Jaguars: 3 stats that explain humiliating loss to the Seahawks

No process is linear and nobody expected the Jacksonville Jaguars to become a Super Bowl contender in Year 1 of the Urban Meyer era. However, it was a bit shocking to see the Jags get soundly beaten by the Seattle Seahawks in Week 8.

Heading into the game, the Jags looked like the better team and have improved in recent weeks. Meanwhile, the Hawks were coming off three losses in a row, had won just one more game than Jacksonville in 2021, and were without quarterback Russell Wilson. This was the perfect game for the Jags to build momentum and show they were on the right path. Alas, they squandered the opportunity and looked sloppy, and without direction in a game where they couldn’t score or stop Seattle from doing so.

So what exactly went wrong? How did the game become a blowout? These three statistics paint a pretty good picture.

1. The Jacksonville Jaguars couldn’t complete third downs.

In the days ahead of the game, Jaguars offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell told the local media the team put an emphasis on third-down efficiency during the BYE and noted the offense had to get much better in that key statistic.

After all, the Jags ranked 31st in third-down efficiency after seven weeks of football. Things didn’t get much better against the Seahawks, going 5-of-14 on third downs and 1-of-4 on fourth downs. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence deserves some of the blame but so do the wide receivers for dropping passes. Penalties didn’t help matters either, so the Jags will have to go back to the drawing board, and continue to work on an issue that has affected them all year long.