Are The Jacksonville Jaguars Getting Better? By the Numbers
By Luke Sims
Sep 28, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) throws the ball over Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Roy Miller (97) and defensive end Andre Branch (90) during third quarter action at Qualcomm Stadium. The Chargers won 33-14. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
2013 Defense
Yards allowed: 1,548 (888 passing, 660 rushing)
Points allowed: 129
First Downs allowed: 87
Turnovers forced: 4
2014 Defense
Yards allowed: 1,805 (1,283 passing, 522 rushing)
Points allowed: 152
First Downs allowed: 102
Turnovers forced: 3
The Jaguars got off to a hot start in 2014 with three turnovers forced against the Philadelphia Eagles. Since then the unit has been pretty quiet. The first half of that Eagles game was the best outing by the defense, but since then they have played like a high school team. The defense is allowing yardage and points at a record pace currently and a large part of that is the passing offense. While the 2014 Jaguars have allowed fewer rushing yards than the year before, that is largely due to the fact the opposition simply doesn’t need to focus on the run because the pass is so incredibly effective.
A major point of emphasis needs to be placed on the first downs allowed. While the 2013 Jaguars were able to stop drives a bit quicker than the 2014 Jags, the team still couldn’t keep up because of a particularly poor offense. The 2014 defense, meanwhile, doesn’t even provide hope for the offense as the unit hardly sees the field because the opposition’s offense can string together long drive.
It’s no secret that the 2014 Jaguars’ defense is major liability. But the fact that it’s worse than the defense from 2013 should be telling. The team was incredibly tough to watch last season and this season would be even tougher if Blake Bortles wasn’t providing energy under center. The Jaguars have taken an obvious step backward from their form at the latter half of 2013 and have even regressed to worse form than the start of 2013 which was absolutely horrendous. Gus Bradley needs to find ways to make changes, especially since his team is quite obviously not getting better.