JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars have a new oppurtunity coming up in just a few days at EverBank Stadium, but that doesn’t mean the lessons from their Week 2 loss should not sink in.
So, what questions linger after the Jaguars’ 20-13 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 2, and how can Liam Coen’s squad start answering them? We break it down below.
How Can the Pass-Rush Ignite?
The Jaguars’ pass-rush was not impactful against the Broncos, with the entire defense notching just six pressures on the day despite a high blitz rate. The Jaguars saw a lot of play-action, bootlegs, screens, and check downs against the Broncos, limiting the number of chances to really get after Bo Nix, and the Jaguars then could not scheme up any effective pressure looks. Combine a lack of true one-on-one wins across the front, and it was a tough day.
“I think they did a nice job of mixing some of their schemes, in terms of limiting maybe some of the true drop back ops that he had. They were moving the launch point. They ran a lot of boots on early downs, which moved the launch point, got us chasing and running a little bit. They did a nice job, I think, of chipping when they needed to,” Jaguars head coach Coen said Monday.
“And Bo [Broncos QB Bo Nix], I thought, did a really good job. He would get to the top of his drop, and maybe the routes hadn’t declared yet, and he was checking it down a ton. And even if we were rallying and tackling, it’s still frustrating for the D-line. It’s frustrating for those guys when, maybe it’s even a longer down-and-distance situation, he checks it down. Frustrating for sure, but I thought Denver did a nice job of mixing it up, some of the play action, moving the launch point, the boots. They threw a number of screens on the perimeter to spit the ball out. It was a combination of they did a nice job of mixing it, and when we had some of those ops to go, we just didn’t take advantage of them.”
How can the Jaguars answer this moving forward? Well, they will get a chance right away against the New England Patriots, who rank No. 7 in sack rate allowed and No. 16 in pressure rate allowed. Josh McDaniels is not exactly Sean Payton in terms of scheming, and the Patriots’ offensive line isn’t exactly the Broncos. The Jaguars have a more favorable matchup this time around, and they must take advantage of it.
Aside from that, the Jaguars need their interior defensive linemen to start winning more on passing downs. Arik Armstead, DaVon Hamilton, Ruke Orhorhoro, Matt Dickerson, and Albert Regis have combined for five pressures on 108 pass-rush snaps according to NextGenStats. 79 defenders in the NFL have recorded five pressures by themselves this season, a sign that the Jaguars simply need more from the interior.
Can the OL Perform Against Top DLs?
The Jaguars have had some issues against top defensive fronts over the past two seasons, and it is hard to imagine things will get any easier any time soon. The Jaguars allowed one of their highest pressure rates of the Liam Coen era against the Broncos, with seemingly all five starting offensive linemen taking a quick loss at one point or another to throw the passing game off.
For the Jaguars to play meaningful football down the stretch, they will have to be able to hold their own against elite pass rushes. Denver is not the only dangerous defensive line the Jaguars will play this season, and this line in particular has a lot to prove in the coming weeks. The good news, depending on how you look at it, is that the Jaguars can start answering some of these questions in Week 3.
The Patriots do not have the stacked pass-rush the Broncos may have, but they do have Milton Williams and Christian Barmore. They are both near the same tier of player as Zach Allen, which means the offensive line can give us some answers quickly.
When Will Bhayshul Tuten Become the Lead Back?
Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten has started to take more and more of the backfield action through two weeks. He played near-even snaps with Chris Rodriguez Jr. in Week 1 but was still more involved with the offense, leading the entire unit in touches and yards from scrimmage. Week 2 saw Tuten once again get the ball a good bit more than Rodriguez, and he was also simply on the field more often, with their wide split in snaps making it look more like Tuten is the No. 1 and Rodriguez is the No. 2.
So, what does Tuten need to do to officially become the No. 1 back? He dos rank No. 15 in carries and is in front of other No. 1 running backs like Quinshon Judkins, Javonte Williams, and in front other timeshare running backs like the Los Angeles Rams duo. But Tuten has still felt more mixed into the running game than the true focal point of the offense, which is curious since the Jaguars are just No. 28 in pass rate in the NFL through two weeks.
The solution to this is likely to continue to keep Rodriguez’s role trending in the direction it started heading in Week 2. Tuten was the hot hand and the Jaguars kept going to him when it came to their options in the backfield, and that should be the pattern they have dealt in the weeks to come.
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