Jacksonville Jaguars Defeat Cleveland Browns 24 – 6: Quick Notes

As the second quarter was winding down, it appeared the Jacksonville Jaguars were about to go down 9-0 to the Cleveland Browns and waste another solid defensive performance thanks to a listless offense. Instead, the Browns gambled on 4th down and lost, and Blake Bortles marched his offense down the field with 3 passes to take a 7-6 lead before halftime. The Jaguars never looked back and managed to finish off the Browns 24-6 despite 3 costly interceptions by Bortles. Here are a few quick notes from the Jaguars first win of the season:

• While the final score may indicate a blowout win for the Jaguars, this game was still in question with 6 minutes left. Both teams made plenty of mistakes, as neither side seemed willing to make a move and take control of the game. The Jaguars gave the Browns plenty of chances to get back into the game in the 4th quarter, but a muffed punt on a dumb decision by the Browns return man gave the Jaguars the field position to score the game clinching touchdown run with Denard Robinson.
• Speaking of Denard Robinson, he had quite a day. Shoelace finished with 127 yards on 22 carries and a rushing touchdown. He had by far the best rushing performance of the season, and probably the best performance by any running back over the last 2 seasons. He was really the only thing going on offense for the Jaguars for most of the day.
• Luke Sims talked a little bit earlier this week about Blake Bortles playing mistake free football, and his mistakes cost the Jaguars at least one scoring opportunity on Sunday. His 3rd interception was particularly disappointing because it was an awful decision in the red zone when the Jaguars needed points. He could have easily had a first down by running, but instead he made a terrible decision and threw the ball to a covered receiver. He’ll get better and start learning from his mistakes, but hopefully  that will be soon because he’s likely the NFL leader in interceptions with 10 after this week.
• The defense had their third straight outstanding performance and they finally got a much deserved win. The key to slowing down the Browns is stopping their rushing attack, and the Jaguars did just that. The Browns had 69 yards on the ground for a 2.3 yard per rush average, and they put constant pressure on Brian Hoyer throughout the game. Telvin Smith had his best outing so far this year, and his game-clinching interception is hopefully a sign of things to come.