Jacksonville Jaguars vs San Diego Chargers: Lesson Learned
By Luke Sims
The Jacksonville Jaguars were blown out again. The San Diego Chargers continued to assert their dominance over the opposition and we all learned a very valuable lesson: The Jacksonville Jaguars cannot play a full game.
The lesson was taught to us in the first game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles. Going up 17-0 in the first half only led to the most demoralizing loss in recent memory as the Eagles marched down the field again and again to score 34 unanswered points.
San Diego taught the lesson to the Jaguars again. After finally putting together a competitive first half, the Jaguars stalled. Down 17-14 in a close game the Chargers felt no pressure from the Jags as they put up another 16 points to complete the game 33-14.
These losses almost look like someone flips a switch and suddenly the Jaguars are non-competitive. Glimpses of competitiveness are promising, but the team needs to find a way to put it together for a full 60 minutes. They simply cannot continue to fade into non-existence whenever the second half begins. Watching the team compete is almost becoming a lesson in futility.
While a lot of the blame falls on an absolutely atrocious defense, the offense needs to take a healthy portion of responsibility as well. Chad Henne was over performing when he made the Jaguars competitive in week one. Blake Bortles, by contrast, is not over performing when he makes the Jaguars competitive. He has the talent and leadership to raise all boats. His first half was about the best you can expect from a rookie quarterback. Where did that man go in the second half?
There are some flashes of competence on offense and defense. How does the team string it together for a full game?
Honestly, I don’t have an answer and I don’t think that the coaching staff does either.
Maybe it’s a reflection of the multitude of young players who simply are conditioned to playing at NFL speed for a full game. Maybe it’s a lack of discipline. Maybe it’s simply bad play calling. We don’t really know right now, but it needs to get fixed. It’s now been exposed at least twice this season and it needs to be addressed.