How about that for an ass-kicking?
After a ho-hum showing against Denver last weekend, the Jacksonville Jaguars and its fans had to spend the entire week debating whether or not this team was cooked just two games into the season. Admittedly, I fell victim to some of that chatter based on how lifeless the team looked in Mile High.
All the Jags did in response was beat the brakes off of visiting New England, 35-6, getting defending Super Bowl runner-up quarterback Drake Maye benched in the process.
Everything that went right against the Cleveland Browns went right Sunday. Basically everything that went wrong against the Broncos corrected itself. The Jags that played Sunday demoralized a team that had aspirations of making it back to the biggest game in sports, doing so from the very moment the two teams both took the field.
There’s much to celebrate after that victory. Especially considering it came against THAT franchise. Outside of a dropped pass and a missed field goal, it really couldn’t have gotten much better for the Jags against the Patriots over the weekend. Victory Monday is going to feel a little sweeter this time around.
WINNERS
Trevor Lawrence
There must be something about the river breeze that Trevor Lawrence likes, because he has been nothing short of animalistic when playing in Jacksonville recently.
Lawrence balled out against the solid Patriots defense, going 19-29 for 182 and three touchdowns. Despite passing for more yards a week ago (189 versus 182), Lawrence was in complete control for basically the entire game. He was throwing the ball around the yard in ways that he did against Cleveland that not many quarterbacks can. He also essentially opted out of a rushing score which could’ve further bolstered his stat line.
In Jacksonville through two games, Lawrence has seven passing touchdowns to just one interception.
Maybe it’s the Prowler uniforms. Maybe it’s just the home crowd. But Lawrence is playing some really solid football at home this year. Now he just has to take it on the road next weekend.
Bhayshul Tuten
The beneficiary of Lawrence’s infamous kneel down was Bhayshul Tuten, who has been a sort of quiet portion of this Jags offense thus far.
Tuten has put together some bruising, long runs prior to Sunday but hasn’t had a real signature moment. That moment came when he punched in a one-yard score for his second rushing touchdown of the year which put the nail in the coffin of one of the worst losses suffered by the Pats in recent history.
The second-year man Tuten led the Jags running backs with a season-high 73 yards on 15 touches. By himself, Tuten came just 10 yards shy of the entire rushing output from New England. He was helped by solid play along the offensive line and a dominant passing game, but he nonetheless played well in his own right.
Tuten is coming into his own as a full time starting running back. Early returns are positive for him, even if he isn’t going for over 100 yards every weekend. More touches and more responsibility on offense will probably only serve to help the young starter. At the very least, it’s still very fun to say “toot toooot” anytime he touches the ball.
Parker Washington
If you look at Parker Washington’s stat line and just see the numbers — three catches, 40 yards and one touchdown — you might miss just how good that line was.
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 due to a penalty, Washington plucked a bomb of a ball from Lawrence off the ground and caught it across the goal line for six points.
This guy is WR1 material. Week after week he continues to make mind-blowing plays all over the field. Chop wood, carry water, catch touchdowns.
The Offensive Line
It would be hard to give credit to this offense 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 was seemingly an impossible task. This week against another good front, the Jags excelled.
The Jags rushed for over 100 yards and beat 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 that Lawrence kneeldown run.
The Defensive Tackles
I didn’t think this would be a position group myself or anyone would be talking about anytime soon. But after Sunday’s game it’s 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 nonexistent showing at Denver. Somewhat randomly, it was the team’s two defensive tackles who accounted for 1.5 sacks and not Travon Walker on Josh Hines-Allen, who I was hoping for big games out of.
Orhorhoro was second on the team in tackles with six to go along with a sack. Hamilton was third on the team in tackles with five to go along with half a sack and a fumble recovery. These two dudes were in the middle of everything New England was doing and were a large part of the troubles the Patriots offense was experiencing.
The Pats have solid running backs, but ended the days with 83 yards on the ground and no run longer than nine yards. Cleveland and Denver both rushed for more yardage than New England was able to muster Sunday. A big reason why things changed was the big nasties in the middle.
The whole defense played great. But a special shoutout has to go to the guys in the middle for getting the work done.
Liam Coen
Though Coen will probably never say it aloud, it has to feel good to beat the piss out of the guy that stole Coach of the Year honors away from you last season.
In all facets, Coen’s team dogwalked Vrabel’s. The Jags were leaps and bounds more put together than New England. Neither team played a truly clean game, but Jacksonville did commit less penalties and turned the ball over fewer times. The coach whose team does that typically wins.
Coen is the fastest coach in franchise history to reach 15 wins, doing so in just 20 games. That is absolutely bananas to think about considering how many coaches the Jags have had through the years.
This team found the right guy. In turn, he is putting the right product on the field. Let him tell you just how well his team played in this clip:
Josh Cameron
I’m not sure that when you look at the Jags’ roster, you see a glaring need for wide receiver. Take into account that the team picked up superstar Jakobi Meyers last year, and Washington has become what he is now; there shouldn’t be a ton of room for someone like Josh Cameron. Evidently, no one told that to Cameron himself.
Through three weeks, Cameron has done a little bit of everything for Jacksonville. He has just three catches total, yet two of them have gone for scores. There’s a trust in the air for Cameron that goes far beyond what stats or snap counts may show. Again, hear it straight from the coach’s mouth on what is going right, this time specifically for Cameron:
Pizza Deals
Al’s Pizza is back, baby!
Thanks to some mind-numbingly bad play by Drake Maye, the Jags caused two picks (one was the first of Travis Hunter’s career) 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.
LOSERS
Cam Little
This one isn’t so much a loser as it’s just unfortunate.
Cam Little might have the biggest leg in the league. Because of that, Little gets asked to make a ton of kicks that weren’t really even possible five to 10 years ago. Sometimes I’m not even sure if they are realistic nowadays, but if you have Little, you might as well try.
Little missed a 70-yarder, but not because he didn’t have the distance but because it drew just ever so slightly outside the goalposts. That shouldn’t be his fault! The NFL needs 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 you were most impressed by in Sunday’s big win. Or let us know your thoughts on pineapple on pizza. Should Little be asked to kick from 70? Either way, we will see you back here next week after the Jags take on the Jake Browning-less Bengals on Sunday. Gosh I hate Jake Browning…
