Jaguars vs. Buccaneers: Halftime Thoughts
The Jaguars are freefalling, entering the first-half with a 20-0 deficit vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
So, what did we see in the brutal first half? We break it down below.
The offense simply can not get out of its own way
It is hard to put into words exactly what is wrong with the Jaguars' offense. It feels as if they can string together impressive drives at multiple times throughout each game, but once they cross the 50-yard line they are hit with an inexplicable curse and make the kind of mistakes you simply shouldn't be making in Week 16.
It crept up on the first drive of the game, with the Jaguars crossing midfield before a disastrous three-play sequence that was all of their own doing. First, a fumbled handoff exchange that made 1st-and-10 turn into 2nd-and-15. Then, a low percentage deep ball to Tim Jones that had virtually zero chance to improve their field position. Then, finally, a Trevor Lawrence interception when the offense was forced into 3rd-and-long.
It happened the next drive, too. After two big catches by undrafted rookie wide receiver Elijah Cooks, the Jaguars lost 12 yards on first down due to an ill-advised end around from Calvin Ridley. The play never had a chance and was a complete contrast to what had been working for the Jaguars, which more or less summed up their half.
Trevor Lawrence doesn't look like Trevor Lawrence
Trevor Lawrence has played worst halves of football than the one he played on Sunday. But his two interceptions led directly to each of Tampa Bay's touchdown passes, and he has now turned the ball over eight times over the last 10 quarters. Regardless for the reasons or blame for each specific turnover, Lawrence simply can't let that happen at this stage of the season.
The problem-solver that Lawrence normally is just didn't look to be there in the first-half. He looked fooled by Tampa's defense on his first interception, while his second interception was a potential miscommunication between him and Evan Engram. The issue is that miscommunications shouldn't happen at this point.
The defense looks like a shell of itself
The defense has been bailed out to an extent by how bad the Jaguars' offense was due to the turnovers, but don't get it twisted: the Jaguars' defense was dominated in the first-half. Baker Mayfield completed 18-of-23 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns and simply never looked like he was uncomfortable.
The defense we saw in the first-half of the season is long gone. The attitude, physicality and overall play-making simply haven't been there for the vast majority of the second-half of the season, and that continued today.
