Although the Jacksonville Jaguars had some talented pieces in 2020, you could count them all with one hand and probably had fingers to spare. Edge rusher Josh Allen was one of few playmakers but was hindered by a knee injury for most of the year and wasn’t the same player he was in 2019.
Allen is now 100 percent healthy and has been arguably the Jaguars’ best defensive player in 2021. As head coach Urban Meyer recently told the local media, the Kentucky product has been playing hard, even if it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. In Week 9, it was clear how dominant he is, logging a sack, eight total tackles, two tackles for a loss, one interception, and a fumble recovery.
Even though it was a team effort, Allen stood out, becoming the first playing in NFL to sack a player with the same name. His impact in the Jaguars’ Week 9 win went beyond that play though. He set the tone for the defensive in what was a stunning upset, limiting the Bills’ high-gear offense to just six points.
After the game, Allen met with the local media and was asked what kind of message the win sent to the rest of the league. The 2019 first-round pick was straightforward, and maybe even blunt.
"We’re not going nowhere. We got to build, we’re going to build on this. I’m glad I’m not up here saying ‘We got to do better. When we on our stuff, we can be a really great defense and it showed today."
The Jaguars’ defense has played well at times. You could even argue that Joe Cullen’s unit has been better than their offensive counterpart but they hadn’t performed the way they did in Week 9. The fact that it was against the Bills’ top scoring offense makes it even noteworthy.
So what was different if Allen and edge rusher Dawuane Smoot have played the same way in recent weeks? Head coach Urban Meyer has a clear idea. He told the local media Allen got help from the Jags’ interior defensive front, “the interior pressure really set up a lot of things”.
Meyer is right. The Jaguars’ defensive front constantly disrupt Bills quarterback Josh Allen and forced him into making mistakes throughout the game. Here are other observations from the Jaguars’ 9-6 win over the Bills.
Jaguars defensive tackle Taven Bryan has a career day versus Bills.
Urban Meyer praised defensive linemen Taven Bryan, Jihad Ward, Adam Gostis, and Roy Robertson-Harris after the Jaguars’ win over the Bills. Of the bunch, Bryan was the one that had the biggest impact, logging two tackles for a loss and two sacks. This was the first multi-sack game of this four-year career in the NFL, having logged just 3.5 in the previous 54 games!
After the game, Bryan spoke with the local media but didn’t talk much about his outstanding performance. Instead, he talked about how good the win was for the team, “It’s always good to win. It’s good a morale boost”. The defensive tackle says it would be nice if the Jaguars can build on this win.
"There’s a lot of games left and the more wins we get, the better it is. So, start here, and then next week, and then the week after that. And then, hopefully you can just stack them on all the way on."
Bryan’s was mentioned as a potential trade target ahead of the 2021 deadline. It’s uncertain if the Jags listened to any offer or if they told teams he was available. But it’s a good thing that he stayed in Jacksonville, as he played a key role in the Jaguars’ second win of the year.
It’s hard to tell what kind of impact Bryan is going to have the remainder of the season. Was his play in Week 9 an outlier or a sign of good things to come? It may have been too little, too late but he finally played like the former first-round pick he is. The Jaguars won’t mind if he can keep playing like that the rest of the year. He himself doesn’t sound too worried, “I just think it’s a good start, [let’s] see what next week brings me”.
Trevor Lawrence is aware the Jaguars’ offense needs to perform better.
The Jaguars’ brass probably started sweating when they saw Trevor Lawrence hurt his ankle and had to exit the game in the second quarter. Fortunately, the injury wasn’t serious and the former Clemson Tiger returned to the field not long after.
C.J. Beathard took over at quarterback when Lawrence left but went back to the bench in the third quarter. Even before he injured his ankle, the rookie passer wasn’t having a particularly good performance. going 15-of-16 for 118 yards with no touchdowns and no inteceptions. The fact that the Jags’ skilled-position players dropped a handful of passes didn’t help matters.
Nevertheless, Lawrence knows he and his teammates need to play better. He told the media they can’t expect the defense to play the way they did against the Bills and noted that the offense needs to do their part.
"I’m kind of kicking myself because I know I could have played better down the stretch and as the season goes on. Our defense isn’t going to get four turnovers or three or I don’t know if it was three or four today every game. That’s that’s a lot to ask them to do. So we got to play better."
Lawrence is right. The defense can’t bail the offense out every game. They went 2-of-13 on third-down opportunities, they need to improve in that area. On the other hand, the quarterback says it feels good to watch tape after a win.
Keep in mind that the Jags went against the top-ranked defense in the NFL. Although he missed a few throws, he also avoided making major mistakes and moved the ball in key plays. Imagine how good the Jags could be if both the offense and the defense play up to their potential.
Can Lawrence play better? Absolutely. He needs to look at all those missed opportunities and try to clean them up. Once the he and his teammates stop celebrating their second win of the year, they will get back to the drawing board and try to build on their Week 9 performance.