Jacksonville Jaguars Improve but Still Fall to Rams 34-20

Oct 6, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon (14) carries the ball foe a touchdown during the first quarter against the St. Louis Rams at The Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports

The Jacksonville Jaguars headed into St. Louis heavy underdogs and, while they ended up losing by 14 points, the team looked much better than it had in its four previous games. The return of Justin Blackmon provided a spark to the offense and the defense played well against a fairly non-threatening Rams offense. Regardless, the Jaguars just don’t have the talent (specifically at quarterback) to even keep up with below average teams like St. Louis.

Here are a couple notes from today’s game:

The Good

• The wide receivers had their best game of the season all around and Justin Blackmon was a big reason why. In addition to his own ability to get open and make plays, Blackmon’s presence opened up the field for Cecil Shorts on the other side. Blackmon and Shorts are going to be much more recognizable stars with a good quarterback getting them the ball consistently next year.
• Will Blackmon continues to be the best defensive back. He gave up a long touchdown late but he had great coverage and barely missed on tipping Bradford’s throw.

The Bad

• The offensive line didn’t have a great game, but they were definitely better than the last few weeks. Given the pass rushers they faced, it’s amazing that they only gave up two sacks. Losing Joeckel hurt a lot since it looked like he was shutting down Robert Quinn.

The Because Jaguars

• Blaine Gabbert is awful and everyone knows it. He had a long touchdown to Blackmon due to terrible coverage on the Rams’ part, but after that Gabbert reverted back to his usual ineptness. He threw a completely indefensible interception that was returned for a touchdown and couldn’t maneuver the team to a touchdown in the redzone on his second pick. At this point I don’t even care who starts next week, especially against a Broncos offense that is going to score a lot.

The Jaguars actually had some players who performed well today and the team can build on some of the positives from today. We’ll have a more thorough breakdown later in the week with Pro Football Focus stats.

– Daniel Lago

Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89