Another NFL regular season has almost come to a close. The Jacksonville Jaguars week 17 opponent is the Indianapolis Colts. No matter the outcome, the team will not reach last year’s win total of five games. While this is depressing, it is nothing new for Jags fans. However, there should be some excitement because of last week’s win against Tennessee. Also, the head coaching search is under way. Before setting our focus to what’s in store for the off season, let’s look at three keys to a Jaguars victory for the final game of the season.
Jacksonville Jaguars Week 17 Keys To Victory
Control The Game On Offense For The Entire Game
Before he was fired, former head coach Gus Bradley spoke of the defense needing to step up. He basically meant that they were playing well, but a lack of turnovers was keeping the defense from getting to the next level. The good news is that the defense has been creating turnovers the past few weeks. It’s too late to salvage the season from a win/loss perspective, but it would be nice for the offense to step up in the final game of the season.
If you watched the Jaguars beat the Titans on Christmas Eve, you were probably happy with the offense, and for good reason. Quarterback Blake Bortles completed 68 percent of his passes and it was the first game in his young career in which he threw for over 300 yards (325 this time) and won the game. Receiver Allen Robinson played well and running back Chris Ivory scored a touchdown. It will be interesting to see if the Jaguars will have offensive success for the second week in a row.
In order for the Jaguars to control the game offensively, they may have to rely heavily on Bortles this week. Running back T.J. Yeldon has been battling an ankle injury and was placed on injured reserve a few days ago. Ivory has been a limited participant in practice this week so either way, he’s banged up. Bortles will need to throw well, make good decisions, and perhaps run the ball himself at times. If he wants to put up some good tape for the incoming head coach, this week would help.
Explosive Play By The Defense
Rookie cornerback Jalen Ramsey was AFC Defensive Player of the Week last week. Ramsey has played well all season but he’s certainly gotten hot as of late. His pick-six against the Titans was inspiring. But let’s not rest on our laurels. This week, Ramsey will face T.Y. Hilton. Hilton has 85 receptions for 1,353 yards and six touchdowns this season. Ramsey would do well to cap the season off with another great performance.
Earlier this season, there was an awesome play against the Colts in London. Near the beginning of the game, an Andrew Luck pass was tipped in the air and rookie pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue intercepted the ball. This play was great for a few reasons. First, multiple players on the line were disruptive and that helped break down the play. The ball was still in Colts territory so the turnover gave the offense a short field to work with. Imagine if what happened on that play was the norm for the Jaguars defense. To gel as a unit and disrupt the plans of the opposing offenses should be the goal. In order to win this week, explosive plays should last throughout the game. It wouldn’t be good for a late comeback by the Colts to cost the Jaguars a win in their final game of the season.
Smart and Gutsy Play Calling For The Win
Neither team has anything to lose this Sunday because they are both eliminated from playoff contention. Perhaps the only thing to lose is for a player to get injured during a somewhat meaningless game. Of course, the outcome will help determine the Jaguars draft position, but other than that the goal should be to not get hurt and try to win the game. Interim head coach Doug Marrone should be smart and deliberate.
When the Jaguars beat the Colts in London this year, it seemed like the end of the game couldn’t come soon enough. Had the game been any longer, the Jaguars would likely have lost. It’s a terrible thing for a team to build a lead and then squander it. It’s also hard to say if the Jaguars will be in control of the game by the fourth quarter. But one way to help ensure a win is for Marrone and the rest of the coaching staff to make smart decisions on important plays. And some of these decisions may not be cut and dry. After all, Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera didn’t get the nickname “Riverboat Ron” for no reason.
The current Jaguars coaching staff shouldn’t be expected to coach the best game ever on Sunday, but they’ll sure want to. Winning the final game of a horrible season would be nice. At least you’re not ending on a bad note and don’t forget the fact that these coaches’ jobs are hanging in the balance. With a new coaching staff imminent, most coaches on the team are likely leaving Jacksonville. Make the fans proud and get a win.
