Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 frustrating stats that defined loss vs Titans

2. The Jacksonville Jaguars stopped giving James Robinson the ball.

Second-year running back James Robinson has been given a bigger workload in recent weeks after getting a combined 16 carries in the first two games of the season. The former Redbird is averaging five yards per carrry, so it makes sense that the Jags feed him the ball as much as possible.

Against the Cincinnati Bengals, Robinson toted the rock 18 times for 84 yards and two touchdowns. He was arguably having an even better game against the Titans and then, he stopped getting the ball. The sophomore had 12 carries in the first two quarters of the game but only half that amount in the last two.

To add insult to injury, Carlos Hyde, not Robinson, was called upon on a crucial fourth-and-goal at the Titans’ one-yard line. Hyde ended up losing yardage on the play and the Jags turned the ball on downs instead of scoring. Head coach Urban Meyer said he didn’t know who was on the field at the time. Also, he said he didn’t know Robinson’s usage decreased in the second half.

As the head coach, Meyer must know what’s happening at all times. Why didn’t Robinson get the ball more often? It was likely an oversight. Maybe it was bad judgment. Regardless of the reason, you must trust your best players to make plays at crucial times, and the Jags’ deprived the 2020 undrafted free agent of the opportunity to make plays for the team.

Robinson told the local media that he goes with the call but most players would have surely felt frustrated if they had been in his position.