The Jacksonville Jaguars leave the Buffalo Bills stadium with their seventh straight loss. For a while, it looked as if Leonard Fournette was going to will the Jaguars to victory. But fate had other plans. Fournette threw punches at Shaq Lawson after a contested passing play and both athletes were ejected from the game. It doesn’t help when quarterback Blake Bortles continues to show that he shouldn’t be a starting signal caller in the NFL. At 3-8, the Jaguars are a team that continually looks lost on both sides of the ball. Let’s take a look at why the team lost (hint: he wears the number five jersey).
Leonard Fournette Ejected in Jacksonville Jaguars Implosion Against the Buffalo Bills
The Coaches Don’t Trust Blake Bortles
Bortles finished the game 12 of 23 passing for 127 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. And the Jaguars coaching staff is making it exceedingly clear that they don’t trust Bortles. Pay no mind to what they say. Fournette had a touchdown on a drive in which Bortles threw once, and the pass was to fullback Tommy Bohanon. And on important third downs, the team decides to go with a running play. This comes after Bortles was given a three-year, $54 million contract extension in the offseason.
This is another game that makes you wonder how much longer the coaches will continue to roll with Bortles under center. The only reason is that they are stuck with him because of the contract he has. This season is an indictment on the front office for being so naive to think that Bortles would work out. It is also an indictment on head coach Doug Marrone. Marrone continues to work with the philosophy that you can win as a power running team with a good defense. That is not the way of today’s NFL.
Leonard Fournette
Fournette was having a great game. That is until he was ejected for throwing punches at Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson. Fournette had 95 rushing yards on 18 attempts with two touchdowns before his ejection. Fournette was the main factor in bringing the Jags back into a tie after being down 14-0. But he decided to display some immaturity and put his emotions ahead of his team.
Fournette is crucial to the team’s success. Especially at a time in which the quarterback is subpar. While emotions can run high in a game, it’s never excusable to act the way Fournette did. He went after Lawson and threw three punches at him. Instead of rushing for over 100 yards and the potential to help his team to victory, the second year player acted like a grade school kid starting a fight.
Josh Allen the Leading Rusher
LeSean McCoy is the starting running back for the Buffalo Bills. But today he was outrushed by rookie quarterback Josh Allen by 53 yards. Allen had 13 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown. He had 101 yards before kneeling one final time to seal a victory for the Bills. The fact that the Jaguars defense allowed that many yards to the quarterback on the ground is embarrassing. Sure, defensive tackle Marcell Dareus is out with an injury. But the team has too much money tied up in the defensive line and speed with the linebackers to allow that.
The Last Word
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a very bad team. They have a bad quarterback, aren’t good at stopping the run, and have undisciplined players. The team has now lost seven straight games. That is the longest losing streak in the NFL this season. Was last year’s AFC Championship appearance a fluke? It sure looks like it. With Andrew Luck and Deshaun Watson back, the Jacksonville Jaguars are once again basement dwellers in the AFC South. The team will be bad until they can prove otherwise.
