The Jacksonville Jaguars fell to 2-4 on the season Sunday after a low-scoring affair with the New Orleans Saints. It was a game they desperately could’ve used in a tight AFC South division, but they weren’t able to get it done in front of the home crowd and now they’ll need to do some soul searching Week 7. Before we move on into next week’s opponents, here are three takeaways from the Jags’ loss to New Orleans Sunday:
Gardner Minshew II finally looked like a rookie
The “Minshew Mania” movement went into this game strong, but the young rookie finally had the game we were all expecting to see at least a few times this season. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and head coach Sean Payton came into Sunday’s game with the mindset to make Minshew play within the pocket and throw some different looks at him, and it worked for them tremendously.
Minshew was 14-of-29 for 163 yards on the day and wasn’t able to register a single touchdown. He also threw his first interception as a starter, which came as a result of slightly overthrowing DJ Chark in the middle of the field.
The Saints definitely deserve some credit for putting their defenders on the defensive line in the right spots to keep Minshew from getting out of the pocket. As we’ve seen in the past, he can be dangerous and slippery when he can extend plays, but by making him play from the pocket more, they were able to rattle the rookie. Luckily for him, he’ll have a chance to bounce back against a winless Cincinnati Bengals team on the road and hopefully get back in a groove.
The Saints did a good job keeping DJ Chark and Leonard Fournette in check
The Jags came into Sunday’s game ranked tenth in passing (254.6 YPG), eighth in rushing (138 YPG) and sixth in total yards (392.6 YPG), but they hadn’t run into a defense as talented as this Saints’ defense, which I’ll admit I underestimated. Our comrade over at Saints Wire, Jon Sigler, told us that the Saints’ secondary was getting better by the week, and that was on full display Sunday.
Cornerback Marshon Lattimore had an especially strong day while mostly covering DJ Chark. After previously holding his own against Dallas Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper and Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans, he came into Sunday’s game battle tested and held Chark in check. By the end of the game, the second-year receiver only had three catches for 43 yards, a season low for him. Meanwhile, Lattimore denied Minshew, Chark and company through the air, ending his day with three tackles, an interception and three pass breakups.
Additionally, the Saints did a good job of keeping a red-hot Leonard Fournette in check as a rusher. He was only able to garner 72 yards over 20 touches, but the most important factor that helped was the fact that the Saints’ defense didn’t let him eat them up after contact and denied him of the huge chunk plays we’ve seen lately.
With Fournette being the engine of the offense, the Jags are going to need to get him going again next week because typically, when he’s rumbling, they have great offensive success. As a leader of the locker room, he’s owned up to his responsibilities quite well this year and fans can bet their bottom dollar that he’ll put the work in going forward to get the Jags back on track.
The Jags’ defense did their part, but they lack the game-changing ability we say in 2017
After a horrendous showing against Christian McCaffrey and company Week 5, the Jags’ defense was a huge concern heading into this game, but they certainly did enough to win Week 6’s game. They held Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray to just 75 yards on the ground and the Saints in general to just 104 rushing yards. That’s significantly better than the 285 yards they gave up on the ground to Carolina.
They also only gave up one touchdown on the day, which came late as quarterback Teddy Bridgewater connected with tight end Jared Cook early in the fourth quarter. Aside from that touchdown, the Saints were only able to register two field goals earlier in the game, which gave them a total of 13 points. That said, fans can’t even pin this one on Todd Wash and company, especially when considering the Jags didn’t make the most of their deep drives on offense.
My only concern with the Jags’ defensive performance Sunday was the lack of impact turnovers like the ones we saw in 2017. Those types of plays have been missing for quite some time, and in instances like Sunday’s game, they could be what ultimately garners a win. Still, this loss doesn’t fall on them in anyway.
