Jacksonville Jaguars: 5 players who must shine to avoid losing streak

After going 1-15 last season, the Jacksonville Jaguars spent the offseason making upgrades to the roster. However, the changes didn’t amount to much in Week 1 and the Jags lost to the Houston Texans 37-21. Head coach Urban Meyer acknowledged on Monday that the team lacked discipline and pointed out that it’s always difficult to come back from self-inflicted wounds.

Meyer noted the margin for error when facing a talented team is close to zero. The problem with this statement is that Houston is far from a top-tier team. Sure, they were the only AFC team to win in the season opener but they’re far from a contender. Jacksonville had a better team at least on paper, but Texans head coach David Culley had his team ready to go.

On the days preceding Sunday, Meyer and the coaching staff will need to get back to the drawing board and fix some of the issues that plagued them in Week 1, such as working on their tackling and putting together a more balanced game plan. Also, these five Jaguars need to shine against the Denver Broncos if the team wants to avoid starting a losing streak.

Jacksonville Jaguars player who must shine No. 1 – OG A.J. Cann

Right guard A.J. Cann had one of the worst games of his seven-year career in Week 1, allowing seven total pressures and posting a subpar Pro Football Focus overall grade of 38.0. If you had to guess which Jaguars’ offensive lineman would struggle against the Texans, you might have probably taken left tackle Cam Robinson or right tackle Jawaan Taylor over Cann.

The South Carolina product has been a staple of the Jaguars’ offensive line for years. Although he’s not a Pro Bowl-caliber player, he’s more than reliable, having appeared in 92 games with 91 starts since being selected in the third round of the 2015 draft. He needs to bounce back in Week 2 and be his reliable self versus the Broncos.