After losing Nick Foles in just his second series as a Jacksonville Jaguar, it looked like the first quarter of the season would be rough, but somehow the jags have found themselves at a 2-2 record after defeating the Denver Broncos Sunday. Their narrow 26-24 win was one in which was hard-fought for them and showed how much they’ve grown since Week 1. Here are five takeaways we had from Week 4’s battle at Empower Field at Mile High, which was a nail-biter in the end:
Leonard Fournette stepped it up and was the game’s MVP
We’ve said it week after week, Leonard Fournette needs to be the offense’s best player. He was that (and some) Sunday for offensive coordinator John DeFilippo and company.
In a hostile environment, against a desperate team (which brought a lot of fight), Fournette came to life against the Broncos, putting up a career-high of 226 rushing yards on 29 carries. Of course, that allowed the Jags to control the clock and impose their will on the home team, and when a team does that, the odds are in their favor to win.
If the Jags can continue to get Fournette going as they did Sunday, they will be hard to beat and will win a lot of games. In fact, with the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets on the second quarter of their schedule, they have a chance to come out of the first half of the season at .500 or better.
John DeFilippo has done a solid job calling plays, especially in the last two weeks
During the offseason, most believed that the Jags decision at offensive coordinator would be their most important of the offseason. They eventually signed John DeFilippo to fill the role which excited fans because of his expertise in the passing game, but scared others because he was fired for not utilizing the run game often. However, he’s been just what the doctor ordered for the Jags for the most part.
With a rookie quarterback behind center in Gardner Minshew II, DeFilippo has done a good job making him comfortable. As we’ve seen in the Jags’ touchdown drives (most notably Sunday’s double fake to the flats), DeFilippo has been very clever when he smells blood and the Jags are close to scoring. Alongside Minshew’s intelligence, that has given the Jags an offensive look fans haven’t seen in a while.
Gardner Minshew II continues to look special
Like Fournette, Minshew’s second half heroics propelled the Jags to a victory. This is the second time this season he’s shown the ability to lead the team after a lackluster start by the offense. His first time showcasing this was Week 2 against the Houston Texans, though they ultimately lost that game.
Minshew’s poise was especially on display during his first touchdown pass of the day where he dodged three Broncos defenders to hit Ryquell Armstead for a touchdown pass. He also made the necessary throws late as the Jags went back and forth with the Broncos to close the game.
In his last drive, Minshew showed grit as well as poise by marching the Jags into field goal range despite taking a shot to the leg from Bradley Chubb that gave him a limp. In the end, he exited Week 4 19-of-33 for 213 yards and two touchdowns, further making his early case to potentially be Rookie of the Year.
Tre Herndon need a lot of work, which leaves the door open for Jalen Ramsey to return, maybe
Jalen Ramsey missed his first-ever regular season game after missing the full week of practice with various issues and the birth of his daughter. That put the Jags in a position where they had to start Tre Herndon in his place, who had a rough day at the office. Broncos wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders combined for a total of 166 yards and two touchdowns on the day and a majority of that success came against Herndon.
Herndon entered Sunday’s game as a favorite of the Jags’ organization, but it appears Week 4’s game served as a humbling experience that showed he isn’t quite ready for the spotlight. It also proved how much they need the All-Pro in Ramsey right now.
That said, it’s going to be interesting to see how his situation unfolds with the team because Sunday proved that they need to hold on to him for at least 2019. Unfortunately, the chances of the relationship getting patched up are unknown because Ramsey didn’t practice last week and he might have his mind made up to continue that trend if the organization keeps him.
Doug Marrone may never get the discipline he wants out of the Jags
It seems like every week we’re talking about penalties being an issue with the Jags, and that was once again the case Sunday. The Jags had yet another double-digit penalty game (12) which cost them over 100-yards on the day. As of now, that puts them at sixth (35 total penalties) in the category when comparing them to the rest of the league.
With the issue continually coming up, fans now have to ask themselves whether this is something coach Doug Marrone can fix. Similarly to Week 2, a majority of the penalties were on the offensive line as Jawaan Taylor and Cam Robinson combined for five penalties as a pair.
Not to sound like a broken record, but this must be addressed — and soon. If not, the Jags won’t win many games past this point, but if so, they can make the postseason.
