The Jaguars vs Packers week eight matchup is primed to be a high-scoring affair, with Jacksonville looking to win consecutive games for the first time in 2024.
Jaguars vs Packers Week Eight: How The Jaguars Can Maintain Momentum
How The Jaguars Can Maintain Momentum vs Packers
From their week seven victory over the New England Patriots, the Jacksonville Jaguars have another chance to build upon positive momentum. Their first win against the Indianapolis Colts was their first shot at building momentum, but they followed it up with a loss in London in the Jaguars and Bears week six matchup. The Chicago Bears have been one of the better teams in the NFL, but they remain at the bottom of the NFC North. Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers are third in the North but are near the top of the league’s standings thanks to their strong start. For the Jaguars in week eight, they are facing the best third-place team in the NFL.
Jacksonville has a tough matchup, but this game has a couple of important aspects that can lead to a massive day for the offense and the defense. For the Jaguars, there are many interesting matchups on offense and defense. But, there are a few key matchups that are imperative for Jacksonville to win if they want to find success against a tough Packers team back in Jacksonville.
Jaguars Keys To Victory: Capitalizing on Love’s Mistakes
There might not be a bigger gunslinger than Jordan Love. He’s taken up the role Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers left behind to create a massive offensive environment, but he’s more prone to making mistakes. In just five games, Love had 15 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions. There are only two other quarterbacks in the NFL with the same interception total; Gardner Minshew and Patrick Mahomes. Love’s 15 touchdowns are tied for second in the NFL with Lamar Jackson, and three behind Baker Mayfield. Love is an aggressive passer, and isn’t afraid of making mistakes. The Jaguars need to capitalize on the mistakes Love will eventually make.
With Tyson Campbell back, Jarrian Jones coming off his best game of 2024, and Ronald Darby and Montaric Brown rounding out the corner room, the Jaguars secondary is much better off than they were early in the season. Another huge piece of the defense has been the improvement of Andre Cisco from his early season struggles. He’s been one of the best players on defense over the past two weeks. His presence helps the defense immensely, and with Darnell Savage and Antonio Johnson getting off to rough starts in 2024, his recent play is imperative to defensive success.
Between the defensive backfield beginning to come together, and the gunslinging nature of Love, the Jaguars’ defense should be in a position to get some interceptions and takeaways, something the Jaguars haven’t done a lot of in 2024. The defensive backfield role Sunday against the Packers is the most important matchup of the day for both teams. If the Jaguars’ corners and safeties can play good coverage and force an interception or two, the Jaguars would likely win. This is especially the case because of the issues the Jaguars defense line will have against a strong Packers offensive line.
Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen have been decent pass rushers, but the Packers offensive line is a strong unit, one that seldom allows pressure to turn into negative plays. With the Jaguars unlikely to generate consistent pressure, it’s imperative that the Jaguars’ defensive backs can maintain tight coverage. If the Packers’ deep wide receiver room, made up of Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, and Dontayvion Wicks, can create separation, the Jaguars won’t be in a position to succeed. Not only will they have to worry about a deep wide receiver room, but Love also has Tucker Kraft and Josh Jacobs as options in the passing game. It’s an efficient, dynamic, and diverse offensive skill group. Jacksonville will have their hands full containing Love regardless of the weapons, but the receiving options out of Green Bay will give the Jaguars defense a much tougher task of slowing down one of the best offenses in the NFL.
Jaguars Key to Victory: Get The Ball to Engram and Thomas
The Jaguars passing offense has been a lot better ever since the Colts game, and it’s been stabilizing in recent weeks. With a dominant win over the Patriots, the Jaguars offense is taking steps in the right direction. One of the main catalysts for the offense’s improvement has come from two players; Evan Engram and Brian Thomas Jr.
When Engram returned against the Bears, the offense saw a much more consistent outlook, and the Patriots game showcased how much better the offense can function with him settling into his role. Thomas has also been not just the Jaguars’ best receiver, but he’s arguably been one of the best rookies in the NFL through seven weeks.
After the Jaguars’ loss to the Buffalo Bills that sent the Jaguars into a downward spiral, there were a lot of concerns with the offense. Those concerns only got worse after the Jaguars lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Houston Texans. The conversation heading into the Jaguars’ London games was whether this offensive scheme could work. Doug Pederson and Press Taylor were on the hot seat, and the Jaguars were on the verge of collapse. But, once Engram returned and Thomas settled into his role, the offense finally began to click.
The reason why it began to work is evident in the roles of all the players on offense. The Jaguars identity is to run the ball, use play action, and throw down the field. The beginning of the season was rough with poor accuracy and Thomas struggling to settle into his role. But, after the past two weeks, the offense finally looks like what it was envisioned to be. Thomas is the deep threat down the field and will get the occasional short and intermediate target to keep the defense guessing. Engram on the other hand has slid into Trevor Lawrence‘s safety valve. When he’s looking for check-downs or short targets for quick and easy yards, Engram has been that receiver. Christian Kirk had that role early, but the Jaguars have finally gotten their tight end back, and Engram has taken over that safety valve role.
Gabriel Davis has been a frustrating receiver for Jacksonville, and he’s slowly becoming more of a sacrificial ‘X’ wide receiver. That is a role that teams use often, but to have 13 million dollars tied up in that role is what makes the Davis signing disappointing. His drops have been a major issue, especially with many coming in the end-zone. But, between the return of Engram and the ascension of Thomas, the Jaguars passing offense has finally found its identity.
In a matchup against a tough Packers defense, Thomas will have his hands full trying to get separation from Jaire Alexander. Engram will most likely draw some attention in the slot from Keisean Nixon and when lined up as an in-line tight end, he will see a combination of Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie.
Xavier McKinney is arguably the most important part of the Packers’ defense. McKinney started 2024 off with a record, recording interceptions in five straight games to open the season. He can cover nearly anyone and has been one of the best safeties in the NFL so far. His role can be as a deep safety, lining up in the slot, or the box. His flexibility and skill level make him a massive defensive piece to account for.
It’ll be a tough matchup for Jacksonville, but sticking with the game plan of getting the ball to Thomas and Engram is the path to success. With a run game reinvigorated thanks to Tank Bigsby, the Jaguars should have no problem running the ball against a Packers defense that is the eighth-worst run defense according to Pro Football Focus.
It’ll be a tough task for Jacksonville to beat the high-powered Packers, but following the game plan of getting Thomas, Engram, and Bigsby the ball on offense is the best path forward for Jacksonville. It’s projected to be a shootout, and the Jaguars’ offense skill players will need to play their best ball of 2024 if they want to build upon momentum and win their third game, and the second in a row.
Main Image: © Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images
