Despite a hot start under rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II, the Jacksonville Jaguars find themselves 2-4 and tied for last place in the AFC South. Now coming off two straight losses, the Jaguars are looking to save their season with a win today. Luckily for Doug Marrone, opponents don’t come much easier than the winless Cincinnati Bengals.
After being completely unable to stop Christian McCaffrey Week 5, only to face Alvin Kamara the following game, the Jaguars defense will be looking forward to today’s game against the 32nd ranked rushing attack in the NFL. The Bengals are one of three teams in the entire league to not have a single running play break 20 yards on the ground.
Despite their inability to run the ball, new head coach Zac Taylor has managed to spark some life into the Bengals’ passing offense. Whilst quarterback Andy Dalton hasn’t had A.J Green on the field so far this season, this offense has gone from being ranked 24th in 2018 to 12th in yards through the air.
Stopping the pass will be a major point of contention for the Jaguars, as this is their first game without Jalen Ramsey on the roster following the blockbuster trade that sent the perennial pro-bowler to the Los Angeles Rams.
With the game only a few hours away, here are three Jaguars to watch on defense vs the Bengals:
DE Josh Allen
Per ESPN, the Jaguars rookie has been double-teamed fourth-most out of all pass-rushers this season, which is impressive when considering the talent around him and the fact that he’s garnered four sacks already.
The Bengals have allowed an average of 3.7 sacks per game to start 2019, and to add to their offensive line woes, tackle Cordy Glenn and starting guard John Miller are both inactive for today’s game. With Cincinnati unable to establish the run game or protect their quarterback, the Jaguars will be hoping their top pick from 2019 can capitalize on poor form and injuries to have his third-straight game with a sack.
CB A.J. Bouye
Defensive coordinator Todd Wash made a habit of not allowing A.J Bouye to trail the opposition’s No. 1 receiver throughout Jalen Ramsey’s time in Jacksonville. If Wash continues in that vein then, it will be interesting to see if Bouye can shut down his side of the field Sunday.
Offensive coordinators have made a habit of targeting Tre Herndon in the last three weeks without Ramsey, but Bouye needs to make sure his play doesn’t dip now that he’s going to be matched up against more star wideouts.
A.J Green is still inactive for this game but Tyler Boyd has been largely impressive in his absence. Boyd will be looking to forget a disappointing outing last weekend against the Ravens, where he only had three catches for 10 yards.
If Bouye doesn’t show that he’s still capable of playing at a franchise corner level in the next ten games, whoever is running the Jaguars’ front office may look to use the draft capital to find his replacement.
LB Myles Jack
Myles Jack has had his fair share of struggles since moving to the inside linebacker spot in the Jaguars’ defense. After surrendering over 235 total yards against McCaffrey alongside the rest of the defense, questions continue to arise about his ability to stop opposing running backs.
It can be argued that the Jaguars have missed linebacker Telvin Smith more than they missed Jalen Ramsey in the last three games with the team’s defense unable to get off the field and give their offense the chance to score. That can especially be said about Week 5’s loss against the Carolina Panthers.
Jack is the only player of the stellar 2016 Jaguars’ draft class to have signed a new contract so far and is yet to show why general manager Dave Caldwell felt comfortable giving him a $57 million extension this offseason.
Whilst the Bengals haven’t shown the same potency on the ground this season, running back Joe Mixon is capable of changing games and it will be up to the Jaguars’ front seven, captained by Jack, to stop that from happening.
