Report Card: Complementary Football Powers Jaguars
Complementary football was at the forefront of the Jaguars’ dominating win against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Defeating the AFC South Division rival 42-7, the Jaguars (5-2) were firing in all three phases and gave the home crowd at EverBank Stadium an exciting performance on both sides of the ball. The defense nearly pulled off a shutout against the Colts (2-6), and the offense fired from the opening drive, delivering the most well-rounded performances of the season.
“We played complementary football,” coach Liam Coen said Sunday. “Typically when we do that and we’re getting turnovers and we’re able to get some points off of turnovers, that’s usually a recipe for success and our guys kind of sense that. They feel that. They do a nice job of capitalizing on that.”
Here are the Jaguars’ grades in all three phases in Week 8.
Offense: A-
The running back unit was the shining star of Jacksonville’s offensive performance.
Running back Bhayshul Tuten had a standout day, rushing for a career-high 104 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. He was also a threat in the receiving game, adding two catches for 55 yards and a touchdown. His 55 receiving yards tied tight end Brenton Strange for the team high.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. also found success on the ground. He added 41 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
Overall, 183 of the Jaguars’ 366 total yards came on the ground.
“We ran the ball great, up front we played really physical at the line of scrimmage and moved guys and created some big opportunities for our running backs who played really well,” quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “I think that’s how you want to play every game. It doesn’t always go as clean as that, but that’s the idea is to set the tone upfront and be the more physical team. And I think our guys really did a good job of that yesterday.”
With the success of the run game, Lawrence didn’t have to do much in the win for the first time all season. He tossed just 14 passes, completing 10 of them for 210 yards.
A chunk of the yardage came from a 46-yard lob to Strange on the team’s opening 98-yard scoring drive. It was one of the better plays of the day from a tight end other than rookie Nate Boerkircher’s 31-yard touchdown grab.
Meanwhile, the offensive line, which has seen its fair share of struggles this year, held up nicely through the contest. It allowed Lawrence time on his dropbacks and paved the way for the explosive run game.
Defense: A
The defense was stifling from the start and continued its prevalent home success. Across three home games this season against the Browns, Patriots and Colts, the Jaguars have allowed just 27 total points. An opponent has only reached an end zone at EverBank twice this year.
“It’s just feeding off the energy and the opportunity that we have to feel that connectivity that comes through the team and then the crowd kind of feeds off of it and then helps us as well,” linebacker Foyesade Oluokun said. “I feel like even though it’s loud, we stress on our communication; everybody’s dialed in all the way through the downs and stuff. I think we did a good job of getting the calls, even though it was loud all the way until the snap.”
Oluokun, as has been the case most of the season, led the charge, posting a team-leading nine total tackles and adding a sack, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit.
The Jaguars sacked Colts quarterback Daniel Jones four times and added six tackles for loss, six passes defended and 10 quarterback hits. They stifled the Indianapolis offense, holding it to just 243 total yards. Even with star running back Jonathan Taylor in their arsenal, the Colts had just 109 net rushing yards compared to Jacksonville’s 183.
Jacksonville also picked off Jones twice. Safety Rayuan Lane III intercepted his pass and returned it 92 yards for a touchdown, putting the Jaguars up 28-0. Linebacker Branson Combs also picked off Jones in the fourth quarter with the Colts nearing red-zone territory.
The defensive performance looks even more spectacular when considering major injuries that occurred through the game. Defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton went down early with a quad injury, one that will reportedly sideline him for the rest of the season. Defensive end Travon Walker also suffered a rib injury, but no update has been given on his status.
Special Teams: B+
It’s clear the offense is having a good day when Jacksonville doesn’t break out Cam Little. As one of the major players in the team’s arsenal, the kicker has been called upon numerous times already this season to win games and put points on the board. But the offense managed to execute in the red zone just fine Sunday, leading to a relatively quiet day for special teams.
Nonetheless, the unit earns a solid grade — a number Little usually boosts up — for its performance. The Jaguars still need to work through some kinks on their kick return defense, allowing a 23-yard and 27-yard return, and it remains the one glaring issue on an otherwise excellent special teams unit.
The Jaguars have a short week before they hit the road to Baltimore to face the Ravens on Thursday at 8:15 p.m. on Amazon Prime Video. Coverage will also be on WRUF 98.1 FM/850 AM.
Category: Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL
