The Jacksonville Jaguars are looking to steer the ship in the right direction after a slow start to 2024. In Week 8, they welcomed the Green Bay Packers at EverBank Stadium. Trailing before halftime, the Jags will have to get ahead on the scoreboard without a couple of key starters on offense.
Right guard Brandon Scherff and wide receiver Gabe Davis left the game in the first half. The former suffered an injury when the Jags entered the Green Bay red zone in the second half. The latter suffered a shoulder injury.
The team's PR account on Twitter announed that Scheff is questionable to return.
OL Brandon Scherff has a knee injury and his return is questionable.
— JaguarsPR (@JaguarsPR) October 27, 2024
Davis is also questionable to return. During his absence, the Jaguars could go with two tight-end sets or roll with wide receiver time Jones.
WR Gabe Davis has a shoulder injury and his return is questionable.
— JaguarsPR (@JaguarsPR) October 27, 2024
Not long after Scherff left, the Jaguars scored to make it 10-7. On that possession, the offense marched 70 yards down the field on six plays. That was their most productive drive of the game. Prior to that, the Jags had tallied just 29 total yards.
A fifth-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2020, Davis signed with the Jags earlier this year. Before Week 8, the former UCF Knight caught 18 passes for 217 yards with two touchdowns.
Scherff, on the other hand, joined the Jags in 2022. He's started 40 consecutive games in Jacksonville. Sophomore Cooper Hodges has stepped in his place. Heading into the third quarter, the Jaguars are 13-10.
The Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence must show out in the second half
Trevor Lawrence has been underwhelming against the Packers, going 7-of-12 for 117 yards with one interception. This is disappointing when you take into account that he's played much better in recent weeks and there were reasons to believe he was on a hot streak.
Similarly, sophomore running back Tank Bigsby hasn't been able to make an impact. racking up 24 yards on seven carries. Of the Jaguars' first five drives in the first half, three ended on punts and one with an interception. Things aren't much better on defense. The unit has had trouble stopping the Green Bay offense despite the fact that Jordan Love doesn't seem to be 100 percent.
Outside of a Jarrian Jones interception, the unit has made several puzzling mistakes. One of them was a delay of game late in the second quarter. That's noteworthy because that's a penalty normally associated with the offensive side of the ball.
Working in the Jags' favor is that they still have ample time to turn things around. Moreover, Lawrence appears to have hit his stride before halftime, so Jacksonville still has a realistic shot at winning its third game of the season.