Jacksonville Jaguars Week 8 Power Rankings: Climbing Up
By Daniel Lago
The Jacksonville Jaguars finally cracked the win column in their 24-6 beatdown of the Cleveland Browns last weekend, and the arrow appears to be pointing way up for this franchise. The Jaguars are getting rave reviews for their performance last Sunday, so it’s not surprising to see them moving up in power rankings around the web. Here’s a roundup of where the Jaguars stand heading towards week 8.
"29. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6)Last week: 24-6 W CLELast rank: 32ndI still can’t believe the Jaguars managed to blow out the Browns yesterday, though there was a bit of foreshadowing when I asked our Facebook fans if the Jags had a shot at winning. A couple of people stated that this looked like a potential trap game, and it certainly. This game was more about the Browns playing crap than the Jaguars winning it, as Blake Bortles got away with three interceptions. Denard Robinson looked surprisingly excellent, and he deserves to continue to be the team’s feature back until/unless he cools off. It was impressive watching the Jaguars stifle Brian Hoyer and suffocate the Browns vaunted rushing attack."
"32. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (1-6) HIGH: 28 / LOW: 32Their first win of the season was centered around the Jaguars’ ability to capitalize on the mistakes of their opponent. Rookie Telvin Smith has come on strong in recent weeks to help turn around a defense that is trying to scrap their way out of the bottom."
"31. JaguarsGood news: The Jaguars won a game. Bad news: Blake Bortles‘ Total QBR was 9, the lowest for a quarterback in a win since Cincy’s Andy Dalton posted a 4 in Week 11 of 2013 against the Browns."
"30. JaguarsGetting the first victory was really needed. Now they can work on improving for 2015."
"29. Jaguars (30):Finally a win for the Jags and a lot more people in the stadium in the fourth quarter. Blake Bortles will win a few more games this year but he doesn’t need to be the leading rusher on the team."
"31. JaguarsBlake Bortles might be at the center of all the media coverage surrounding this franchise, but the rookie signal-caller had little to do with Sunday’s win. Big props to coach Gus Bradley’s defense, which controlled the tempo of the game and made Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer look bad for the first time all season."