The Jacksonville Jaguars put together one of their best games this past Sunday when they defeated the New York Jets and the grades are now in from Pro Football Focus. Unsurprisingly, cornerback Tre Herndon came in with the highest grade on defense (78.5), while Gardner Minshew II not only came in with the highest grade for the offense, but the whole team in general (81.0).
Herndon was a player who came into Sunday’s game highly criticized, as he struggled to replace Jalen Ramsey initially, but he drowned out all of the noise from the outside and stepped up Sunday. While being tasked with covering Robby Anderson and company, he was able to get two picks on the day from quarterback Sam Darnold and also finished the game with three tackles.
Minshew, on the other hand, added another solid outing to his name as he’s pretty much been money since replacing Nick Foles Week 1 after the veteran broke his collarbone. One key thing that really helped him to earn his high grade was the fast start the Jags got off to, as Minshew took full advantage of Leonard Fournette’s big 66-yard gain in the first series. A few plays after, he hit receiver Keelan Cole for a touchdown pass and didn’t look back. He was able to add two more touchdown passes afterward and ended the day 22-of-34 for 279 passing yards and a 119.6 quarterback rating.
With the Jags’ divisional rivals in the Houston Texans up next on the schedule, the Jags will need another big game out of both Herndon and Minshew. Minshew will be tasked with taking on a Houston defense which still is solid minus J.J. Watt, while Herndon will have to deal with DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller and the rest of Houston’s talented receivers.
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