5 Observations From the Jaguars 27-20 Victory Over the Colts in Week 1
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jaguars (1-0) have been labeled by many as a team that is purposefully tanking the 2020 season, but that is the exact opposite of what the Jaguars displayed during a 27-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts (0-1) on Sunday.
The Jaguars got their first Week 1 home victory since 2011 thanks to a host of big plays made by rookies and second-year players, helping give the league's youngest roster some much-needed positive energy to march through September with. The Colts had been talked about as a potential Super Bowl candidate, so upsetting them in the first game of the season is as good of an outcome the Jaguars could have possibly asked for.
So with the Jaguars squeaking out an exciting victory to start the 2020 season, what are our biggest observations from Week 1? Here are the five most pressing ones.
Tanking? Not quite — or at least not yet
For at least seven more days, the Jaguars can put the talks of tanking the 2020 season to rest. There is still a lot of football left to be played, but the Jaguars were massive home underdogs to a Colts team that was just 7-9 last year. And if they are tanking, then what are the Colts doing? In reality, the Jaguars overcame a lot of their own deficiencies today, winning the game despite being outgained by close to 200 yards and despite the Colts never punting, but it looked far from a team trying to tank.
When it comes down to the truth, the only moves the Jaguars made this offseason that made them actively worse were trading Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue. Trading Campbell can't really be excused, but Ngakoue gave the Jaguars little choice. Thus, the Jaguars have never been operating like they were tanking; they instead have operated like a team attempting to hit a reset on their roster without overhauling the entire structure of the organization. There are 15 more games to be played, but the Jaguars that took the field Sunday played hard, were coached hard, and ultimately came away winners.
Rookies stand out in a major way
The big story for the Jaguars last season, aside from the Jalen Ramsey debacle, was the play of their rookie class. Through just one game, the Jaguars are seeing the same story more or less, as their rookie class (both draft picks and undrafted free agents) made a major impact on Sunday.
- CJ Henderson intercepted a pass and had three pass breakups, including the game-clinching one against T.Y. Hilton on 4th-down.
- K'Lavon Chaisson intercepted Philip Rivers, though a D.J. Hayden penalty erased it
- Laviska Shenault had five touches for 47 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown catch.
- DaVon Hamilton made several impressive run stops.
- Collin Johnson caught a key 3rd-down pass.
- Chris Claybrooks stepped in while Henderson and Tre Herndon came off the field with injuries, giving up just a few short completions and making several impressive tackles.
- James Robinson led the way for the rushing attack, taking 100% of the carries and recording 62 rushing yards on 16 carries and 28 receiving yards on one catch. Looked quick and decisive all day and made the biggest play in terms of yardage for the Jaguars' offense on his 28-yard catch and run.
Add in the fact that several other rookies such as Daniel Thomas and Shaquille Quarterman played key roles on special teams, and the Jaguars got a heck of a start from their 2020 rookie class.
Philip Rivers still carved up Jaguars, but the defense actually capitalized on his mistakes
The Jaguars have always struggled against Philip Rivers and for the most part, Sunday was no different. Rivers completed 78.3% of his passes for 363 yards (7.9 yards per attempt) for one touchdown and an 88.7 passer rating, which featured a multitude of explosive plays from Rivers and his new weapons. But despite Rivers once again torching Todd Wash's defense with giant chunk gains, the Jaguars still stifled Rivers when it mattered the most.
In the red zone, the Colts had just a 40% conversion rate (2/5) while also getting just four of 12 3rd-down conversions. Add in his two interceptions, each of which were great plays by Jacksonville's defensive backs, and the Jaguars were the definition of a bend but don't break defense against Rivers. He may have gotten the yardage he wanted, but he made far too many mistakes when it mattered the most, something the Jaguars normally don't force out of Rivers.
Jay Gruden let Gardner Minshew play his game
It took Jacksonville's offense a little bit to get going, but eventually, they were moving the ball with efficiency and ease when it mattered the most. This was in part due to good adjustments from Gruden in terms of finding route combinations that worked, but it was also in part to Gruden letting Minshew do what he does best.
Minshew is best described as a point guard style of quarterback. When he is at the top of his game is when he is quickly and efficiently spreading the ball around to a variety of targets, something his accuracy and decision-making lets him do at a high level when he is in a rhythm. Gruden never asked Minshew to step outside of his realm of comfort on Sunday, instead having Gruden attack underneath and in the middle of the field against the Colts' two-high safety defense. Minshew didn't look like he had to force a thing on Sunday, and Gruden deserves some credit for that.
Judging the trench play
The two major question marks for the Jaguars this offseason were the offensive and defensive lines. Each had some good, and some bad, from Sunday's win, though context is needed.
The Jaguars allowed four sacks but two of those were on Minshew for not getting rid of the ball. The other two sacks were on Jawaan Taylor and Cam Robinson, but the offensive line kept Minshew clean for the vast majority of the game, effectively keeping DeForest Buckner from becoming a difference-maker. The line's run blocking dropped off of a cliff in the second half, but it flashed some good things in the first half.
As for the defensive line, the nose tackles actually far exceeded expectations. Abry Jones and DaVon Hamilton both made big stops and each looked to be anchoring well vs. the run. On the flipside, no Jaguars defensive lineman got a sack or a tackle for loss on Sunday. There defensive line lost the pass-rush battle, but it was also against maybe the best offensive line in the NFL.
