Jacksonville Jaguars Beat Atlanta Falcons 17-6: What We Learned

The Jacksonville Jaguars won their second preseason game in a row by beating the Atlanta Falcons 17-6 on Saturday night at TIAA Bank Field.

The Jacksonville Jaguars used a strong defensive performance and a solid rushing attack to beat the Atlanta Falcons in the third preseason game of the season for both football teams, 17-6.

The win wasn’t without injury as the Jaguars top wide receiver Marqise Lee went down with an apparent knee injury in the first half of the game. It is not known the severity of the injury yet, but the team’s head coach Doug Marrone told the media after the game the fifth-year wide receiver would be evaluated more on Sunday.

"“Obviously it looked bad,” Marrone said. “Doctors told me, ‘Hey listen, we’re not going to be able to know anything until tomorrow and we’ll have more information tomorrow on it.”’"

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Lee left the game on a cart in the first quarter after Falcons cornerback Damontae Kazee went helmet-first into his knee and then twisted his leg.

If Lee is out for the season (and this is of course speculation) it will be the second season is a row the Jaguars will have lost their top pass catcher to a knee injury. Allen Robinson tore his ACL in the first few minutes of the season opener at Houston in 2017.

Here are three other things we learned in the victory on Saturday night.

Questioning Bortles 

This should be a hot topic this week here in Jacksonville. Blake Bortles has thrown three interceptions in the last two preseason games.

Bortles was 17 of 23 for 204 yards on the night and led the team to 10 first-half points, but he has not looked like the player who has performed in practice. He was also sacked two times on the night.

Backup Cody Kessler was 7 for 7 for 79 yards. He was sacked three times.

There is no quarterback controversy with this team, but Bortles must play better and show he can start a game hot and lead the Jaguars down the field and throw touchdown passes.

Running for Daylight

The Jaguars ground game looked solid Saturday night. Leonard Fournette ran with authority and found holes from better play on the offensive line. He rushed for 57 yards on 10 carries and ran through a huge hole in the second quarter for a 21-yard touchdown.

When Fournette left the game, the Jaguars didn’t lose much rhythm with both T.J. Yeldon and Corey Grant picking up carries and moving the football.  Grant has five carries for 32 yards. Yeldon added 23 yards on five carries as well.

The Jaguars ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns on the night.

Moncrief Stepped Up

Now that Lee’s status with the team is in question, other wide receivers will need to step up and lead. One of them, Donte Moncrief, finally showed flashes of what he can be for this offense.

The Jaguars signed Moncrief in the offseason to a one-year deal worth more than $9 million. He had averaged only 8.8 yards per catch in the preseason until last night.

Moncrief had three catches on five targets for 62 yards. His highlight of the night was a 37-yard pass play.

The Jaguars used the running backs often in the offense. Fournette, Yeldon, and Lee caught a combined 11 passes.