The Jaguars got the only grade that truly counts on Sunday: a win. Their 19-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5 came down to the wire, but the result was there at the end, and that matters most.
Still, the game left plenty of room for a position-by-position checkup. Some groups carried their weight. Others made the afternoon a lot more tense than it needed to be.
Start with Trevor Lawrence, who was clearly amped up at different points in the game. It was easy to see why.
For the second straight week, penalties put the Jaguars behind the sticks far too often, creating a mess of 2nd- and 3rd-and-long situations and breaking up the rhythm of the offense. Even so, Lawrence helped the Jaguars move the ball, and he again hit a handful of throws that only he seems capable of making.
The interception came on a bad throw while under pressure, and there were a few snaps where he held the ball too long, but the overall picture was still a productive one from Jacksonville’s quarterback.
The run game, on the other hand, never really found clean answers. Bhayshul Tuten didn’t pile up efficient production, but he still came away as one of the more encouraging pieces in that phase because of how often he fought through contact and erased what could have been ugly losses.
If the Jaguars had trusted him more near the goal line, he might have changed the story of those drives. Chris Rodriguez Jr. didn’t do much with his limited work, and as a unit this was the team’s roughest rushing performance of the season.
At receiver, Parjer Washington kept making his presence felt. He was one of the biggest reasons Jacksonville got the win, thanks in part to both of his touchdowns. Jakobi Meyers and Josh Cameron also contributed when they were targeted, while the only true misses came on the few chances Brian Thomas Jr. couldn’t finish.
The tight ends turned in one of the day’s most useful performances. Brenton Strange and Nate Boerkircher combined for nine catches and 88 yards on 10 targets. It wasn’t spotless - Boerkircher had a few missed blocks, Strange had a drop, and Strange also left his feet near the goal line - but the overall production from that group has been a clear step up from what the Jaguars were getting at this point last season.
Up front, Walker Little stood out in a major way. He was clean as a pass-blocker in the second half and gave the Jaguars exactly the sort of stability they need with Anton Harrison injured.
Jalen Carter still caused problems for Jacksonville, but the penalties and lack of run-game success are what dragged this grade down. Carter is a force, and eventually the Jaguars’ line has to show it can handle players like him.
The biggest swing, though, came from the defensive line. This was easily Jacksonville’s best outing of the season up front.
The Jaguars completely shut down the Eagles on the ground and attacked Jalen Carter in waves as a pass-rusher. They forced Jalen Hurts into hurried throws and off-platform attempts, with Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker both showing up in a big way.
It wasn’t just the starters, either. Depth players, blitzers from the secondary, and linebackers all chipped in.
The line set the tone.
Ventrell Miller also kept building on what’s becoming a very strong stretch of football. He made several sharp stops in the run game and showed up in coverage as a tackler in space.
Dennis Gardeck and Foyesade Oluokun added their own impact against both the run and the pass rush, and this linebacker group is playing good football right now. Miller, especially, looks like an ascending player in Anthony Campanile’s defense.
There were positives in the secondary, too. Jarrian Jones had an effective day, while Jourdan Lewis and Antonio Johnson both helped against the run and on blitzes.
The tackling held up fairly well on the back end. But there were also costly blemishes, including the 3rd-and-long pass interference on Travis Hunter that set up a touchdown and the explosive 62-yard touchdown allowed to Darius Cooper in the first half.
Special teams, meanwhile, came through in a major way. The only reason this wasn’t an even better grade is the missed extra point and the fact that Jacksonville gave up a bit too much on returns.
But that misses the larger point. Heath Farwell’s unit had a kick returned for a touchdown wiped out by a flag, then Ameer Abdullah helped set up Cam Little for the game-winning 57-yard field goal.
The Jaguars won the special teams battle, and it mattered.
The strangest part of the afternoon may have been how the Jaguars handled the game from a coaching and management standpoint. Liam Coen’s fourth-down aggressiveness made some sense given the snap problems with Davon Hamilton and the high snaps, but the decision to stick with an extra point that appeared to go wrong because of the snap raised questions about consistency.
Coen also said Monday that he took responsibility for a delay of game in the red zone. The second-down throw on the four-minute drive was another head-scratcher.
On defense, Anthony Campanile made excellent adjustments after halftime, but the first-half plan didn’t help matters. The man-blitz approach was a bad fit against Jalen Hurts, and Hurts made the Jaguars pay for it.
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Jaguars Trade Talk Around A Core Piece Says A Lot Right Now
With the NFL trade deadline approaching, the Jaguars are at least being mentioned in the same breath as some of their most important roster pieces, which says plenty about where the season sits right now. Brian Thomas Jr. has become one of the leagues more enticing deep threats, while Arik Armstead remains a significant defensive presence and Patrick Mekari offers a different kind of value up front, especially with injuries already testing the offensive line.
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Coen also pointed to Houstons recent roster movement, including the addition of Marvin Harrison Jr., as another layer of uncertainty the Jaguars have to prepare for even without knowing exactly how that piece will be used. It leaves Jacksonville facing a physical opponent with new wrinkles on both sides of the ball, and an early divisional game that could say a lot about how quickly this team adjusts once the real AFC South grind begins. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Still Have One Trade Need As Deadline Pressure Builds
The Chiefs have put together a strong start, but the receiver room still looks like the kind of area front offices monitor closely as the deadline approaches. Injuries have thinned Kansas Citys depth, and that has pushed wide receiver help to the front of the conversation, with Brian Thomas Jr. of the Jaguars emerging as one of the names worth watching if the team decides to be aggressive.
Thomas has seen his performance slip, which is part of what makes him a speculative trade candidate in the first place, even if Jacksonville does not appear eager to move him. For the Jaguars, that leaves the situation pretty straightforward for now, but the market can change quickly when a contender is hunting for proven help and a second-round pick is part of the discussion. [Read more 🡒]