The Jacksonville Jaguars’ offense struggled so mightily in 2018 that a lot of pressure was put on their comrades on the defensive end, which was a tall task for even them. As a result, their numbers declined from the numbers they had in 2017, with the most notable being their total defensive figure as they went from second to fifth.
Still, despite that decline and their drastic drop in the turnover margin category (went from No. 5 to No. 29), the Jags’ defense still played at a high level and most teams they played would agree. In fact, there was one major category in which they discreetly led the league in according to NFL Next Gen Stats — and that was defensive success rate.
Per NFL Network, a team’s defensive success rate is calculated by the amount of times the defense prevents an offense from gaining a favorable amount of yards based on downs. In the Jags’ case, they prevented their opposition from getting an optimal amount of yards less than 40 percent of the time on first down, less than 50 percent on second down and obviously less than 100 percent on third-down.
This is something the Jags can hang their hats on in 2019 as they will attempt to be the driving force behind the team despite the upgrades they made on offense. Additionally, the offense could alleviate the pressure off the defense if they can be efficient like they were in 2017, because in 2018 they hindered the defense by sending them on the field frequently. In other words, with better quarterback play from new acquisition Nick Foles and tailback Leonard Fournette returning as the offense’s primary weapon, the Jags’ defense should be fresher if all goes well.
