Jaguars-Patriots report card shows improvement in all phases

Grading the Jacksonville Jaguars' 35-6 victory over the New England Patriots on Sept. 27 at EverBank Stadium.

The Jaguars (2-1) will play at Cincinnati on Oct. 4 (1 p.m., CBS) and won't return to Jacksonville for a game until Nov. 1 against the Indianapolis Colts.

Offense: B

A bit conservative to start the game (Trevor Lawrencecompleted three consecutive passes below the sticks on one possession, and failed to get a first down), the offense warmed up when Lawrence got Jakobi Meyers and Brenton Strange involved. The Jags had a good mix of the pass and run in the second half, which made for a nice puree during a 15-play march in the third quarter that chewed up nearly nine minutes.

Pass protection still wasn't great and Lawrence threw an interception for the

second week in a row (the ball glanced off Strange's hands). but the balance was there (29 passes, 30 runs), seven players caught passes and four, counting Lawrence, had rushing attempts.

Defense: C

The Jaguars played well in spots but they're fortunate the Patriots threw away one opportunity after another. QB Drake Maye simply let the ball slip out of his hands at the Jaguars' 35, New England had to settle for a field goal after reaching the Jags' 21 (a touchdown run by Maye was nullified by a penalty), and he threw an interception to Travis Hunter in the end zone after having first-and-goal at the 5.

It also wasn't a good look for the Jaguars to let the Patriots drive from their own 1-yardline to the Jags' 16-yard line early in the fourth quarter after falling behind 28-3, but the Jags kept the Pats out of the end zone.

Bottom line: three turnovers, holding the Patriots to 4 of 12 on third down and allowing only 83 yards on the ground.

Special teams: A

The Jaguars' kickoff coverage has improved drastically in the last two weeks, and the Patriots averaged less than 23 yards on six returns. Cam Little missed a field goal attempt, but he gets special credit because it was a 70-yard attempt that had the distance but was wide right.

Josh Cameron had a nice stop on a kickoff return (that followed his TD reception) and he broke off a 42-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter to set up the Jaguars' last touchdown.

Intangibles: A

Jaguars coach Liam Coen stayed patient when the run and short passes weren't effective early and while New England was certainly helpful with turnovers and downright dumb penalties, the Jaguars made sure to take advantage. The game was a huge bounceback from the loss to Denver last week and gave the Jaguars a 2-0 record at home (they have only four more games in Jacksonville) entering a stretch of 34 days before they return on Nov. 1.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars-Patriots report card shows improvement in all phases