Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Denver Broncos: Pro Football Focus Recap

For those who don’t believe in moral victories, look no further than the Jacksonville Jaguars loss this past Sunday to the Denver Broncos. Despite losing by a final score of 35-19, the Jacksonville Jaguars showed the ability to be a competitive football team against arguably the best team in the league. Peyton Manning had his worst performance of the season and the Jaguars were a threat for all 4 quarters.

Let’s take a look at the advanced metrics provided by our friends at Pro Football Focus. Here’s how week 6 played out according to PFF:

Oct 13, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon (14) attempts to catch a pass while being covered by Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey (24) during the second half at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 35-19. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Best Overall Offensive Grades:  Justin Blackmon (+2.6), Will Ta’ufo’ou (+0.9), Maurice Jones-Drew (+0.8)

Justin Blackmon grading out as the best offensive player should come as no surprise. He caught 14 balls on 19 targets for 190 yards working mostly from the slot. With Cecil Shorts leaving the game almost immediately, Blackmon was essentially the entire offense. It was nice to see Jedd Fisch putting him in a position to succeed by using him inside rather than split wide. The Jaguars actually had a semi-productive run game for a change, and a big reason why was Will Ta’ufo’ou’s run blocking (+1.5). Jones-Drew got 37 of his 71 yards after contact and managed to get a red zone touchdown.

Best Overall Defensive Grades:  Mike Harris (+1.4), Will Blackmon (+1.2), Alan Ball (+0.7)

Mike Harris had a respectable day as a slot corner against one of the better slot receivers in Wes Welker. Harris allowed Welker to catch all 3 balls thrown his direction, but he held Welker to only 13 yards. Will Blackmon had his worst coverage grade of the year (-0.2) but his run defense (+1.1) helped bring his grade up. Alan Ball also had a good day mostly matched up on Eric Decker.

Most Disappointing Grades: Will Rackley (-5.3), Uche Nwaneri (-2.3), Cameron Bradfield (-1.7), Johnathan Cyprien (-3.0), Andre Branch (-2.1), Tyson Alualu (-2.1)

In the shocker of the century, Will Rackley graded out as the worst offensive player by a massive margin. He actually did alright in pass protection (only 3 QB hurries), but apparently his run blocking (-4.9) was monstrously horrific. The same could be said for the rest of the offensive linemen. Even watching the game live, the inability of the line to create any kind of running lane for Jones-Drew was apparent.

Johnathan Cyprien continues to grade out poorly, especially in terms of pass coverage. Maybe his mistakes are well hidden, but I don’t really see him out of position that often. He did manage to get a nice hit on Peyton Manning in red zone. Andre Branch managed to ruin a decent run defense grade (+1.4) with his inability to rush the passer and a stupid penalty. Alualu’s grade here isn’t really too relevant since most of it is made up of his pass rush grade (-2.3) and that’s not really his job in this scheme.

Other notes:

• Josh Evans got dinged in his overall grade (-1.9) due to the pass interference he committed in the endzone. The penalty was a pretty questionable call and I thought he actually had relatively good coverage on the play.
• I thought the offensive line played decent given the circumstances, but Pro Football Focus does not agree. The 5 worst offensive grades belonged to the 5 starting offensive line who altogether managed a (-12.6) grade.
• It’s also worth noting the overall great effort on defense. The Jaguars held Peyton Manning to by far his worst overall grade of the season (-0.1). His frustration on the field was evident and the advanced metrics reflect his struggles on the day.

– Daniel Lago

Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89