Jaguars can’t let Rams run the ball, 2 more keys to victory in Week 13

The Jaguars’ offense needs to work with manageable downs.

It’s no secret the Jaguars have struggled to score points in recent weeks. Even in their stunning Week 9 win over the Bills, their defense did the dirty work and carried the offense. Moreover, they ranked near the cellar of the league in third-down efficiency as recently as Week 12. However, Jacksonville showed flashes of offensive efficiency and had a 56.25 percent success rate in third downs against the Falcons.

If the Jaguars can avoid going third-and-out as much as possible and can post a high third-down completion rate once again, they will have a shot at keeping up with the Rams in Week 13.

During his sitdown with the local media, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell cited staying in better down-in-distance situations as a reason for the Jaguars’ slight offensive surge over the last two weeks.

"I think one of the things that really helped us last week was staying in better data distance situations. I think six of them were third-and-1s and one of those six was in that two-minute [drive], starting with 10 seconds to go. You’d like to play that was different but the game dictated that one, so the short yardage was really good."

Of course, it’s easier to keep drives alive when you’re third-and-3 rather than third-and-8, and the Jaguars must avoid going third-and-long as few times as possible in Week 13.

The Jags came close to coming back against both the Indianapolis Colts and the Atlanta Falcons but couldn’t seal the deal and ultimately lost both games. Then again, the Rams have a more formidable defense, and might be more difficult to move to ball against them.

You should always expect the unexpected when it comes already pulled off an upset against the Bills. Can they repeat the feat against the Rams?