The Jacksonville Jaguars are welcoming the New York Giants in Week 7. And despite the fact that they’ve lost three weeks in a row, the Jags are favored to win. The G-Men are currently 5-1, so bettors must feel good about Jacksonville’s chances of winning.
Then again, these aren’t your old Jaguars. They have enough talent to compete on both sides of the ball and none of their losses this season have been blowouts. The problem is that they haven’t been able to finish. Whether they can’t hold onto a lead or their comeback attempt falls short, Jacksonville had a chance to win in every one of their losses but couldn’t close.
If the Jags want to end their losing skid, these five players will need to shine Sunday.
No. 5 Jaguars player who must show out vs. the NY Giants: Tre Herndon, CB
This writer thought cornerback Shaquill Griffin would be a full-go Sunday but he’s already been ruled out. Tre Herndon will take his place in the lineup, so there shouldn’t be a dropoff in production. In fact, you could make the case that going with Herndon is the best course of action.
After all, Herndon fared well when he started against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3. In that game, the Vanderbilt product was targeted three times and allowed two receptions for 28 yards. Sure, that’s a 66.6 completion rate but he was hardly targeted because he was sticky in coverage.
After suffering an MCL injury in last year’s preseason, Herndon missed time and wasn’t 100 percent. Now that he’s fully healthy, he’s showing he’s capable of playing at a high level.
No. 4 Jaguars player who must show out vs. the Giants: Foley Fatukasi, DT
The Jaguars signed defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi to stop opposing teams from running the ball and that’s precisely what he’s done when he’s available. However, he’s missed the last two games and has been limited in practice with a quad injury this week.
If Fatukasi isn’t good to go Sunday, Jacksonville struggle to contain Giants running back Saquon Barkley. Conversely, having him in the lineup will increase their chances of containing the 2018 first-round pick.
Outside linebacker Josh Allen recently told Mia O’Brien of 1010 XL how huge is having the mammoth defensive tackle in the lineup, “Foley is obviously a freak of nature“. In any other setting, that would be considered an insult but that’s one of the highest compliments a football player can get.
No. 3 Jaguars player who must show out vs. the Giants: Travis Etienne, RB
Better late than ever and even though it took running back Travis Etienne one year to make an impact — through no fault of his own — taking him 25th overall in last year’s draft is paying off. After getting a limited workload in the first two games of the season, the former Clemson Tiger has seen an uptick in playing time in the last four.
Given that Etienne is averaging 5.6 yards per carry this season and has shown an affinity to make big plays, the Jaguars will most likely keep feeding him the ball. Sure, James Robinson will still get his fair share of snaps but it’s hard to justify keeping Etienne on the sidelines when he’s made the most of his opportunities.
Even though the Giants have given up the seventh-fewest points in the league, their defense ranks 28th in rushing yards allowed. This should entice the Jaguars coaching staff to give Etienne the ball as much as possible.
No. 2 Jaguars player who must show out vs. the Giants: Devin Lloyd, LB
The Jaguars had a hard time stopping Matt Ryan in Week 6 and while cornerback Shaquill Griffin deservedly took plenty of flak for the secondary’s struggles, rookie linebacker Devin Lloyd isn’t free of blame either.
While the former Utah Ute has played well for most of the season, he struggled against Indy, giving up a 100 percent completion rate on 13 receptions for 125 yards and one touchdown. Of course, players have bad games and Lloyd is just a rookie, so there’s reason to think he will be able to bounce back against the Giants.
Before Week 6, Lloyd was seen as a strong candidate to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and with a solid outing against New York, he should be back in the conversation.
No. 1 Jaguars player who must show out vs. the Giants: Trevor Lawrence, QB
It’s surprising what an efficient game can do for a player. Just two weeks ago, some disgruntled fans were either asking Trevor Lawrence to be benched or calling him a bust. Of course, you’re entitled to share your opinion, regardless of how valid their concerns might be.
But in Week 6, Lawrence played how he was expected when he became the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s selection meeting and the noise has decreased considerably even though the Jags lost to the Colts.
Lawrence had a pretty efficient game against the Colts, completing over 90 percent of his passes and scoring three total touchdowns. Moreover, he avoid making the kind of mistakes he had in the previous two games. If the former Clemson Tiger can once again play well and the defense makes a few key stops, the Jags should be able to beat the Giants.