Gardner Minshew continues to impress for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The rookie is sensational on and off the field. Minshew led the Jaguars to their first win of the season against the Tennessee Titans. Wins are great, but they’re even better against divisional opponents. Of course, the looming trade of Jalen Ramsey has been like a cloud over the team this week. Can winning cure-all? There’s still a long season ahead, but this win is great for the team and the rookie quarterback.
The #Jaguars have a QB1 and a WR1! pic.twitter.com/Iw5lciOg2n
— Big Cat Country (@BigCatCountry) September 20, 2019
Gardner Minshew is Impressive in First Win as a Pro
Gardner Minshew Mania in Full Swing
The legend is real. Minshew is a folk hero and he’s been impressive so far. The rookie quarterback didn’t expect to start so soon after being selected in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft. But fate had other plans.
The rookie signal-caller had a busy week in the lead up to this Thursday night contest. It was a quick turn around after playing Sunday to prepare for a divisional foe four days later. The pressure was obviously not too much for him. Minshew is undoubtedly learning from Nick Foles and it shows. He is playing with poise it doesn’t look as though the game is too fast for him.
Another aspect of Minshew’s busy week is the fact that he was offered a deal with webcam service called Cam Soda. They reportedly want to pay him to do exercises in only a jockstrap or fully naked. It’s unknown whether Minshew will respond to the company, but he’s definitely in high demand right now.
The Win
Minshew led the Jags to their first victory of the 2019 season against the Titans. He was efficient, had some nice touch passes, and outplayed Marcus Mariota.
Minshew was 20 for 30 with 204 passing yards and two touchdowns on the night. Minshew is now 65 for 88 for 693 yards with five touchdowns against one interception on the season. He had some beautiful throws, including a pass into double coverage completed to Dede Westbrook. Minshew also seems to have the knack for sensing when the pocket is collapsing and making a quick decision. Defenders coming? No matter. Minshew will move around and find a way to get the ball to an open man.
Sacksonville is Back
Can you say Sacksonville?! The Jaguars defense showed up in a big way on Thursday night. The defensive unit produced nine sacks. Yes, nine. The mayor of Sacksonville himself, Calais Campbell led the team with three sacks. Campbell left the game late in the second half but he had a strong game. Rookie Josh Allen had two sacks and one of them was a strip sack.
An impressive feat for the defense was the fact that they limited Derrick Henry‘s impact on the game. While he did have a rushing touchdown, he finished the game with just 44 yards on 17 carries. That’s an average of 2.6 yards a carry. A stark difference from Henry’s 238 yard and four-touchdown performance in December last year.
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