Welcome to Big Cat Country’s staff roundtable!
Today, we’re previewing Week 11’s matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers at EverBank Stadium.
Question 1: Jacksonville blew the
biggest lead in franchise history (19 points) in last week’s loss to Houston. How did that game affect your rest-of-season expectations?
Dillon Appleman: Early in the season, the struggles felt improvable with penalties and general miscues being the main complaint. However, as the season has progressed, we have seen more flaws from a personnel perspective that aren’t really fixable in-season. Sunday’s disastrous collapse just cemented the thought that this roster is just too flawed.
Travis Holmes: The Houston game honestly did nothing to move my season projection for the team, as I initially had them winning nine to 10 games with any injury luck. They’ve been excruciatingly unfortunate in that area over the past four weeks, moving me closer to that nine-win range – just missing the playoffs. I still see four wins remaining on this schedule, though none are guaranteed. If that’s the outcome that materializes, fans may not have appreciated the journey to get there. It would show clear progress while also raising questions regarding the future of this rebuild.
Gus Logue: I previously expected Jacksonville to make the postseason, whether as a divisional winner or a Wild Card team, but now I’m not so sure. The offense may be ‘good enough’ once Brenton Strange returns but the defense doesn’t look capable of stopping anyone. Jacksonville might have the league’s worst depth at DE, DT, and Safety. As Dillon alluded to, the Jaguars just don’t have the horses, and the young coaching staff could use more experience. I think the team will barely miss the playoffs.
Henry Zimmer: Sunday’s loss showed me that this team really isn’t good enough to compete with the top-level teams. The Jags continue to lose against backup quarterbacks and teams that they should easily beat. If you can’t be the bad teams, why would anyone think you can consistently beat the good ones?
Question 2: What’s a matchup you’re looking forward to watching?
Dillon: Justin Herbert vs. Devin Lloyd. Herbert has already more than doubled his interception total (8) from a season ago (3) and there are still seven games left in his season. A handful of those have been when he’s targeting shallow routes in the middle of the field, where Devin Lloyd has made QBs pay all season long. His play recognition in that area could be key for a defense that desperately needs a spark after an abysmal performance a week ago.
Travis: Weirdly, the matchup I’m most looking forward to on Sunday isn’t between the Jaguars versus an opponent. It’s between Justin Herbert and his natural tendency to extend plays. Herbert LOVES to hold onto the ball, looking to create an explosive play in the passing game. But missing left tackle Joe Alt last week, he was sacked 5 times against Pittsburgh despite a career low 2.21-second time to throw (his only week under 2.6 seconds this year). Throughout much of the season, he has hovered around 3 seconds per throw, allowing defenses more opportunities to bring down the athletic quarterback. With recently acquired Trevor Penning likely to start this week, does Herbert revert to his normal pace, thus allowing this Jacksonville front a rare opportunity for a multi-sack game?
Gus: Josh Hines-Allen against whoever the Chargers start at LT, whether it’s Penning or Austin Deculus. JHA only needs a half sack to break the franchise’s all-time record. This would be a pretty ideal spot to do it. He is at EverBank Stadium, playing a premier quarterback, with a strong matchup advantage, in a borderline must-win game. Get it done, 41!
Henry: I will be watching to see which quarterback outduels the other. Trevor Lawrence played awfully in the playoffs but got it back and won that game. Outside of that, Herbert has been the better quarterback since they both were drafted. Hopefully Lawrence can win the day and silence some haters (like myself) after recent weeks.
Question 3: Who will be the biggest X-factor?
Dillon: I’m going to answer Trevor Lawrence for this question until he finally becomes the X-factor for a win. In the last four weeks, Lawrence completed 58% of his passes for just 4 passing touchdowns. On the season, Trevor is second to last in both of those categories among QBs with 9+ games this year. Only rookie Cam Ward has worse numbers. The excuses are aplenty, and understandable to an extent, but the team needs Lawrence to start overcoming the negatives of others and figure out a way to get a win this week against the Chargers at home.
Travis: For me, it has to be right tackle Anton Harrison. At best, Harrison may play on Sunday, hobbled with knee and ankle injuries. At worst, he’s at risk of missing the matchup after not practicing on Wednesday and Thursday. With Walker Little likely to need additional running back or tight end help to slow down the rush on the opposite side, a hobbled or absent right tackle creates a disastrous matchup when facing a Chargers defense ranked seventh in the league with 29 sacks.
Gus: Chargers TE Oronde Gadsden II. The dynamic rookie tight end has effectively replaced Keenan Allen as Herbert’s underneath safety valve, and he’s been a more efficient target than the likes of Tyler Warren, Harold Fannin Jr., and Colston Loveland. Gadsden is the real deal. That’s bad news for Jacksonville, which ranks in the bottom five in catches, yards, and TDs allowed to tight ends this season.
Henry: This week’s X-Factor for me has to be the Jacksonville coaches. Can Liam Coen and crew regroup from the failure that was Sunday — and the handful of poor performances outside of that — and win a game at home against a good team? Going against a Jim Harbaugh-coached squad will be a good litmus test for the Jacksonville coaches.
Final score prediction?
Dillon: Jaguars 17, Chargers 27
Travis: Jaguars 17, Chargers 27
Gus: Jaguars 23, Chargers 24
Henry: Jaguars 21, Chargers 35
What are your Week 11 predictions, Jaguars fans? Let us know in the comments!
