Weekly Superlatives: Chargers @ Jaguars

The Jaguars fell to the Chargers in a heart breaking loss on Sunday. While the loss does not entirely remove them from the playoff picture, it will make it very difficult for the Jaguars to reach the playoffs moving forward. There are several reasons for this, including a lack of pass coverage and the inability to score touchdowns in the red zone. The Jaguars just couldn’t quite get over the hill in this one — a storyline that is all too familiar for the Jags. While the team couldn’t achieve victory, there were some great individual performances on Sunday.

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MVP/ Defensive Player of the Week:

— “The Poz” was a beast against the run on Sunday, racking up 11 solo tackles on the day. He helped the Jaguars’ defense hold the Chargers under 80 rushing yards, giving up only 3 yards per carry. On a day where the Jaguars could not stop

and the San Diego passing attack, the Jags had to stop the run and they did, unfortunately, for Posluszny and the Jags it wasn’t quite enough. Posluszny is one of the most undervalued players on this team and maybe in the whole league. When he is at his best, the Jaguars’ run defense is amongst the league’s best.

Offensive Player of the Week: Julius Thomas — Jaguars’ fans have been waiting for Julius Thomas to have a break out game since the day he arrived in Jacksonville. It took 11 games, but it finally happened. Thomas had 9 catches for 116 yards and a score. Given the fact that he was targeted 10 times and came down with 9 of them, it seems safe to say that he and quarterback, Blake Bortles, are now on the same page. Over the last several weeks Thomas has been seeing heavy targets, eating into the production of Allen Hurns, who sustained a concussion on Sunday. Look for Thomas’ high volume of targets to continue moving forward.

Special Teams Player of the Week: Jason Myers — Myers was almost perfect on the day. He was 4/4 on field goals including a 51 yarder. His only blemish was a missed extra point — Myers seems to really be coming into his own as the Jaguars’ kicker and may be sticking around in Duval far longer than anyone expected.

Needs the Most Improvement: Jaguars’ Pass Defense — The Jaguars can’t stop anyone through the air this year. Part of the blame falls on the players in coverage, but part of it also falls on the pass rush. No matter who is in coverage, if there is no pass rush, they will eventually get beat. The Jags’ couldn’t get any pressure on Philip Rivers and it showed, as he threw for 300 yards and 4 touchdowns. Rivers has been one of the most impressive quarterbacks in the league this year, but that is no excuse for giving up 4 passing touchdowns. The Jaguars pass coverage/pass rush must find a way to be effective, at least every once in a while, in order for the Jaguars to contend.