Jaguars @ NY Jets - The Aftermath
JT: The mighty Jets of New York have fallen
Okay, so two things. One, never start a column with “okay. “ Also, I’m not one to care about grammatical rules, so there’s that. Thirdly, because we like to go the extra mile here at JaguarsTalk, the “mighty” Jets may have been a slight over statement. Let’s go with “resurgent.” Though, since Mike White hit the injury list Zach Wilson hasn’t exactly impressed the fans, coaches, or any of his mom's best friends. Thursday night, in an attempt by NY to pressure the wound, the Jets passed directly over the geriatric Joe Flacco and went straight to the second coming of Tim Tebow. Zach Wilson was benched (most likely for the last time in NY, for South Dakota’s own Chris Streveler). To make matters worse, Wilson, who played the majority of the game, passed for 92 yards on 9 of 18 completions. Streveler came into the game and went 10 for 15 for 90 yards, and he looks like he just learned to throw a football. If we wanted to pile on, we would add that Streveler rushed for 54 yards while Wilson rushed for 53 fewer than that. The Jaguars completely dominated Gary V’s team. It might be time to sell it to the man so he can turn it around. This also seems like a good time to once again thank the New York Jets organization for taking such pity on Jacksonville as to hand them the 2021 number one overall draft pick, William Trevor Lawrence. I’m sure after this week you have every idea how appreciative we are.
Stat time? Fine, here are some gems. Evan Engram has a shot at the Jaguars team record for TE receiving yards (He currently stands 6 yards shy). The current record is held by Kyle Brady (729 yards in 2000, thanks to @JustinBarneyTV). Staying with the tight end that the Jags better re-sign, Michael DiRocco of ESPN fame alerted us all to the fact that Engram garnered the most receiving yards he has ever gotten in MetLife Stadium in his entire career. He played 32 games in the Meadowlands with the NY Giants, yet accumulated 113 yards Thursday night against the Jets. Btw, his average was 16.1 yards per catch. He is him. I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that T-Law will be speaking up on Eazy Engram’s behalf come time to re-sign. Baalke better put his listening ears on for that discussion. Another statistic at which you can marvel dealt with the Jaguars only touchdown drive. The JAX offense drove down the field for 96 yards in 16 plays, and the only third down play of the entire drive was Trevor Lawrence’s dive over the top of the O-Line for a QB sneak TD. Al Michaels got a little too excited when a defender knocked the ball loose AFTER it had crossed the goal line. We’ll give him a pass. It’s tough up there in the booth. Another impressive anecdote is that this is the first time in five years that the Jags have had two straight road wins. Can we make it three in Houston? I say “we” as if I’m on the field with them. In spirit I’m sure we all are. Also in spirit, I have Oluokun type numbers when I’m on the field with them. Turning to the dark side, a statistic I’m not so fond of is that it seems Trevor Lawrence has to turn the ball over at least once every game. Not to be outdone, ETN gave us more than a few scares but managed to keep hold of the rock in a downpour that wasn’t quite week 4ish, but it was certainly slippery.
The Jets had 66 total yards in the first half to the Jags 251. This speaks to the defense really coming to play in Jersey. You know what else speaks to the Jaguars defense coming to play? Two takeaways, 3.3 yards per rush with a total of only 66 rushing yards in the entire game and 3 sacks for a loss of 21 yards. Mike Caldwell and the Jacksonville defense was fire. Mike Caldwell called a masterful game, including a beautifully hidden Andre Cisco safety blitz off the edge to hold NY to a field goal instead of six points, after Trevor’s untimely fumble.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it really seemed to me that the Jags were running variations of a 4-3 defense several times throughout the game. I think slowly but surely D. Coordinator Mike Caldwell is seeing that the talent on this Jaguars defense is more suited to four on the line with specific players needing their hands in the dirt for more explosive performances. If we are mentioning names, and we are, it’s Travon Walker and Josh Allen. Devin Lloyd played a better game this past Thursday. Maybe primetime suits him. Lloyd led the team with 9 tackles, 6 solo, and 1 pass defensed. I don’t want to jinx anything so I will just say fingers crossed that he is getting it, because man, imagine if he is. I’ll be honest I would say that Caldwell and Baalke have done more than enough to save their jobs if, in fact, they were even in jeopardy.
Trevor had a rather pedestrian game but did exactly what he needed to do to get the job done. He was 20/31 for 229 yards with a rather down to earth QBR of 61.3. Minus his fumble, he was steady, orchestrating long clock eating drives during a downpour. In the end, Head Coach Doug Pederson said he was proud of the guys. I know this because after the game, in the locker room, Doug Pederson said “I am proud of you guys.” There are two more opportunities for pride. Two big divisional games are left. The first, at Houston, playing the worst team in the NFL whom the Jags haven’t beaten in an embarrassing number of trys. Then the regular season ends at home against the division leading Tennessee Titans. This last game is shaping up to be a fight at TIAA Bank Field for the AFC South Division Championship and a trip to the playoffs. I’m thinking the odds of the NFL flexing that final game to a Sunday night time slot are pretty good.
Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.