Jaguars vs Broncos: The London Aftermath

JT: We need a William Wallace (Braveheart) and we have a King Joffrey (Game of Thrones)

At this point I can just repost the same column from the past five weeks and sit here binge eating halloween candy. It’s literally depressing seeing the exact same mistakes being made day in and day out, every single week, against different, beatable opponents. At what point does one learn from their mistakes? I think that’s a fair question to ask? How long do you give a professional athlete to learn from their mistakes? Hey Trev, when in the red zone, how about you do anything you want in the whole wide world, anything at all, except turn the ball over. Hey Doug, Tre Herndon isn’t the guy to put on a world class speedster on the outside. This was proven last week on the Giants first drive when he was burned for a touchdown, so maybe don’t put him in that position again this week against Denver. Herndon doesn’t have the wheels to keep up with KJ Hamler. Frankly I’m not sure anyone does. Hey, Trent Baalke, I know you like the wide receiver room because you are constantly saying, “I like the wide receiver room,” but my man, what’s not to like about acquiring a guy who can stretch the field for JAX? The Chiefs went out and got Kadarius Toney. If Patrick Mahomes needs WR help one might think that just by default Trevor Lawrence might need some as well? I was a big believer in Jacksonville's largest need being on the line and at DB, but man if these opposing teams aren’t shoving in my face what an asset a deep ball threat can be. Go get one before the trade deadline. Help our offense Baalke. JAX has the draft picks to trade, so use them intelligently. As an aside, can we petition the NFL to shorten the games to one quarter, maybe just one half? I’m listening to Doug Pederson’s press conference and he literally just said that the team fought to the very end, they played the entire game. Technically maybe, but not in reality. The Jaguars haven’t played a full game all season. They are a first half team and maybe a little bit of the third quarter, but they have never been a four quarter team. Not this year.

I honestly don’t know what to type. I don’t know what to tell you guys. In looking at the negatives, Trevor Lawrence just shoots himself in the foot. Another forced turnover in the endzone cost the Jags at least three, probably seven points. Yet again, another game changing mistake. And just like last week, during the final drive to win the game, Trevor Lawrence threw an interception. Last week's INT was negated by a bogus roughing the passer call, but it was an INT nonetheless. This week’s interception was one pass that didn’t need to be thrown. Lawrence had two open guys, running shorter routes, requiring easier throws. I believe they were Evan Engram and I know Zay Jones was wide open. Again, when Trevor’s back is against the wall it seems the game gets too fast for him and he locks onto one guy. It’s as though he makes his decision before the snap. He never looked off Kirk to see the other, better, options. During these final drives when the team's back is against the wall a leader is needed. It feels to me like instead of an inspiring leader giving a monumental speech, instilling confidence in his troops (William Wallace), the Jaguars have, in Lawrence, a scared child King who not only doesn’t know how to win when it all hits the fan, but doesn’t believe that he himself can lead men to victory (Joffrey, Game of Thrones). Nothing else matters if you turn the ball over TWICE, at the most important moments of the game. Trevor just said in his postgame conference that he feels like he says the same thing every week. Well, it’s because you play the same way every week. So, again, I reiterate the question that started this column, at what point does one learn from one’s mistakes?

Trevor and the offense doesn’t shoulder the blame entirely for this loss. Mostly, but not entirely. Doug Pederson, what was that play call? JAX has the ball on the one yard line, you put Trevor in the shotgun and roll him to the sideline, making the field even smaller for him? Etienne was averaging 7 - 8 yards per carry and you don’t put T-Law under center and pound it into the endzone? Oh, Doug, read the room. Be better. The defense isn’t getting away from ridicule either. They played a great game…in the first half. In truth, holding an NFL team to 21 points isn’t awful defense, but the Broncos haven’t scored over 20 points all year (except for 23 in a losing effort against the Raiders). The Broncos are a horrible offense. Jacksonville’s defense had a few sacks (Travon Walker’s should have been negated because of an Arden Key facemask), an interception, some hurries, and batted balls. But then…the second half came around and they went to sleep. Defense, how about we cover a tight end at some point. Denver had an 88 yard drive in the third quarter which they started pinned inside there own ten yard line. Dangeruss went 5 for 5 and connected with his TE for almost all of it. Look, all of you (six people) who read this column saw the game. You all know the negatives. You all saw what happened. When the Jags could have gone up 14-0, they had 154 yards and the Broncos had 30. The Jaguars had eight first downs and Denver had zero. On average, a team gets 11 drives a game. You can not afford to turn the ball over in the endzone / red zone, ever. Not to mention, had the Jags gone up 14-0, how Denver played the game would have drastically changed. Russell “high knees” Wilson would have been back on his heels trying to play catchup. Josh Allen and Travon Walker would have been feasting on Denver’s drop back game. Ugh, but folks, let’s talk about some positives. I will find some, hopefully.

I took notes of positive occurrences while watching the game just in case the Jags pulled the same crap they've been pulling during this losing streak, which feels longer than a Quentin Tarantino movie. And away we go:

Tyson Campbell had a nice interception. As we here at JaguarsTalk have been saying, win the turnover battle and you win the game. The Jags defense started the season with the mantra that they are on the field to get takeaways, and they got them, and they won games. Takeaways are key. 

Speaking of key, Arden Key had a solid game. He and Smoot both were angry today. They feasted on Russ. Sacks, hurries and pressures for both these guys. Let’s get them on the field more often, please.

Doug ran the ball all game long, except maybe that one time at the one yard line when he put Lawrence in the shotgun and rolled him to the outside, but we won’t talk about that again. Travis Etienne was a beast. He rushed 24 times for 156 yards and 1 touchdown (should have been two. I’m trying not to bring that up again, but I’m failing miserably). The run game was a positive and I hope we see more of it, especially in crucial situations, like on the one yard line (there I go again).

Evan Engram is very slowly emerging as a reliable big target for Lawrence. He had some nice grabs including a 22 yarder for a touchdown. Engram may have to be the de facto “big man” wide receiver since Baalke doesn’t seem to be making a move for Pittsburgh’ s Chase Claypool.

Well, that’s about it. That’s all I got. The negatives are just so overpowering that when I looked back at my notes, these were the only bright spots. I would like to tell you that I know what to expect from this team but, truth be told, they don’t even know what to expect from themselves. Or maybe we do know what to expect because they have shown us repeatedly over the past five weeks. The Jacksonville Jaguars are a very good first half team that will have the chance to put every game away early but will instead shoot themselves in the foot, sit back and watch it all slip away. With so much talent, at some point they have to win, right?

An open letter to Jaguars General Manager Trent Baalke. If you want to get everyone to forget about the majority of these losses, stop being depressed and angry about the state of the program, and get off your back as one of the main reasons for a culture of failure over the past couple seasons, then just trade for Chase Claypool. Give Pittsburgh a second rounder, or be even more of a hero and make a deal for Claypool for a 3rd and a 5th. At this point it doesn’t matter, what matters is a big 50/50 WR downfield threat that Lawrence currently does not have. Sincerely, everyone but you.

Let us know what you think in the comment section below. I’m going to go watch the Jets and root for J-Rob now.