Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 keys to pulling off an upset vs Cardinals

2. The Jacksonville Jaguars must get the running game going.

The Jaguars gave running back James Robinson a measly five carries in the season opener. He got a few more in Week 2 but not enough to make a difference. In both games, the Jags fell behind early and stopped running the ball because they tried to catch up. That might have made sense if Jacksonville had gotten into a shootout but that wasn’t the case.

In Week 3, the Jaguars will have to find the right balance. The coaching staff can let quarterback Trevor Lawrence attempt a deep ball in every down. They need to throw the right amount of short and intermediate passes but they have to also make Robinson a big part of the game plan. This doesn’t mean the Jags will play smash-mouth football and try to control the clock. Instead, they need to get the second-year running back involved so they can take some pressure off Lawrence’s shoulders.

Some of the throws the rookie passer has made over the last two weeks were a case of him wanting to do too much. To avoid facing a point deficit early in the game, the Jags must feed Robinson the ball, and put together a game plan that doesn’t have Lawrence throwing the ball 50 times.