The Jacksonville Jaguars looked bad in their Week Three loss to their AFC South rival Tennesee Titans. Following a dominant week two win over the Patriots, Blake Bortles and the Jaguars receivers were out of rhythm. This loss brings the team to 2-1 on the season and second in the AFC South. Good teams don’t lose divisional matchups like this. It’s not yet time to worry, but the offense needs to find its identity.
Blake Bortles and Jacksonville Jaguars Offense Stagnant in Week Three
Bortles and Receivers Can’t Connect
This week’s offense was bad. Bortles overthrew the receivers on multiple plays and there were some bad drops. There weren’t any turnovers, but Bortles made it hard for his receivers. But some of the blame should go to Nathaniel Hackett. The offensive coordinator called a vanilla game and it showed. The Jaguars did not score a single touchdown. In fact, the longest reception was for 15 yards by Dede Westbrook.
Bortles passed to nine different receivers but none of the drives were inspiring. Just last week, Keelan Cole had an amazing one-handed grab. However, this week he only had five catches on nine targets for 40 yards. Including Cole, there were at least five receivers with a drop. You could blame Bortles, the receivers, the offensive line, or the play-calling. But the bottom line is they need to improve next week. This was the second straight week without Leonard Fournette. Today made it obvious the Jaguars need the talented running back out of LSU, and he would have helped in short yardage situations.
Penalties Were Costly
TJaguarsurs had eight penalties for 75 yards. And they now have 26 penalties for 265 yards on the season. This trend has to stop and coach Doug Marrone is responsible. You can’t expect to do well when you let the other team extend drives.
The penalty that hurt the most was on Malik Jackson. Jackson sacked Blaine Gabbert on third and long, but was called for roughing the passer with his head leading. Without the call, the Jaguars had a fumble recovery deep in Titans territory. However, this play is a prime example of how the NFL is ruining football with the rule changes. Jackson did not even touch Gabbert with his helmet. The replay showed the hit was all shoulder. It’s important to protect quarterbacks, but this is football and that should have been a legal hit. The bad call notwithstanding, penalties keep the momentum from being in the home team’s corner. It’s time to clean it up and play smart.
Defense Can’t Carry the Team
The Jaguars defense is one of the best in the league. But you cant rely on them to win the game every week. They did their part. The Titans did not score a touchdown despite more red zone appearances than the Jaguars. But Bortles could not lead the offense to a touchdown either. Without a good offense, you have to hope for takeaways and that didn’t happen today.
The defense played well. They even took Gabbert out of the game. Marcus Mariota only threw for 100 yards. But it was Mariota combined with Derrick Henry that hurt the most. They combined to extend drives for the Titans and that hurt at the end of the game. Telvin Smith led the team with eight tackles including a sack. In fact, the defense did well with pressures during the game, but Mariota and Henry were able to escape at key moments. The biggest problem was that the defense caused no turnovers. It’s time for some more takeaways. While the defense shouldn’t be expected to carry the team, it would help to get help for the offense by flipping the field. Jalen Ramsey enjoys trash talk, but he needs to step it up this season if he wants to be considered a “lockdown corner.” Time to put up or shut up.
