The Jacksonville Jaguars got out to a hot start in their first preseason game of the season as they defeat the New England Patriots by a score of 31-24.
Yes, it was “just preseason” but it was great for the fans to see football under the lights again. For the most part the Jaguars looked good. They had their fair share of bad plays/players as well but overall it was a solid performance for the team in their first game under new head coach Doug Marrone.
Here are some of quick thoughts and notes from the game.
Offense-what looked good:
- Doug Marrone said the team wanted to emphasize running the football and boy did they. The Jaguars ran the ball 37 times and only passed the ball 18 times.
- The Jaguars ran for 207 yards on the ground including Leonard Fournette’s first professional touchdown and a long touchdown scamper of 79 yards by Corey Grant.
- The Jaguars are very deep at wide receiver. Rookies Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole took turns beating Patriots cornerback Cyrus Jones for long touchdowns.
- Chad Henne and Brandon Allen both played well. Henne went 5/6 for 139 yards and a touchdown. Allen was 5/7 for 85 yards and a touchdown.
- The offensive line appeared to pass block very well all game and gave up zero sacks all night. The run blocking was also good but not great, allowing some early penetration by the Patriots front four.
- The Jaguars committed no turnovers.
Offense-what looked bad:
For the most part the Jaguars’ offense looked really good and there isn’t much to comment on
- Blake Bortles didn’t stand out one way or another. I will say his mechanics look improved and he appeared to climb the pocket well on a 3rd and goal pass attempt that fell incomplete to Allen Robinson. He was 3/5 for 16 yards.
- Rashad Greene had an ugly drop in the first quarter that would have been a sure first down. He cannot afford these drops as he battles for what will likely be the 6th receiver spot on the team.
Defense-what looked good:
It’s hard to evaluate the defense in preseason as the Jaguars top three cornerbacks sat out and Tom Brady didn’t see the field for the Patriots. But here’s what I noticed:
- Yannick Ngakoue looked really good. He had one sack in the first quarter, and was very close to another as he made Jimmy Garoppolo get rid of the ball in a hurry.
- Barry Church appeared to be around the ball quite often.
- Sheldon Day appears to have taken the next step. Granted he saw playing time against mostly Patriots backups but he was still a force up front.
- Telvin Smith is still Telvin Smith, and that’s a good thing for the Jaguars.
- Jacksonville won the turnover battle forcing a fumble in the second half on D.J. Foster.
Defense-what looked bad:
- The Jaguars reserve cornerbacks are not very good. Jimmy Garoppolo torched them all night finishing 22/28 for 235 yards and two TDs, and a 125.4 passer rating.
- Myles Jack was caught out of position a few times, this is to be expected as he is learning a new position. However, if this continues it could spell trouble for the Jaguars.
- The Jaguars may still have trouble covering tight ends, as Patriots reserve tight end Jacob Hollister torched them across the middle all night finishing with seven receptions for 116 yards.
Like I said before, it is very hard to evaluate a defense in their first preseason game that is missing multiple key starters. But these are the things that stood out the most.
Did anything else stand out to you? Let us know!