Jacksonville Jaguars vs. San Francisco 49ers: Pro Football Focus Recap

The Jacksonville Jaguars played their first “home” game in London on Sunday and didn’t really leave the folks overseas anything to get excited about. Down by 28 before the first half was over, the Jaguars never really threatened in the game. Colin Kaepernick barely had to pass the ball and Chad Henne could do nothing when it mattered against a stout 49er defense.

Oct 27, 2013; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew (32) runs with the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during an International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Martin-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s take a look at who had the best and worst performances using the advanced metrics from our friends at Pro Football Focus.

Best Overall Offensive Grades:  Cecil Shorts (+1.1), Brad Meester (+0.9), Uche Nwaneri (+0.7)

The Jaguars didn’t have too many noteworthy performances on offense, but the improved offensive line play is reflected in the PFF grades. Brad Meester and Uche Nwaneri both graded out well in pass blocking and they only allowed one QB hurry combined. Cecil saw the ball go his way 10 times with 7 receptions and he didn’t have a drop. Shorts still occasionally looks to be favoring his shoulder, so it’s nice to see him being effective anyway.

Best Overall Defensive Grades:  Tyson Alualu (+3.2), Dwayne Gratz (+0.9), Jeremy Mincey (+1.4)

Tyson Alualu graded out very well for the second straight week on the strength of his run defense. After struggling for the first 6 weeks, Alualu seems to be holding his own at defensive end. Gratz only saw one ball thrown in his direction so he wasn’t really challenged in coverage. Jeremy Mincey had one of the few QB pressures in the game but he wasn’t really a factor.

Most Disappointing Grades: Marcedes Lewis (-3.4), Chad Henne (-2.5), Josh Evans (-4.2), Russell Allen (-2.0)

Most of Marcedes’ negative grade came from his awful fumble that was returned for a touchdown, but he also got knocked pretty hard for his run blocking. The offensive line play has improved since his return, but he’s still clearly getting back into form. Chad Henne is terrible and given his play in the first half this grade comes as no surprise.

Josh Evans got dinged severely in his run defense grade due to 3 missed tackles. He held his own in coverage and has improved marginally in that category. Russell Allen had his worst outing of the season and was credited for giving up the red zone touchdown to Vernon Davis.

Other notes:

• Justin Blackmon (-2.8 overall) had a huge drop that might’ve been a touchdown and only caught 4 of the passes intended for him. This was his first poor performance since returning from suspension. Inconsistent performances like this are going to happen until the quarterback play improves.
• Austin Pasztor had another good day pass blocking and only gave up one QB hurry. It might be too soon to lock it down, but Pasztor has a real shot to be the right tackle long term.

– Daniel Lago

Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89