Jacksonville Jaguars Win Consecutive Games, Defeat Cleveland Browns 32-28

Dec 1, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Cecil Shorts (84) catches the game winning pass in the end zone while being defended by Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden (23) in the fourth quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

The Jacksonville Jaguars marched into Cleveland on Sunday and had arguably their most complete performance of the season. Omitting a monstrous game by wide receiver Josh Gordon, the Jaguars dominated the Browns on both sides of the ball. The defense continues to improve and develop, especially in the back end where some young players are emerging as strengths rather than liabilities. Chad Henne had his best game of the season despite not producing too much in the second and third quarter.

Here are a couple notes from Sunday’s game:

• Brandon Weeden owes Josh Gordon all the credit for his serviceable stat line. Taking out Gordon’s mammoth performance, Weeden only has 109 yards to go with two interceptions and a touchdown.
• Despite Gordon’s gaudy numbers, the Jacksonville secondary was outstanding, particularly rookie safety Johnathan Cyprien. After struggling mightily in the first half of the season, Cyprien has started to figure things out and the game seems to have slowed down for him.
• Ace Sanders and Clay Harbor continue to look like viable options in the passing game. Jedd Fisch has found a way to use Sanders and his skillset in an offense limited by the quarterback. This offense is going to be a terror to stop with the right guy behind center.
• Jason Babin has been pretty awful the entire season, but he managed to pressure Brandon Weeden often on Sunday and caused a turnover at the end of the second quarter.
• Not everything was great – outside of their two 80 yard touchdown drives, the Jaguars only managed 176 yards on 59 plays (an average of less than 3 yards per play). The offense was certainly improved over recent weeks but it has a long way to go in terms of consistency. Henne has done well but the Jaguars still need an upgrade at quarterback to compete in the future.

We’ll have a more thorough analysis of the game with Pro Football Focus grades later in the week.

– Daniel Lago

Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89