Jaguars fall to Falcons in lackluster performance on Sunday
By David Levin
Once again, the Jacksonville Jaguars prove to be inept in 24-12 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on the road.
On an afternoon where the Jacksonville Jaguars needed to show they had some life left in what has turned out to be a disappointing season, they once again could not find their way out of an early hole.
The 24-12 loss to the Atlanta Falcons proved once again the offense still cannot muster points on multiple scoring drives and the defense cannot defend the pass against top wideouts in the league. The team was outcoached from the opening whistle, which makes fans here in Jacksonville wonder if rumors of both general manager David Caldwell and head coach Doug Marrone returning next season are a bit premature.
"“These are tough times right now,” rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II said via Jaguars.com."
The loss was the Jaguars sixth in their last seven games. The team has their home finale left this coming Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. The game time has been switched to 4:25 pm because there are playoff implications for the visiting team.
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"“We’re doing everything we can,” Minshew added. “We’re busting our tail trying to figure it out. I don’t think there’s any magic switch or anything that just can happen. But we’re going to do everything in our power to make it right.”"
This isn’t a matter of trying to make things happen anymore. It’s been a lost season since the bye week and nothing the Jaguars have done on either side of the ball, sans the performance on offense from Minshew on occasion, running back Leonard Fournette and wide receiver DJ Chark, can make me think otherwise.
There is a disconnect between the coaching staff and how this roster has played, injuries aside.
"“It’s tough, for all of us,” Marrone said in his postgame comments with the media. “We weren’t able to get anything done and didn’t recover from that. We should have probably gone a bit more vertical. They were squatting us early on.”"
The last time #Jaguars played Falcons on the road was December 15,2011, one day after Shad Khan's purchase of the team was approved by NFL owners. They lost 41-14 at the Georgia Dome. Sunday, they lost 24-12 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
— Eugene Frenette (@GeneFrenette) December 23, 2019
The loss also creates more discussion about his future. The story by ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter two days ago, stating team owner Shad Khan may be inclined to keep both Marrone and Caldwell, is now clouded as this game may have affected that possibility.
"“The Jaguars have not made an official announcement on the status of Marrone or Caldwell for next season, and there might not be one since both are under contract for one more year,” Schefter wrote.“In addition, sources say Khan is optimistic that Marrone — who is said to have support for his return among key players — and Caldwell will be able to operate effectively and successfully with more breathing room in a post-Coughlin era.”"
Khan has not issued a statement about anyone else’s future within the organization other than the statement that was released the night he fired Tom Coughlin, the Jaguars former executive vice-president of football operations.
Another depressing tidbit: The Jaguars have scored 22 points in the first half of the last seven games combined. COMBINED. Hard to win when you're chasing double-digit leads all the time.
— Michael DiRocco (@ESPNdirocco) December 22, 2019
This is a season that has also taken its toll on players. As Calais Campbell, Abry Jones and other veterans have been vocal this season about how tough it has been on the roster.
"“Things happen,” Campbell said after the game. “You have to be able to handle the distractions, no matter what it is. This is def a lot more than any season I’ve had, but what can you do? “Nobody’s going to feel sorry for you. You still have a job to do and you have to get it done. Today, we didn’t.”"
This was the second time this season that the Jaguars surrendered 500 yards in a game and the second time in franchise history this has happened twice in a season. The last time this happened was 2012. Jacksonville gave up 525 yards to the Los Angeles Chargers in a 45-10 loss two weeks ago at home.
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