Jacksonville Jaguars fall short in 27-23 loss to the Green Bay Packers
By Daniel Lago
The Jacksonville Jaguars had a chance to pull off a huge upset, but a curious play call ended the comeback attempt.
Things looked grim for the Jacksonville Jaguars as they started their season off in the worst way possible – a turnover on the first drive thanks to a tipped ball on the part of Marqise Lee, followed by an early touchdown for the Green Bay Packers.
It looked like the same old Jaguars.
Except it wasn’t. The Jaguars responded in kind, putting together a handful of scoring drives in the first half. The Jaguars looked like they were about to go into halftime with a 17-14 lead, but Aaron Rodgers showed why he’s the best quarterback on the planet with an otherworldly touchdown pass as time was winding down in the second quarter.
The second half was a slugfest and the Jaguars were plagued by the same problems as 2015 – they just couldn’t get the Green Bay offense off the field on third downs. The supposedly rejuvenated pass rush was non-existent, as Dante Fowler Jr. and Yannick Ngakoue never really bothered Rodgers. The few times the defensive line actually got pressure resulted in nothing, as Rodgers is good enough to move around in the pocket and make things happen when nothing is there.
There were some good things defensively, as the secondary looks much improved. All of the new additions (Jalen Ramsey, Tashaun Gipson, and Prince Amukamara) had their moments and should get even better as they become more comfortable in this defense. Unfortunately the holdovers, particularly Jonathan Cyprien, did not bode as well. Cyprien had a few missed tackles, the most notable one being one 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage that Eddie Lacy turned into a big gain.
Offensively, the Jaguars still looked really good. Blake Bortles looks confident and comfortable in this offense, and the unit managed to produce without really getting Allen Robinson involved at all until the 4th quarter. The Packers did a good job of limiting the Pro Bowl receiver.
Overall, this was a positive sign for the Jaguars but it’s not good enough. The Jaguars looked like the better team for most of the day but somehow still found a way to lose. We’ll have plenty of coverage throughout the week as we process the loss.