5 Commanders the Jaguars must keep in check in Week 1

No. 4 Commander the Jaguars must account for: Andrew Norwell, LG

One of the lowest points for the Jaguars last season came when Andrew Norwell did a blocking assignment dubbed the whirlybird. Then offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said that was exactly how the play was supposed to unfold but looking back, he might just have tried to save face.

Whirlybird notwithstanding, Norwell was arguably the Jaguars’ best offensive lineman during his four-year run in Jacksonville. Even though the Ohio State product is coming off a somewhat down year, he’s still a pretty good player and should do a good job of protecting Carson Wentz Sunday. In fact, he’s never posted a Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade lower than 73.5 in his eight-year career.

No. 3 Commander the Jaguars must account for: Antonio Gibson, RB

One thing that stands out about running back Antonio Gibson’s 2021 stat sheet and not in a good way is his six fumbles. That’s certainly an area of concern for Washington, and if it isn’t, it should be. On the other hand, the former Memphis Tiger logged 1,037 rushing yards, good for second place in the NFC. And the season before, he had 795 yards and 11 touchdowns, so the Jags could have their hands full trying to stop him.

The Commanders will try to feed Gibson the ball early in the game to take some pressure off Carson Wentz and wear Jacksonville’s defense down. The Jags must contain him and put the burden of winning the game on Wentz’s shoulders.