In a disasterclass morning at the London kickoff, the Jacksonville Jaguars escaped the lowly Philadelphia Eagles, 19-17, behind a Cam Little game-winner. The Jags (4-1) were competing against what was typically a practice squad and still needed to hit a 57-yarder to walk away victorious. It was the epitome of an ugly game, but the Jaguars won nonetheless.
Now, there needs to be some conversation about whatever play calling is from Jacksonville or what these penalties are about. The Jags escaped two injured teams in back-to-back weeks for wins, but it was unsustainable. Making a field goal is cool and all, but this team is nowhere near firing on all cylinders when they play away at EverBank Stadium.
The Jags, and especially the coaches, are getting in their own way. Eventually, that could be the very downfall of a squad that many thought could compete for a Super Bowl. Even though the Jags won, Tottenham lost a lot and lost.
If you’ll recall after all the heart-stopping and gut-wrenching moments from Sunday’s game, it all started with a weird special teams play. And it ended in one too.
Rookie Josh Cameron fielded the opening kickoff, which of course was called back due to penalties, and then a “battle” ensued. Two players were ejected. And then the game officially begins. We should have known already and this one was going to be weird.
Behind Little’s leg, Logan Cooke’s hands and DaVon Hamilton’s big arms, the Jags somehow won. Who would have thought Hamilton flipping one to Cooke to pull down for Little would be the way the Jags beat a team that just couldn’t score in the second half.
Hamilton should be the Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts on Sunday. Yes, his snaps were high but at least he came in and delivered in a huge pressure moment. Cooke also deserves a lot of credit for not dropping a snap from Hamilton.
And then you have Ameer Abdullah, who set up the winning streak after the Eagles’ inexplicable skid. Parker Washington scored both touchdowns but special teams won that game. It shouldn’t have been that close, but luckily, the Jags had the special teamers to make the magic happen. It is fitting that a game in London should end with a kick.
Speaking of Washington, I think it’s time for the Jags to pay this dude. He is playing at an incredible level right now.
Washington hauled in two scores and 124 yards receiving, averaging over 20 yards a catch on his six catches. His one-handed touchdown grab (which for some reason was on fourth-and-5 but that’s for another time) saved the game and Jacksonville’s chances of winning. Even earlier, his 51-yard weaving touchdown grab made me think for a moment that the Jags were going to win going away. How naive am I?
Sunday was Washington’s first multi-touchdown game which hardly feels right given how impactful he has been in recent days. I can say with certainty that this will not be his last multi-score game. Whatever that man wants in his contract, must be given. Washington is absolutely incredible.
Although Washington will get the credit on Sunday, Cameron looks really solid for a rookie. She needs her flowers too.
Sure, the opening kickoff was denied by a flag but he still managed to field that ball. And he was third on the team in receiving when all was said and done with 43 yards. Cameron had multiple catches in three of his first five NFL games. That’s saying something for a team with a deep wide receiver room.
Cameron ran very hard and had sure hands. For a sixth-round rookie, anyone has to be satisfied with his production to this point. You almost forget the Jags have guys like Jakobi Meyers or even Travis Hunter to throw around on offense because of how important Cameron is.
Ok, fun time is over. Head coach Liam Coen is cooking up a fool’s errand in London.
You know when people make fun of British food because it looks bland or bland or just plain diarrhoea? That’s what Coen is pumping into the lake.
The Jags had 13 penalties on Sunday, the second consecutive game with 13 penalties. No, all of that is not on Coen but the head coach has to do something to get his team to get the ball properly or not hold on to every running play. There needs to be some sort of control over the institution from the person in charge.
Outside of the general anger at the penalties, the play was insane. The Jags have the ball inches from the goal line and we have Wyatt Milum out? We decided to run the jet sweep from one? Even the Washington one-handed score was crazy because if that ball had been dropped, the Jags probably would have just lost. The shortest path between two points is a straight line. For some reason, Coen and offensive coordinator Grant Udinski think the shortest way to gain yardage is to run the sideline. The “I’m the smartest guy in the room, I know the best” shtick gets old after a while. Run the damn ball in a straight line, man.
There was also a big disconnect in getting the snap off on Sunday. Trevor Lawrence and Robert Hainsey are nowhere near on the same page. With a former quarterback at the head coach, you’d think there might be some way to fix that quickly as well. It all looks so fragmented and difficult at every turn.
The sanctions began last year. Strange fighting games are also being made. If Coen was someone like Todd Bowles or even Nick Sirianni, he would have been fired yesterday. There’s certainly no reason to think Coen’s work is going anywhere, but he needs to look in the mirror and realize it doesn’t have to be this difficult. He does so much. Why bother with the little things if you don’t have to? Clean up the penalties and rationalize the play and you have a winning formula. Don’t, and your season could turn around.
At least Sunday gave us a new variant of the old Doug Pederson head-down on the podium meme.
Speaking of practice squad players, the Jags secondary didn’t do themselves any favors against the likes of Darius Cooper and Dontayvion Wicks. On paper, this should be a feast for the Jags and Travis Hunter and Jarrian Jones. In practice, many of the Eagles pass catchers ran wild.
The Jags will stop running. I think we can declare that a fact of life at this point, limiting the Eagles to 22 measly yards on the ground. That in turn means teams have to throw. It’s not rocket science. But almost every other play you get guys like Jones or Rayuan Lane looking around, missing tackles or panicked assignments being thrown by the opposing quarterback. Only Will Shipley and RB4 Dameon Pierce are back there, fellas. They will throw, with or without DeVonta Smith.
Many Sunday flags came from this group. We can sit here and point fingers at the ref for being too trigger-happy or the coaches and players for bad strategy. The flags still came out and it changed how this game was played. This could be a solid unit for Jacksonville. Right now, along the offensive line, this group is a little shaky.
We all know the Jags don’t have gangbusters up front on offense but man, these guys are going to kill Lawrence one of these days.
The offensive line was bad on Sunday even against a strong defensive line. To make matters worse, starting left tackle Anton Harrison was removed. In a moment that almost stopped my heart, Walker Little stepped in as his replacement. Little actually did fine, but I’m not sure who you want out there long term where there have been issues.
The snaps weren’t coming on time, they were holding every other play and many times Lawrence was hit in the face and fumbled the ball. These issues cannot continue if this group jumps. Again, the offensive head coach should be someone who can help figure this out. By figuring it out, it does NO that means lining up more linemen in the backfield or out wide. It’s a normal, everyday thought. please
Join us next week as we all gather to watch the Houston Texans arrive in England. I’m sure that game will be completely normal and the Jags will win without any issues. And be sure to comment below on which of Jacksonville’s 26 penalties from the last two weeks was your favorite. I’m still not partial to Travis Hunter’s negated interception last week.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!