The Jacksonville Jaguars had their first away game of the regular season against the Houston Texans, which unfortunately resulted in a 13-12 nail-biting loss. The loss now puts the franchise at 0-2 on the season and makes their upcoming game against the Tennessee Titans on a short week a must-win situation. However, before we transition into the Jags’ most despised rivals this week, we must evaluate what went on in Week 2’s game.
Here are five next-day takeaways from the Jags’ heartbreaking loss to the Texans:
Gardner Minshew had a good game given the circumstances
With Minshew Mania rolling with a full head of steam, Gardner Minshew was the biggest story heading into Week 2’s game — and he actually held his own. Was he perfect? No. Did he look like a rookie at times? Sure. At the same time, he made some big boy throws downfield, showed veteran-like poise and gave the Jags a fighting chance. However, the offensive line didn’t protect him and penalties by his teammates made things even more difficult on him.
Minshew ultimately finished the game 23-of-33 for 213 yards and a touchdown. His biggest moment of the game came in the last drive of the game by the Jags as he marched the team down the field on a 14-play drive for 63 yards that ended with a four-yard touchdown catch by DJ Chark Jr. During the drive, Minshew displayed the mix of intelligence, throwing ability, and calmness fans were hoping for, but unfortunately, it ended in heartbreaking fashion as Leonard Fournette fell inches short of the game-winning 2-point conversion.
The Jags’ offensive line was mentally and physically outmatched
The Jags’ front office has been in place long enough to acquire their offensive lineman, however, their hand-picked guys simply aren’t getting the job done in the trenches. Not only did they put their rookie quarterback in several bad predicaments with penalties, but they also were overpowered up front and allowed way too much pressure on him.
The good news is that things should get better on the outside with both young tackles Jawaan Taylor and Will Richardson taking their lumps. Both are essentially in their rookie season when taking into account playing experience and have shown enough promise Week 1 to make fans believe in their upside.
The bad news is that veterans like Brandon Linder (who had a penalty or two), Andrew Norwell (who had a terrible game) and A.J. Cann (who most would say is the line’s weakest link) aren’t playing like the leaders the team needs. Simply put, this will need to be corrected going forward if the Jags are to have a fighting chance for the playoffs.
Leonard Fournette is not looking like a first-round selection should
The offensive line was an issue in itself, but Fournette also didn’t look overly impressive either. Most of the top-tier running backs in the league have a certain sense for how to approach the line of scrimmage (a balance of patience and acceleration) and they also know how to create yardage, however, Fournette has seemingly struggled to develop that part of his game. Meanwhile, Carlos Hyde (who also has a very questionable offensive line) somehow managed to almost manufacture 100 yards on the day with an average of 4.5 yards a carry. As a top-5 selection, that shouldn’t be the case for Fournette.
Heading into this season, offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said Fournette would be the engine of the offense. In Sunday’s game, they gave him ample opportunities to be that. Instead, he finished the game with 15 carries for 47 yards and a 3.1-yard average, which wasn’t even good for first on the team as Minshew actually had six carries for 56 yards (9.3 average). Heading forward, that will need to change if the Jags have any shot at salvaging this season.
There is still a lack of discipline that needs to be corrected immediately
The Jags were just one penalty shy of making it into double-digits Week 2. That’s something that we seem to be talking about every week with a team coached by Marrone and handpicked by Tom Coughlin, two figures in which were supposed to correct this problem if not anything else.
Again, a lot of the penalties fell on the Jags’ young tackles in Taylor and Richardson, which is simply going to happen. However, when the veterans continue to shoot the team in the foot, then there is a problem. All that said, look for Marrone to correct the problem as best as he can this week — that is if he can.
DJ Chark Jr. and Chris Conley showed up, again
Heading into the preseason many were concerned about the Jags’ receivers group, however, as we mentioned on several occasions this summer, this group is sneaky good. Just as they did last week, Chark (seven catches for 55 yards and a touchdown) and Chris Conley (four catches for 73 yards) brought it. And while their stats weren’t eye-popping, they made the necessary plays to keep the Jags in the game.
Chark especially is proving to be primetime material, even more so than Dede Westbrook, who is no slouch either. The second-year playmaker was Minshew’s go-to target for key plays, especially late in the game. He started to catch fire in the third quarter with an acrobatic grab from Minshew, which looked out of reach. Afterward, he went on to make several other key grabs including the touchdown that could’ve tied the game in the last drive.
As a result of his ability to match Week 1’s impact, our own Daniel Griffis named Chark the player of the game, and rightfully so. Regardless of the outcome of the season, it will be interesting to see the relationship of Chark and Minshew grow as they will continue to see a lot of each other with Nick Foles out until Week 11.
