Tank Bigsby helps Jaguars avoid catastrophe, more Week 7 predictions vs. Patriots
The Jacksonville Jaguars find themselves in what seems to be a must-win game when they face the New England Patriots in Week 7. Coming off an embarrassing loss to the Chicago Bears, the Jags are trying to salvage what's turned out to be a disappointing season.
Working in Jacksonville's favor is that the 1-5 Pats aren't doing so great themselves. In fact, things have gotten so bad, that they thrust Drake Maye behind center in Week 6 even though they originally wanted him to redshirt his rookie season.
While Maye showed promise in his first NFL start, he's still a rookie, and that's a matchup a struggling Jaguars' defense cannot afford to waste. On the other hand, their offense has been plagued by mistakes but has done just about enough this season to make you think they can beat New England if they put it all together.
With that in mind, here are three bold predictions for the Jaguars' Week 7 contest against the Patriots.
Tank Bigsby will break off a couple big runs for the Jaguars, go over 100 yards
Sophomore Tank Bigsby has been one of the Jaguars' few brights this season. This is more impressive when you take into account that he was one of their most disappointing players just a year ago. The former Auburn Tiger has been so good that he's made Travis Etienne an afterthought in their backfield.
Granted, Etienne has been dealing with a shoulder injury, but even when he was healthy, he was outplayed by Bigsby.
In Week 5, Bigsby had his first 100-yard game ever in the NFL, and he'll get his second one when the Jaguars play New England at Wembley Stadium.
Trevor Lawrence will go over 300 yards and 3 TDs no INTs vs. the Patriots
Trevor Lawrence was underwhelming the first three games of the season but he's played much better the past three. His best outing of 2024 came in Week 5 when he completed 82.4 percent of his passes for 371 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
The former Clemson Tiger wasn't nearly as productive in the loss against the Bears but he didn't get much help from his receivers, who dropped several would-be touchdowns, and tight end Evan Engram, who had a costly fumble.
The silver lining is that Lawrence has gotten better protection from his offensive line, and if his receivers can cut down on the drops, he will have a realistic shot at throwing for three touchdown passes for the first time this season.
The Jaguars defense will limit the Patriots offense to 2 TDs and one field goal
Limiting a team to just two touchdowns and a field goal seems like an easy feat to achieve, but that's one the 2024 Jaguars have struggled to pull off. Heck, they rank 31st in the league in points surrendered and their passing defense is the worst in the league. Working in their favor is that they'll next take on an inexperienced Drake Maye.
Granted, the Jaguars defense is coming off a dreadful performance against the Bears, but with their season on the line, they'll be incentivized to have their best game of the season.
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