JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – So, that’s what a complete game us supposed to look like?
Far too often this year, the Jaguars had one thing working and not the other. Or in some cases, nothing at all working.
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The Jaguars played one of their most thorough games of the year in a 35-6 romp over the Chargers that helped put the brakes on a season that felt like it was headed off the rails. Can they keep that going in Week 12 when they visit Arizona (3-7) at 4:05 p.m.?
Jacksonville did what head coach Liam Coen has stressed all season long and has talked about ad nauseum.
If the Jaguars (6-4) could just stop beating themselves, they could stand in toe to toe with any team in the league and be successful. Coen’s familiar talking points week after week were the same. Against the Chargers, the Jaguars cleaned things up beautifully.
- Cut down the self-inflicted mistakes (one turnover, one penalty).
- Control the line of scrimmage (no sacks allowed).
- Pressure the quarterback (three sacks).
- Eliminate the big plays (the Chargers had just 135 total yards).
Coen said it was easy for the Jaguars to enter that game “pissed off.” Jacksonville was coming off the worst collapse in franchise history (they allowed 26 unanswered points in a Week 10 game against the Texans) that threatened to send its promising season into a tailspin.
The Chargers didn’t seem to be the opponent for a Jacksonville get-right game, but Coen said the Jaguars were dialed in from the outset.
“You want to be able to see that kind of level of execution and passion and energy every week,” Coen said. “That’s the standard. That’s the opportunity we have. And that’s the challenge though of coaching and playing in the NFL is doing it week in and week out.”
Jacksonville’s performance in all three phases illustrated Coen’s points to the T. The Jaguars had been the league’s most penalized team (83 in nine games), terrible in dropped passes (league-leading 31) and had a nonexistent pass rush. For one game at least, all of those things disappeared.
Jacksonville was flagged just once for 5 yards on its cleanest day of the season. Trevor Lawrence wasn’t sacked and seldom pressured, a significant stat considering Jacksonville was missing right tackle Anton Harrison, and that unit had surrendered 20 sacks over the last four games. It also led the way for a productive day on the ground, with Bhayshul Tuten and Travis Etienne combining for 147 yards and three touchdowns.
“Playing meaningful games in November and December are earned opportunities and the way that we go and approach each week is what gives us the opportunity and gives us that right,” Coen said. “And ultimately, I think everybody that’s been here or that is here now, new, whatever, rookies, free agents. I think we all see how we have to prepare and play for us to have success.”
Arik Armstead and Josh Hines-Allen had sacks, the latter’s breaking the all-time franchise sack record. Travon Walker and Danny Striggow combined on another sack.
Was that game a one-off, or can the Jaguars make playing with that anger each week a regular thing?
“I think ultimately, we now owe it to each other to play that way for the rest of the year as much as possible. And see what the result is,” Coen said. “That’s got to be our mindset as a team is like we owe it to each other now, to put that on tape as much as possible for the remainder of the season and let the results be what they may.”
Days like Sunday are what Jacksonville remains such a frustrating team for both the coaching staff and a tormented fanbase.
They went on the road and beat San Francisco and beat Kansas City on “Monday Night Football,” followed by games like the Seahawks (20-12 loss) and Houston with a backup quarterback (19-point blown lead in the second half). But they turned it around again to vanquish a Chargers team that entered with a hope of making a push to win the AFC West.
“That team was 7-3 at the time. One of the hottest teams in the NFL that people think is a really good team,” said receiver Tim Patrick. “And we went out there and showed them that we have that caliber — but we showed that we’re a good team and when we put it all together that we could go out there and beat anybody.”