How about that for an ass-kicking?
After a ho-hum showing against Denver last weekend, the Jacksonville Jaguars and their fans will have to spend all week debating whether this team is done just two games into the season. Admittedly, I fell victim to some of that chatter based on how lifeless the team looked at Mile High.
All the Jags did in response was slam the brakes on visiting New England, 35-6, sitting out defending Super Bowl runner-up quarterback Drake Maye in the process.
Everything that happened against the Cleveland Browns came down to Sunday. Basically everything that went wrong against the Broncos righted itself. The Jags play on Sunday demoralized a team with aspirations of returning to the biggest game in sports, doing so from the moment both teams took the field.
There was much to celebrate after that victory. Especially considering it’s against THAT franchise. Outside of a dropped pass and a missed field goal, it really couldn’t have gone any better for the Jags against the Patriots this weekend. Victory Monday felt a little sweeter this time around.
There’s something about the river breeze that Trevor Lawrence likes, as he’s been animalistic playing recently in Jacksonville.
Lawrence was outballed against a solid Patriots defense, going 19-29 for 182 and three touchdowns. Despite passing for more yards last week (189 vs. 182), Lawrence was in complete control for basically the entire game. He threw the ball around the yard in a way he did against Cleveland that not many quarterbacks can. He also actually opted out of a rushing score that could have boosted his stat line even more.
At Jacksonville through two games, Lawrence has seven passing touchdowns to just one interception.
Maybe the Prowler uniforms. Maybe it’s just the many people at home. But Lawrence has been playing pretty solid football at home this year. Now he just has to take it on the road next weekend.
The beneficiary of Lawrence’s infamous kneeling was Bhayshul Tuten, who has been kind of a quiet part of the Jags’ offense thus far.
Tuten had put together some bruising, long runs before Sunday but had yet to have a real moment. That moment came when he punched in a one-yard score for his second rushing touchdown of the year that put the nail in the coffin of one of the worst losses the Pats have suffered in recent history.
Second-year man Tuten led the Jags running backs with a season-high 73 yards on 15 touches. Alone, Tuten came up just 10 yards shy of the entire rushing output from New England. He was aided by solid offensive line play and a dominant passing game, but still, he played well in his own right.
Tuten is coming into his own as a full time starting running back. The early returns are positive for him, even if he doesn’t go for more than 100 yards every weekend. More touches and more responsibility on offense will likely only serve to help the young starter. At least it’s still fun to say “toot tooooot” any time he touches the ball.
If you look at Parker Washington’s stat line and only see the numbers — three catches, 40 yards and a touchdown — you might miss how good that line is.
Washington made back-to-back circus catch plays that resulted in his second touchdown of the season. After making a You Got Moss’d level catch in the back of the end zone that was called back because of a penalty, Washington plucked a ball bomb from Lawrence off the ground and caught it at the goal line for six points.
This guy is WR1 material. Week after week he continues to make exciting plays all over the field. Chop wood, carry water, catch touchdowns.
It’s hard to give this offense credit without giving it to the offensive line.
The front five for Jacksonville did its job well on Sunday, keeping Lawrence upright and giving the offense enough time to work. Last week, that seemed like an impossible task. This week against another good front, the Jags prevailed.
The Jags rushed for over 100 yards and outscored a team by 29 points. You don’t do those things without solid line play. For fun, watch Anton Harrison chuck Christian Gonzalez downfield on the Lawrence kneedown run.
I don’t think this is a position group myself or anyone else will be talking about anytime soon. But after Sunday’s game it was hard not to mention both DaVon Hamilton and Ruke Orhorhoro.
During the week I wondered aloud if Sunday could be a get-right game for the Jags along the defensive line following a non-existent showing in Denver. Somewhat randomly, it was the team’s two defensive tackles that accounted for 1.5 sacks and not Travon Walker on Josh Hines-Allen, who I was hoping for the big game.
Orhorhoro is second on the team in tackles with six with a sack. Hamilton is third on the team in tackles with five to go along with half a sack and a fumble recovery. These two dudes are at the center of everything New England does and are a big part of the troubles the Patriots offense is having.
The Pats had solid running backs, but finished the day with 83 yards on the ground and didn’t run longer than nine yards. Both Cleveland and Denver rushed for more yardage than New England gained on Sunday. A big reason why things have changed is the big bastards in the middle.
The entire defense played well. But a special shoutout has to go to the guys in the middle for getting the job done.
While Coen will probably never say it out loud, it must feel good to beat the piss out of the guy who stole Coach of the Year honors from you last season.
In all respects, Coen’s team dogwalked Vrabel. The Jags are more put together than New England. Neither team played a truly clean game, but Jacksonville committed fewer penalties and turned the ball over fewer times. The coach whose team does that usually wins.
Coen is the fastest coach in franchise history to reach 15 wins, doing so in just 20 games. That’s completely bananas to think about considering how many coaches the Jags have had over the years.
This team found the right person. In turn, he puts the right product on the field. Let him tell you how well his team played in this clip:
I’m not sure that when you look at the Jags’ roster, you see a huge need for a wide receiver. Consider that the team took superstar Jakobi Meyers last year, and Washington became what he is today; there shouldn’t be a ton of room for someone like Josh Cameron. Obviously, no one said that to Cameron himself.
Through three weeks, Cameron has done everything for Jacksonville. He only had three catches in total, but two of them scored. There’s a confidence in the air for Cameron that goes beyond what stats or snap counts can show. Again, hear it straight from the coach’s mouth on what’s going right, this time specifically for Cameron:
Al’s Pizza is back, baby!
Thanks to some mind-numbing games by Drake Maye, the Jags landed two picks (one was Travis Hunter’s career first) and Al’s Pizza is offering 50% off pizza through Tuesday! I owe Hunter and Jarrian Jones a slice of my Hawaiian pizza Monday night.
This one isn’t so much a loser as it is unfortunate.
Cam Little may have the biggest legs in the league. Because of that, Little is asked to make a ton of kicks that weren’t really possible five to 10 years ago. Sometimes I’m not sure if they’re realistic these days, but if you have a Little, you might as well try.
A 70-yarder didn’t miss much, but not because he was out of distance but because it drew slightly outside the goalposts. It shouldn’t be his fault! The NFL requires an asterisk for “What the hell. Sure. Go kick it from 70” kicks that don’t count as misses. Free Cam Little!
Let us know your thoughts on who surprised you the most with Sunday’s big win. Or let us know your thoughts on pineapple on pizza. Should Little be asked to kick from the 70? Either way, we’ll see you back here next week after the Jags take on the Jake Browning-less Bengals on Sunday. Gosh I hate Jake Browning…