It was a forgettable Sunday in London for the Jaguars.
The Jaguars hardly put up a fight at Wembley Stadium as the Rams bulldozed them in a 35-7 rout that was seldom competitive. Matthew Stafford threw five touchdown passes, and Jacksonville was without points until Trevor Lawrence tossed a garbage-time touchdown to rookie Travis Hunter in the fourth quarter.
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It brings up some difficult questions for head coach Liam Coen and general manager James Gladstone.
Is this a team that can realistically compete for the AFC South title during the season’s second half? The Jaguars are two games behind the Colts in the division, and they’ll face Indianapolis twice in the final five weeks of the season. With how Jacksonville has played in the two games leading up to its much-needed bye, it’s a realistic question.
“It’s definitely frustrating, but just like everybody else in there, you got to look inward first,” Coen said. “Like, what am I doing as the head football coach that’s not clear right now? How am I communicating these things? How am I and how are we practicing these things? That’s what I’ve got to look at, right?
“I’ve got to look at the whole thing, ultimately, but not going to stand up here and blame these players. It starts with me.”
For Coen and Gladstone, both of whom got their NFL starts with the Rams, their former team is a glimpse of what they want Jacksonville to become. Los Angeles (5-2) was better everywhere on the field, especially at quarterback where the 37-year-old Stafford lit up the Jaguars defense to match a career high in touchdown passes.
The good news: the Jaguars are 4-3 at the bye week. They’ve already matched their season win total from last year just seven games in. There’s been progress made under Coen, from the 14 takeaways to the bolstered running game.
The bad news: Jacksonville is a deeply flawed team whose issues have been put on full display the past two weeks.
There are major issues on the offensive line, which has been overmatched in games against better fronts in the Seahawks and Rams. Lawrence has been sacked seven times in back-to-back games.
“It was everything we said we didn’t want to do did occur,” Coen said. “So starts with me. Got to figure it out. Got a long flight home and some days off to do that.”
Jacksonville leads the league in penalties and dropped passes. They were called for a whopping 13 flags against the Rams and dropped at least four more passes to up their total to nearly two dozen this year.
When the defense isn’t forcing takeaways at an alarming clip, the offense just isn’t able to do much lifting to offer support. Jacksonville went its second straight game without forcing a turnover, and Lawrence and Co. just couldn’t elevate their game to make up the difference.
The receivers are holding the team back on offense, which is something Gladstone needs to scrutinize as the trade deadline approaches (Nov. 4).
No. 1 pass catcher Brian Thomas Jr. is mired in a season-long sophomore slump. He had two more drops against the Rams. The other receivers — Dyami Brown and Parker Washington — are inconsistent. Both had drops on Sunday. And rookie first-round pick Hunter remains an enigma as Jacksonville struggles with how best to use him, although Hunter did catch his first career touchdown pass against the Rams and did well after the game was well out of reach.
“Yeah, we obviously need to make sure we’re in a position with our hands, with our violent to the tuck, with the way we’re looking the ball in. And also ball placement, making sure the ball is in the right spots. All that stuff. I think there’s a combination of things,” Coen said of Thomas.
“Still, we got to keep throwing it, though. I mean, we can’t go running it, running it, running it. It’s just the way it goes.”
Hunter had 101 yards receiving on eight catches.
Coen’s specialty is offense and his unit has struggled. Tough love hasn’t worked. Fiery speeches haven’t worked. The self-inflicted mistakes continue to be Jacksonville’s most significant issue.
It was supposed to be different against the Rams.
The Jaguars arrived in London on Tuesday to get a head start on the week there. Los Angeles didn’t arrive in London until Saturday. It looked like those roles were reversed once the game started. Jacksonville was flat out of the gate and never picked things up.
“You wouldn’t have guessed that we were here for a week prepared, ready to go play in this atmosphere by looking at it in terms of the way we started the game,” Coen said. “I’m very proud of our defense, specifically in the second half of the game.”
Lawrence was 23 of 48 passing for 48 yards and played turnover-free for the second straight week. But he’s taken sacks at a ridiculous pace (14 in the last eight quarters) and still remains a work in progress as a precision passer.
His receivers certainly don’t help. Thomas left in the fourth quarter injured. Brown was hurt after a 39-yard catch but managed to return.
Stafford picked the Jaguars apart in the opening half, throwing touchdown passes to Konata Mumpfield and Davante Adams on the first two drives for a 14-0 lead just 13 minutes into the game. Adams had three touchdown catches on five receptions. Stafford was seldom even pressured by a disappointing Jaguars defensive front that failed to record a sack.
The Jaguars didn’t get anything going until the final two drives of the first half, but the first one stalled after a dropped third-down pass by Thomas and a missed field goal by Cam Little.
Little’s struggles have dragged on, and it’s a certainly a concern for the second-year kicker. He’s just 4 of 8 on his field goal attempts over the last five weeks and missed a PAT. The Jaguars were in field goal range two other times against the Rams, and Coen opted to try and scratch out a first down instead of going for the field goal.
Los Angeles drove 60 yards in five plays after Little’s missed 50-yard kick, capped by a Stafford 1-yard touchdown pass to Adams that put the Rams in front 21-0. The Jaguars rolled the dice on a fourth-and-7 on the following drive, but a scramble by Lawrence from the 11 came up 3 yards short of a first down. The Jaguars were 2 of 6 on third down, but 0 for 4 when it mattered.
Jacksonville was penalized 13 times for 119 yards. It had a sack nullified by a penalty, and also committed two on third down that led to automatic firsts. One positive on offense was Hunter, who could be in for a larger role on offense if Thomas and Brown continue to struggle.
“I ain’t worried about the stats,” Hunter said. “We got to do better on the football field. We got to come out and we just got to win. That’s what I’m most focused on, just doing my job and having the other guys do their job, and we come out on top.”