Denard Robinson Carries Jacksonville Jaguars to Victory Over Browns

Denard Robinson and the offensive line deserve some special recognition for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The Jaguars (1-6) picked up their first win of the season the old fashioned way: running the ball. Blake Bortles didn’t need to pass 40+ times for the team to move the ball and in a game where he struggled Denard Robinson stepped up to take the load off and sink the Cleveland Browns (3-3) to .500. the Jaguars won the game 24-6.

Robinson managed to contribute 127 yards on 22 carries, good for a 5.8 yards per carry average. He led the way for an overall team effort of 35 attempts for 185 yards, easily the best of the season for the Jaguars. Robinson got into the endzone in the fourth quarter and Storm Johnson followed him in almost immediately after. Both runs were preceded by mistakes from the Browns, a muffed punt and interception, respectively.

Robinson’s ascension in this game is important to note because it signaled that the Jaguars may actually have a running game moving forward. The team struggled to move the ball on the ground for the first six weeks of the season, never posting a rushing total higher than 105 and struggling to move the ball behind a patchwork offensive line. After the line was given some time to gel (this is the third week in its current, starting configuration) the Jaguars were able to find some good blocking and success in the running game. From there it was simply Blake Bortles’ job to hand it off to Robinson and let Shoelace burst into the second level of the Cleveland Browns.

Center Luke Bowanko left the game for a short period after sustaining an injury. He is now getting X-rays of his ankle.

Hopefully Bowanko will be fine and the Jaguars will be able to emulate their running success in the coming weeks. It was a relief for the Jags to not be one-dimensional and struggle with time of possession for the first time this season. They finished the game holding the ball for 31:33 but it felt like much longer.

Props to Denard Robinson and the offensive line for getting the Jaguars their first victory of the day!