The Jacksonville Jaguars’ chances to make the playoffs are slim, but they at least want to go out with a bang this month. They will have a chance to end their four-game losing streak against the Los Angeles Chargers this Sunday but will need some help from their defense, which has looked like a shell of themselves as of late.
Here are four players who the Jags will need to step up come Sunday if they are to defeat the Chargers, who are also looking to end a losing streak of their own:
LB Donald Payne
Donald Payne played lights out while starting in Myles Jack’s place Week 13 against the Tampa Bay Bucs. He was able to accumulate 13 total tackles and a sack and will now be the starter at middle linebacker for the remainder of the season because Jack was placed on injured reserve this week.
With Jack having a terrible showing in the middle this year, it’s unknown if he’ll play there next year, especially with the possibility of the coaching staff being let go. That said, Payne can make his case to start in the middle with a strong day against the Chargers and beyond.
CB A.J. Bouye
With the Chargers passing game being ranked sixth in the league (with an average of 274.2 passing yards a game), the Jags are going to need their best corner, A.J. Bouye, to have a good day.
The No. 1 passing threat for the Chargers will be Keenan Allen and when he’s matched up with Bouye, the veteran corner must be successful. With 76 receptions for 864 yards and five touchdowns to his name, he’s River’s go-to target and neutralizing him will be huge for a Jags win.
In the last meeting between the Jags and the Chargers, Bouye made the play of the game by picking the ball off Rivers in overtime and placing the ball at the Chargers’ 2-yard line for a game-winning Josh Lambo field goal. They will need a similar impact play out of him this time around as the game could be a close one.
EDGE Yannick Ngakoue
If Bouye is going to have success, the pass rushers are going to need to have a strong day and that starts with Yannick Ngakoue, who is the team’s best pure pass-rusher. He’ll come into Sunday’s game with a 73.6 grade via Pro Football Focus, which is one of the highest on the team.
On River’s blindside will be Russell Okung, who isn’t the tackle he once was in his prime. Meanwhile, Ngakoue is currently on a strong stretch where he’s accumulated two sacks and two forced fumbles in the Jags’ last three games. With a new contract in his sights, fans should expect Ngakoue to continue his strong run Sunday.
EDGE Josh Allen
Josh Allen is playing like the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year at the moment and will need to have a big impact on Sunday’s game because of the Chargers’ deadly passing game as mentioned with Ngakoue and Bouye. He currently leads the team in sacks with nine. One of the sacks came in last Sunday’s game against the Bucs, giving him the franchise’s rookie sack record.
The next achievement on Allen’s list will be to get double-digit sacks. He also has a chance to surpass Jevon Kearse’s rookie sack record of 14.5 but will need some multi-sack games along the way. Sunday’s game would be a good place to start with just four games left on the Jags’ schedule.
