Embarrassing defensive stat makes the Jaguars' loss to the Bears look even worse

The Jacksonville Jaguars got off to a promising start in Week 6, forcing a punt and making a field goal on the ensuing drive to make it 3-0. But the game quickly got out of control and the Chicago Bears beat them 35-16. While the Jags' offense played a role in the outcome of the game, the defense wasn't particularly great. In fact, a dreadful stat shows just how bad the unit was.

Apart from safety Andre Cisco telling the media that he felt some of his teammates quit, Michael DiRocco posted on Twitter after the loss that Trevor Lawrence had as many tackles as Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker, Arik Armstead, Maason Smith, Roy Robertson-Harris, and Jordan Jefferson.

What's troubling about DiRocco's observation is that those players aren't in the cellar of the depth chart but are supposed to be the team's marquee defenders. For instance, Hines-Allen had 17.5 sacks last year but only 2.5 six games into this season.

Similarly, Arik Armstead was given a $43.5 million contract in free agency to shore up the interior trenches. The move earned rave reviews in the offseason, but he's been lining up on the edge and has been underwhelming, logging five total tackles and a measly sack.

Circling back to the stat DiRocco shared, the lack of tackle by those players wouldn't have been an issue if others had stepped up. But that wasn't the case. Tackling and coverage were an issue for a Jags team that gave up 35 points and made Caleb Williams look like Sid Luckman in the process, giving up four touchdowns. That's the most by a Chicago rookie since Cade McCown. On top of that, he completed a season-best 79.3 percent of his throws.

Heading into Week 7, Jacksonville is 31st in both points surrendered and total yards and surely wondering what went wrong.

Jaguars DC Ryan Nielsen should be under as much as scrutiny as Press Taylor

Press Taylor has often been associated with the Jacksonville Jaguars' struggles on offense, and understandably so. He's the offensive coordinator and calls plays on that side of the ball. Sure, other factors (such as drops, and blocking) have played a role in the team's inability to put points on the scoreboard, but Taylor has gotten most of the flak, whether it's deserving or not. Perhaps Ryan Nielsen should get the same level of criticism.

The defense underperformed in 2023 with Mike Caldwell at the helm. Although they were among the top 10 units early in the season, position groups were no longer communicating with each other and assignments were hardly ever discussed toward the end. Not surprisingly, he got the boot and the team's brass replaced him with Nielsen.

Unlike his predecessor, Nielsen put an emphasis on technique and fundamentals during his previous two stops as the defensive coordinator. In Jacksonville, he had ample talent to work with, so it was thought that his success was going to carry over. But that hasn't been the case.

The Jaguars have one of the worst defenses in the NFL and some of it is due to Neilsen's odd personnel decisions. For instance, he has his linebacker corps rotate as if it were a hockey team, or instead of plugging Arik Armstead at the defensive tackle, he has him playing on the edge behind Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen. The strategy is clearly not working based on the results.

What's frustrating is that the Jacksonville Jaguars have too much talent to be so underwhelming on defense. And unless Ryan Nielsen and head coach Doug Pederson turn the corner, they'll be gone in 2024.

More Jaguars analysis here: