This season looks like it will be a long one for Jacksonville Jaguars fans.
In addition to a myriad of injuries to the start the season and a devastating 40-26 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, the Jaguars followed up their opening week with another close, heartbreaking, loss to their division rival in the Houston Texans by the score of 13-12.
Rivalry games are always tough because of both team’s familiarity with each other being that they play twice a year. Before entering Sunday’s contest, the Texans held the advantage in the record books against the Jaguars with an all-time record of 21-13. Sunday’s victory marked another notch in the win column for the Texans.
While the game may not have turned in the favor of the Jaguars, there were still some takeaways to build from towards next week when the Jaguars take on another division rival in the Tennessee Titans at TIAA Bank Field.
Here are some of the good, bad and ugly moments from Sunday’s AFC South matchup:
The good: Another solid day for Gardner Minshew II
Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II followed up last week’s stunning performance with another good, solid outing. The charismatic Jaguars quarterback was 23-of-33 for 213 passing yards with a touchdown and even was the team’s leading rusher running for 56 yards.
The Jaguars quarterback has filled in quite nicely after Nick Foles went down with a shoulder injury passing for 488 yards, three touchdowns and an interception with an incredible 77.6 completion percentage, which is good for third in the league.
If Minshew can keep up these serviceable performances, this could help the Jaguars ease the pain of the various weeks that Foles will miss due to his injury. The coaching staff will have to continue to work with him and put him in the necessary positions to succeed.
The good: The Jaguars defense steps up
After being torched by the Chiefs Week 1, the Jaguars’ defense rebounded quite nicely, limiting a somewhat dangerous Texans offense to only 13 points.
The Jaguars’ defense shut down the dynamic Deshaun Watson, limiting him to only 159 yards passing on zero passing touchdowns. Watson’s strength comes from his ability to run the ball, however, the Jaguars contained him quite nicely allowing only five rushing yards on four attempts.
The Jaguars defense also did a great job containing All-Pro Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins allowing only 40 yards and four catches. Jalen Ramsey did a solid job on him all throughout the game and the Jaguars’ defense, in general, did well limiting the entire Houston offense to only 263 total yards.
The bad: The offensive line protection completely breaking down
The Jaguars did a nice job protecting the quarterback Week 1. All eyes were on the left tackle spot, as guard Will Richardson Jr. had to fill in for injured tackle Cam Robinson.
The Texans have arguably the best defensive line in the NFL, so this would be a tall order for the Jaguars offensive line especially with the injuries that they suffered. As expected, the Texans were able to pressure the backfield constantly, racking up four sacks on Minshew including two from Texans linebacker Whitney Mercilus.
This was a game where the Jaguars offensive line looked overmatched by the strength of the Texans defensive line. However, one bright note was that Texans star defensive lineman J.J Watt was only limited to two tackles in the whole game. The extra attention to him paid off, unfortunately, this allowed other players like Mercilus to break free and get to the quarterback.
The ugly: The Jaguars have finally reached their breaking point
They say winning cures everything. Unfortunately, The Jaguars haven’t done much of that so far and it’s now starting to boil over on the field. Their recent losses especially have started to build tension on the field and it could get worse as the season moves forward.
The first instance would see Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack get ejected from Week 1’s game against the Chiefs. Jack, who is normally a cool and composed figure, uncharacteristically costed his team by striking Chiefs wide receiver Demarcus Robinson in the face, which resulted in an early shower and a late-week fine.
The Jaguars, who are already without their All-Pro linebacker Telvin Smith for this season due to personal reasons, were even more short-handed due to Jack’s early dismissal. Things would get even more heated against the Texans. This time it wasn’t against the opponent.
Jaguars All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey began to show his frustrations with coach Doug Marrone. Both personnel members were seen on the sidelines in a heated confrontation, which came as a result of Marrone not challenging a completed catch to Hopkins. Both had to be separated by several players as Ramsey lightly shoved the veteran coach.
Now there are reports that Ramsey wants to be traded due to mounting frustrations with the staff and mounting tensions:
The Jaguars could be days away from cutting ties with their best player. It definitely doesn’t get uglier than that.
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