The Jacksonville Jaguars made their second consecutive road trip Sunday and traveled a few states north to the Carolina Panthers. The game resulted in a 34-27 loss despite a valiant effort by the Jags’ offense. Now, the team will return home to take on the New Orleans Saints in an attempt to get back to .500.
However, before we start looking ahead, here are three takeaways from Week 5’s nail-biter at Bank of America Stadium:
Todd Wash isn’t getting it done with elite talent, and it’s probably time to part ways
Sunday marked another performance where Jags fans were left scratching their heads and wondering why the team’s elite defense didn’t get the job done against the run. The unit gave up a total of 285 yards on the ground and 176 of those came from running back Christian McCaffrey, who the Jags had no answer for late in the game. No. 2 running back Reggie Bonnafon also had his way with the team, accumulating 80 yards and a touchdown on the day.
This has led many fans to call for the job of defensive coordinator Todd Wash who has coached up a sporadic unit against the run (and pass), but it’s now getting old. The Jags linebackers found themselves out of their gaps and missing tackles and the result was a game in the “L” column.
Simply put, the Jags can’t be consistent when their best unit isn’t playing to their potential. With him being the team’s defensive coordinator for three seasons, it’s clear Wash has reached his peak with the Jags. If coach Doug Marrone hasn’t begun to internally have that conversation with himself, now is the time as the Panthers’ locker room basically admitted they used the same play calls frequently. That said, getting a coordinator (internally from the current staff) who could simply put the team in a better position and one who has the skills to adapt to the opposition might work wonders for the Jags.
Gardner Minshew II kept the Jags in the game, but could’ve won it minus the turnovers
Gardner Minshew II just keeps breaking records and boundaries. During Sunday’s game, he threw for a career-high of 374 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. What was even more impressive was the fact that it came against the league’s top passing defense.
However, Minshew’s noteworthy day didn’t come without its flaws. He had three fumbles on the day, which put the Jags at a 3-0 turnover margin. Simply put, that can’t happen against good teams and Minshew will be the first to admit it.
At the end of the day, Minshew’s day against the Panthers is one he can learn from heading forward and one he can also build on because he still kept the team in the game. That’s an ability the Jags haven’t had at the quarterback position in forever and they should be very optimistic about Minshew heading forward.
DJ Chark is legit, perhaps a top-8 receiver in football
Another reason the Jags were in Sunday’s game until the final whistle was because of receiver DJ Chark. His connection with Minshew got stronger against the Panthers, as they already had momentum prior. The two were able to link up for eight more receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns, and the league’s No. 1 passing defense couldn’t do anything about it.
Chark has shown significant growth from Year 1 to Year 2 and having solid play from Minshew has helped tremendously. It has also helped to have Keenan McCardell coaching him up and a new offensive coordinator in John DeFilippo, who has coached some successful receivers.
In Sunday’s game, Chark made some unreal catches but his most impressive was the one he caught on the Jags’ 1-yard line. He had limited space on the sidelines and was able to snag a ball over Panthers corner James Bradberry and make a dive for the pylon which was just short. Chark’s first touchdown pass was also impressive as he found a soft spot in the Panthers’ defense after running a crisp post-like route to the sidelines.
When looking at the degree of difficulty behind Chark’s catches, it’s hard to find a receiver who can do what he’s done in 2019. On top of that, he’s the AFC’s leader in receiving with 485 yards receiving, which isn’t bad for a player with a rookie starting at quarterback (albeit an impressive rookie).
