Weekly Superlatives: Jaguars @ Titans
The Jaguars fell short against the Titans in Nashville, but several individuals reached important milestones this week!
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MVP: Blake Bortles — Quite Simply, Bortles had his best game as a pro. He was 24 of 36, throwing for 322 yards and 5 touchdowns. He had what was perhaps the greatest game by a Jaguars quarterback of all time and in doing so he broke the Jaguars single season passing touchdown record, which is now at 27 and counting. He lead the Jaguars up and down the field through out the game and only had one really bad pass, but fortunately for him, it slipped right through the hands of the Titans defender.
Offensive Player of the Week: Allen Robinson — Robinson, too, had his best game as a pro. He scored three times and racked up 10 catches for 153 yards in the process. All of Allen Robinson’s numbers are really impressive; He is first in receiving TD’s amongst wide receivers; first in catches of 20+ yards, and 5th in receiving yards, yet the most impressive part of his game is how racks up those stats. He make catches that no Jaguar fan has ever seen before in nearly every game. He makes you say “wow, what a catch” week in and week out. It’s clear that Bortles and Robinson are cornerstones for the future of this franchise and will be here for many years to come.
Defensive Player of the Week: Telvin Smith — The defense had a terrible game for the second straight week, but Telvin Smith did not. He racked up 9 tackles, 2 sacks, and a forced fumble. He remains at third in the NFL in tackles on the season, and is a Pro Bowl quality player. It’s great for the Jaguars that the have found a true star at linebacker, now if Dave Caldwell and his team of scouts can just find a few more defensive stars, this team will be in great shape.
Special Teams Player of the Week: None — Sure Denard Robinson was fine on his kick returns, and Rashad Greene was good on his sole punt return, but neither of them had a huge impact on special teams. Anger did okay punting the ball too, but special teams was very frustrating this week. Jason Myers missed two extra points. TWO EXTRA POINTS! The front office will have some serious decisions to make regarding the future of the Jaguars kicker in the coming weeks.
Needs the Most Improvement: Well, obviously kicking extra points is an area that needs great improvement, but so does the pass defense. It seems like Gus Bradley and his defensive staff are running out of ideas. The can’t rush the passer with just four players and they can’t blitz effectively with any consistency. Couple the lack of pass rush with the lack of a shutdown corner or two and you have some serious issues against the pass. Something has to change moving forward.