3 problems the Jaguars must fix to go toe-to-toe vs. the Lions in Week 11

The Jacksonville Jaguars are currently riding a three-game losing skid and barely holding onto the season. Next on their schedule is a Detroit Lions team that's coming off a gritty win over the Houston Texans. Heading into the game, the Jags are a 13-point underdog.

You could argue that the 13-point spread is too much. After all, Jacksonville came close to beating the Minnesota Vikings and nearly pulling off the upset one week prior. However, they weren't able to seal the deal, and that's what ultimately matters. Good teams find ways to win, and the bad ones cannot get the job done.

This begs the questions, what do the Jaguars need to fix in order to go toe-to-toe with the Lions? These three things would most definitely help.

Build the game plan around Mac Jones, integrate play action more often

While a dropoff from Trevor Lawrence to Mac Jones was expected, nobody would've imagined that it was going to be that steep. Lawrence has struggled through the season and has been far from perfect. However, he hasn't been as underwhelming as Jones was against the Vikings.

The Alabama product went 14-of-22 for 115 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. Granted, he threw the picks late in the game, but it was still concerning that he was unable to move the ball. Throughout the game, he looked overwhelmed, and the coaching staff didn't do much to help him. One thing they can do against the Lions is add more play-action.

As Bill Barnwell of ESPN points out, Jones thrived on RPO at Alabama and Doug Pederson routinely used the concept with Nick Foles during his stint as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. However, the fourth-year quarterback only ran one play-action snap in Week 10.

Lawrence is still dealing with the shoulder sprain he suffered in Week 9 and has already been ruled out for the Lions game. The coaching staff must further adjust the game plan to suit Jones' strengths and that includes running more play-action snaps.

Running backs must clean up pass protection

The Jaguars gave up three sacks and eight total pressures against Minnesota. That's not a bad statline but it isn't great either. What stands out is that running backs Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne were responsible for two of the sacks. It's worth noting that D'Ernest Johnson wasn't much better in pass protection.

"A little of everything. I thought too, Minnesota showing six, seven guys up," Pederson responded one day after the game when asked about the running backs struggling in pass protection. "That's their style, it's going to create edges. They did a good job too."

Looking back, it was uncharacteristic of Etienne to struggle in pass protection. Perhaps Pederson is right, Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores out-schemed the Jaguars, but if that's the case, their coaching staff then deserves criticism for not preparing and making the necessary adjustments. That needs to chance against the Lions.

The Jaguars must get Tank Bigsby involved vs. the Lions

After a disappointing rookie campaign, sophomore Tank Bigsby has established himself as a key contributor on offense. The former Auburn Tiger has even outplayed fellow running back Travis Etienne at times and registered two 100-yard games despite not getting a big workload. Heck, his 6.2 yards per carry early in the season ranked second in the league only behind Derrick Henry.

Surprisingly, though, Bigsby has seen a decrease in playing time the past two weeks. You would think that the Jaguars would want to get him involved and wear defenses down, but that hasn't been the case. Against the Eagles, he only had eight carries and seven of them came in the second half. Things weren't much better against the Packers. The Georgia native only had two offensive snaps in the second half. Both games were close, so there was no reason not to feed him the ball.

Granted, the Vikings' defense excels at stopping the run, but Mac Jones also had trouble moving the ball through the air. Why not give your best players a chance to make plays?

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