Prior to Sunday’s game in London, the Jacksonville Jaguars had won their past three London match-ups. The Philadelphia Eagles were able to best them today. This continues the Jaguars losing skid, as they fall to 3-5. The much aligned Blake Bortles was not the reason for the Jaguars defeat in London. There are many places to lay the blame for the loss. An offensive line that can’t open holes for running backs, receivers that fumble, and a defense that allows chunk plays hurt the team. The AFC South is a bad division but the Jaguars are not a good team. Yes, they went to the AFC Championship last year, but that’s all in the past. Let’s break down the loss.
Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars Fall to Philadelphia Eagles in London
Struggling Offensive Line
The Jaguars offensive line continues to struggle. Bortles was sacked four times. Also, the Jaguars only rushed 17 total times. This comes in the first game that Carlos Hyde plays for the team. It’s not too surprising that the Jaguars decided to abandon the run though. Hyde had six attempts for only 11 yards. T.J. Yeldon was more active in the passing game. He had seven receptions for 83 yards while only adding seven yards on the ground with only two rushing attempts.
In the offensive line’s defense, they have their fair share of injuries. Left tackle Cam Robinson was lost for the season in week two after an ACL tear. His replacement was put on injured reserve a few weeks ago. Despite the injuries, there were higher expectations from this line at the beginning of the season. In fact, they paid a rich salary to free agent pick-up Andrew Norwell who plays guard. But the Jaguars decided to abandon the run today and the offense seems not to have an identity.
Keelan Cole Not Looking Good
Many fans adored last year’s undrafted rookie Keelan Cole. But he is struggling this year. Cole lost a fumble late in the second quarter on a play that he wasn’t even hit that hard. Cole’s past few games have been bad.
Jaguars WR Keelan Cole has five drops and two lost fumbles in the last 2 1/2 games, per ESPN Stats & Information.
— Michael DiRocco (@ESPNdirocco) October 28, 2018
Wide receivers in the NFL are expected to catch the ball. Yes, even the best receivers will have a drop from time to time. But not this often. Bortles has been the subject of a lot of criticism in the past few weeks. The criticism is due, but the other players need to be called out as well. The Jaguars are lucky Dede Westbrook is showing number one receiver play. Westbrook had two receptions for 31 yards and a score. Cole would do well to emulate him.
Defense Allows Big Plays
To be clear, the defense had their bright spots in Sunday’s game. Jalen Ramsey got his first interception of the season. Telvin Smith also got a turnover, when he recovered a fumble early in the first half. But the defensive unit continues to struggle in other areas. They allowed multiple long yardage plays and let the Eagles convert 58 percent of their third downs.
Two of the Eagles touchdowns came on big plays. One was a 32-yard pass to rookie tight end Dallas Goedert. The other was a 36-yard pass to running back Wendell Smallwood. While the defense had good pressure, they also allowed Carson Wentz to carve them up on third downs. The defense is good, but they have room to improve.
Season Slipping Away
In the beginning, this season looked bright for the Jaguars. Fast forward to now, and we are a week past Bortles being benched and the team has lost four straight games. The Jaguars are now heading into their bye week. It’s time to regroup and hope they can win against the Indianapolis Colts on November 11th. It’s important that they don’t fall to 0-3 in the division. While their playoff chances aren’t gone, it appears the team is slipping into irrelevance. Time will tell if they can right the ship, but something needs to change.
