Jacksonville Jaguars’ goals Preseason Week 3: Stay healthy

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ first team has been impressive thus far in the preseason. Now with the dress rehearsal coming, the team needs to focus on staying healthy.

There are few worse things in the NFL than seeing a key contributor go down with injury in the preseason. For key contributors (starters, defined role players, specialists) that aren’t in danger of losing their spot on the roster, the key thing to do in the preseason is to stay healthy.

For a young team like the Jacksonville Jaguars, it doesn’t make sense to endanger players like quarterback Blake Bortles, wide receivers Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, offensive linemen Brandon Linder and Jermey Parnell (among others), and defensive studs like Malik Jackson, Dante Fowler Jr., Myles Jack, Jalen Ramsey, and Telvin Smith. These players are not the only critical ones on the team, but they are going to be prime movers in 2016.

Week 3 of the preseason is generally considered the dress rehearsal for the coming regular season. It is a chance for the first team to show how they work together and test themselves against an opponent in a game situation. Whether implementing a new offense, working in new players, or simply focusing on executing, the primary goals of Week 3 of the preseason always include staying healthy (this goes for all preseason games as well).

For the young Jags, this is critical. The first team offense is expected to play into the third quarter on Sunday, offering numerous opportunities for injury to occur before the season begins. Teams can’t live in fear, of course, but it is more important to see what Bortles and company can deliver and then get off the field than it is to determine set reps ahead of time.

The Cincinnati Bengals – Preseason Week 3’s opponents – are going to be aggressive. They are a talented team that takes every single down with seriousness. They aren’t looking to back down just because it is the preseason.

Going against the Bengals should give the Jacksonville Jaguars a good sense of where they are in terms of development. The Bengals are a contender every year and can help determine if the Jags are ready to ascend in 2016 or not.

Still, the takeaway is to stay healthy, not just to be competitive against a top AFC team.

Hopefully we won’t see any injuries in the coming game.