Jacksonville Jaguars Week 10: The Day After

The Jacksonville Jaguars roll into their bye week with a less-than-stellar 1-9 record after getting trounced by the Dallas Cowboys 31-17 in London. The Jaguars looked like they might have the juice to pull off an upset through most of the first quarter, but a costly muffed punt by Ace Sanders inside the 10 yard line gave Dallas the short field and all the momentum the Jaguars had after taking a 7-3 lead and coming up with a big stop.

Big plays given up by the secondary and general ineffectiveness on the offensive side of the ball doomed the Jaguars before the second half even began, and it’s difficult to garner a lot of positives from their performance at Wembley.

Still, after having a night to reflect, it’s worth going back and taking note of a few interesting observations. We’ll have plenty of time to dissect the roster during the bye week, but for now let’s take a look back at yesterday’s game and focus on 3 takeaways.

1. Blake Bortles is still inconsistent, but improving

As always, we’ll start with the most important player on the field. Watching the game live, there seemed to be more than a few throws where Bortles’ inability to place the ball at good spot for the receiver doomed a few plays. Even on some of the catches, the receivers had to make great plays to catch the ball.

Looking back now, it’s clear Bortles improved on his level of play compared to the previous 3 weeks. Even though he still had an interception, Bortles made fewer poor decisions than in weeks past. He still forced a few throws, but there weren’t too many head scratching near-picks. Luke talked a little bit about Bortles and his performance under pressure, but he actually didn’t throw an interception under duress this week. If Sanders doesn’t muff that punt and if Denard doesn’t fumble after Cecil Shorts‘ big catch and run, the Jaguars and Bortles would have been in a much better spot heading into the half. Bortles is doing a better job of learning to play within himself and, even though it is incremental, he’s clearly making strides as a quarterback.

2. The Jaguars still need a big time pass rusher

It’s tempting to look at the Jaguars 28 total sacks for the season thus far (good enough for 3rd in the league) and say the pass rush isn’t an issue. In reality, the Jacksonville defensive line has been greater than the sum of their parts this season, and it was quite evident on Sunday. Against arguably the best offensive line in the NFL, the Jaguars couldn’t get anywhere near Tony Romo early on when the game was still in contention. The Jaguars were only credited with 5 QB hurries, while the Cowboys were credited with 13 on the other side of the ball.

Sen’Derrick Marks and Ryan Davis are fine players, particularly as interior pass rushers. It’s on the edge where the Jaguars are underwhelming, and the main culprit has been free agent signing Chris Clemons. Here’s a discouraging tidbit from Pro Football Focus on Chris Clemons:

"While Clemons has five sacks on the season, his 4.4 Pass Rushing Productivity is last among 4-3 defensive ends who have played at least half of their team’s passing plays."

The case could be made for Clemons being the worst pass rushing 4-3 defensive end in the entire NFL. On the field, Clemons isn’t exactly passing the eye test either. It’s easy to forget he’s on the field most of the time, particularly on passing downs. The Jaguars are almost certainly going to key on a pass rusher at the top of the 2015 draft.

3. Marqise Lee needs to be more involved

After being selected early in the second round, most people were excited about what Marqise Lee could bring to the table with his speed and ability to stretch the field. Unfortunately, injuries sidelined Lee early in the season and pushed him down the depth chart. There are probably several possible reasons for Lee’s absence on offense, but I find it hard to believe he wouldn’t be an immediate upgrade at punt returner. Ace Sanders has been underwhelming so far since returning from his suspension, and his fumble on Sunday was the lowlight of what’s been a poor season for him. The coaching staff tried to deflect some of Sanders lack of productivity as a returner last year referring to his workload as a receiver, but that’s not an excuse anymore. If Lee isn’t cracking the receiver rotation, let him try and contribute on special teams.