaster
After the Miami Dolphins beat the Jaguars on a game-winning field goal, Jacksonville needed a rebound. Leading up to the Jaguars’ week two matchup against the Cleveland Browns, the stadium Ever Bank got a renaming to TrEver Bank. In pregame warmups, Jaguars star tight end Evan Engram tweaked his hamstring and was ruled out immediately. While fantasy football managers scrambled to find another injury replacement, the Jaguars were forced into the same boat to see the backup tight end take over for the injured Engram. Losing a star offensive player right before the game is always terrible and the Jaguars had already gotten off to a bad start before even taking the field for the first play.
The game didn’t go much better, with the defensive line being the only part of the Jaguars team, aside from Brian Thomas Jr, to contribute anything positively consistently. The offense was completely inept and the playcalling was arguably worse. For years now, the Jacksonville faithful have been wondering who is calling plays and Doug Pederson has always played coy with the media and fans. But, another disastrous performance from what should be a good offense on paper, has led many to draw comparisons with the final year of his tenure in Philadelphia. It was widely reported that Pederson was fired from the Philadelphia Eagles head coaching role in part due to his unwavering commitment and loyalty to Press Taylor. Taylor struggled in Philadelphia and is now struggling in Jacksonville. Trevor Lawrence said it best when he said “we suck” about the Jaguars offense. The offense does suck, but there’s room to improve with a great supporting cast of weapons and quarterback.
The Offensive Woes
The Jaguars offense performed below expectations against the Browns. While the Browns are a great defensive unit, the Jaguars’ offensive unit should be able to move the ball a lot more effectively than they did. Many factors went into how poorly they played, but the most eye-opening phase of the game was the offensive line performance.
After an offseason talking about how improved the offensive line was, they let the Jaguars fans down in week two. Their week one performance was a huge issue as well and one of the main contributors to why they lost a close one against the Miami Dolphins. The most important matchup heading into week two was once again the Jaguars’ offensive line against an incredible defensive front. It was a disappointing performance, where the Jaguars offensive lineman allowed a combined ten pressures. Cam Robinson was especially disappointing, allowing 4 pressures on 35 pass blocking opportunities according to PFF. Robinson was also responsible for two of the three sacks given up by Jacksonville, with the other sack being given up by free-agent acquisition Mitch Morse.
Anton Harrison allowed three pressures, Brandon Scherff allowed two and Morse allowed one pressure on the sack. Ten pressures given up is never a good performance and especially so with how much the Jaguars offense struggled outside of the offensive line issues. When the quarterback is struggling to make the right throw and the play calling is horrendous, the offensive line struggles make moving the ball against a good defense near impossible.
Part of what makes this Jaguars offensive performance through two weeks so frustrating is how great they have been offensively at times. Rookie wide receiver Thomas made some huge plays, with two receptions totaling 94 yards. Brenton Strange, the backup tight end filling in for Engram, had 65 yards on three catches and nearly caught the game-winning hail mary. Gabriel Davis has impressed and the offense has benefitted immensely with his improvement over Zay Jones. Travis Etienne Jr. had a rough week with one fumble, but outside of that one poor play he’s been very solid for Jacksonville in 2024. Tank Bigsby has emerged as a solid backup for Etienne in the running game. Christian Kirk has been underwhelming and is the only offensive weapon to have taken a step back.
Overall, the issues with the offense are plenty and aren’t in one area only. The offense is inconsistent and the protection is subpar. Against lesser defensive units, the Jaguars might find more success. But, it’s going to be an uphill battle for the Jaguars’ offense in 2024 if nothing changes going forward.
Self Sabotage on Both Sides of the Ball
One of the staples of a team struggling is finding ways to self-sabotage. Sometimes it’s a busted coverage, or penalties taking away important plays. The Jaguars’ most self-sabotaging moments came in the form of penalties taking away multiple key plays. On the second drive of the game and the Browns first, the Jaguars got the Browns in a third and 14 situation. The defense gave up 12 yards but stopped the receiver short of the line to gain to set up fourth down. However, Devin Lloyd was flagged for roughing the passer, which set the Browns up inside the three-yard line and gave the Browns an easy touchdown to take the lead.
Later, after the Browns had an offensive holding penalty send them back to first and 18, the Jaguars forced an incompletion, but Montaric Brown filling in for the injured Tyson Campbell was flagged for defensive pass interference. On the very next play, Deshaun Watson completed a pass to David Bell for two yards, but Antonio Johnson was flagged for the Jaguars second roughing the pass penalty. Fortunately for Jacksonville, the Browns squandered a good scoring opportunity with a penalty of their own followed by some incompletions but managed to get into field goal range for a 44-yarder.
Later, with the Jaguars down six and driving down the field, the Jaguars got inside the Browns’ ten-yard line. A six-yard run for D’Ernest Johnson set up a second and goal from the two, where the next and final back-breaking penalty occurred. Lawrence threw a quick out route to Kirk for a touchdown, but due to an illegal shift penalty, it was negated. The following two plays didn’t amount to anything and the Jaguars had to settle for a field goal to make it 16 to 13. Those four points were a huge turning point of the game and one of the many miscues from the Jaguars offense that led to a disastrous loss in the home opener.
What’s Next After A Disastrous Loss?
As with plenty of zero and two teams, the season is far from over. It’ll be an uphill battle, but the Houston Texans in 2023 won the division after a similar start. Jacksonville needs to find its grove and to do so the play calling and pre-snap procedural aspects need to be improved. Team discipline needs to see some improvement and the offensive line can’t continue its disappointing start to 2024. Their next matchup against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night football in Buffalo will be a tough one and could dictate how the rest of the season goes for Jacksonville.
The defensive line is still incredible, with Josh Hines-Allen generating seven pressures and getting one sack, while Travon Walker had four pressures of his own. Foyesade Oluokoun and Devin Lloyd both have been some of the best linebackers in the NFL and Chad Muma has done a good job coming in behind them. Arik Armstead is slowly warming up and beginning to find his place along the Jaguars defensive front.
With the injuries in the secondary, teams will be passing more on the Jaguars, but the defensive line generating the pressure they have through two weeks is an encouraging sign going forward. If there’s one positive to take from the first two weeks of the season is how well the Jaguars run defense holds up. As long as the Jaguars can limit the run game, they should always have a chance to win games even if they play poorly elsewhere, just like their week two performance.
A lot of work needs to be done in the Jaguars long week of practice before a primetime matchup, but with the matchup against the Buffalo Bills being a decent one for Jacksonville, there is a chance the Jaguars can begin to turn their season around with a win in primetime. But, in the meantime, Pederson and the Jaguars will need to figure some of the issues out before their first trip out of Florida for the 2024 regular season.
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