The hue and cry, complaining and objecting, has been in overdrive for Jacksonville Jaguars fans over the last three games as they watched their team called for 32 enforced penalties.
Do you have a point?
The Jaguars were called for 20 post-play ultra-judgement call penalties in wins over the Cincinnati Bengals (eight) and Philadelphia Eagles (seven) and the loss to the Houston Texans (five).
I looked at the sideview All-22 video of every penalty to see how many the officials got wrong.
Cincinnati: Officials went 7 of 8 in making the correct call, the only wrong one was defensive tackle Arik Armstead’s roughing the quarterback penalty on Joe Burrow. It negated an interception by cornerback Travis Hunter. Armstead was not fined on the play.
The rest
of the penalties were basically fair. Tight end Nate Boerkircher (pass interference) blocked too far downfield, cornerback Jarrian Jones did grab the facemask and holding calls were legitimate on tight end Quintin Morris (kick return), right guard Ezra Cleveland, left guard Emmanuel Pregnon, center Robert Hainsey and left tackle Anton Harrison.
Philadelphia: Officials went 5 of 7 in making the correct call. The incorrect calls were two Pregnon holding penalties.
Officials got Pregnon’s first holding call right and the same with pass interference penalties on Hunter and Jones and holding calls on tight end Brenton Strange and receiver Jakobi Meyers.
Houston: Officials went 3 of 5 in making the correct call. The incorrect calls were Strange’s holding penalty (which negated a touchdown) and Hunter’s pass interference penalty.
Officials got it right on Pregnon (holding) and Jones (illegal hands to the face and pass interference).
About the Jaguars
1. Boerkircher’s first TD: Quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s options on the first-and-goal play were simple — throw it toward Boerkircher or throw it away.
The Jaguars had no receivers, one running back, an extra offensive lineman and three tight ends on the field. At the snap, Boerkircher was the only player in the route, his job to block defensive end Will Anderson before he released into the end zone. Boerkircher snatched Lawrence’s pass with his right hand as he fell to the turf for the touchdown.
“It was important to strike (Anderson), but don’t get caught up with him and then hope (Texans safety M.J. Stewart) bites on the jump pass,” Boerkircher said. “He didn’t bite, but it was a good play by Trevor. I could see (the football) the whole way. We had been sitting on that play for a few weeks.”
Boerkircher spiked the football with all his energy, and the ball was retrieved by Hainsey.
“The spike, I’ve been waiting to do that for a long time,” Boerkircher said. “That’s my favorite celebration.”
2. Hunter in rare company: Hunter became only the third player in the Super Bowl Era (1967) to have a receiving touchdown and interception in the same game.
Roy Green of the then-St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 20, 1981, had four catches for 115 yards and one touchdown and an interception in a 40-30 win over Washington.
Brian Dawkins (Jacksonville native, pride of Raines High and a Pro Football Hall of Fame safety) of the Eagles on Sept. 29, 2002, had one interception and caught a 57-yard touchdown on a fake punt (his only career catch).
3. High praise for Cameron: Rookie receiver Josh Cameron has played 132 offensive snaps and has also proven to be a quick study on special teams (93 snaps).
“I’ve never asked a rookie to do the work load he’s doing,” special teams coordinator Heath Farwell said. “He was a guy we targeted out of college (at Baylor) and I loved him when I started breaking down his tape. He was one of my favorites.
“He was a guy I knew could play and I loved his character, toughness and how smart he was. The reality during training camp was, he’s so good at everything, where do I put him? He could do just about everything at an elite level. I had to figure out where to put him and get enough him enough (practice) reps and not stretch him too thin.”
Cameron is the Jaguars’ personal punt protector and returns and covers kickoffs.
4. Thomas’ future: The figurative dust has settled since the Texans game and receiver Brian Thomas Jr. dropping two first-half passes and not playing a single second-half snap.
Thomas has nine catches for 105 yards in six games, including three catches for 25 yards in his last four games (no catches in the last two games).
Trade him? Deactivate him? As of Oct. 23, he was still on the roster. If he is being phased out of the offense, the rational move is to deactivate him since he doesn’t play special teams.
Weekend selections
LSU (minus 7 1/2) at Auburn: Classic Letdown Situation for Auburn, which upset No. 1 Georgia last week. LSU may be hitting its stride after blowing out Mississippi State. LSU 34-24.
Ole Miss (plus 3 1/2) at Texas: The most stunning part about the Longhorns’ loss to Florida? Their offense looked broken. Bye-bye, playoff hopes. Ole Miss 20-17.
Indianapolis (plus 5 1/2) at Minnesota: The Colts are next up for the Jaguars (Nov. 1). Minnesota’s defense (first in fewest points and second in fewest yards allowed) will put Daniel Jones in a headlock. Vikings 24-14.
Cincinnati (plus 3) at Baltimore: All four AFC North teams are over .500 (Bengals 3-2/Ravens 4-2). We’ll learn about the Ravens over the next three games — vs. Cincinnati, at Buffalo and vs. the Jaguars. Ravens 31-27.
Kansas City (plus 2 1/2) at Seattle: Hopefully this Sunday night game can save an otherwise mundane Week 7 slate. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has seven interceptions in his four full games (1-3 record). Chiefs 24-20.
Records: Straight — 4-1 last week (25-15 season). Spread — 4-1 last week (15-25 season. Now we’re starting to cook with gas!).
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays ("First Coast Football Friday" 4-7 p.m.).
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Are Jaguars really getting short end of calls from officials?
