Commanders 28, Jaguars 22: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Jacksonville Jaguars went through the full scale of emotions during Sunday's 28-22 loss to the Washington Commanders.
They had an encouraging first few minutes, a brutal overall half, a comeback bid that put them in the driver's seat, and a collapse in the final quarter that felt far too much like the Jaguars of years past.
“I learned a long time ago in this league there are no moral victories and we’re going to show them," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the game.
"We’re going to be honest with them, we’re going to show them, we’re going to learn how to finish, we’re going to learn how to practice better, study better. Whatever it is, we’re going to do and try to put ourselves in a position to win more of these games than we lose.”
With this in mind, we are going to examine the biggest highs and lows, the downright concerning and everything in between: the good, the bad and the ugly.
The good
James Robinson looked like James Robinson. The third-year back made his return to the field after last year's Week 16 Achillies tear, and Robinson was arguably the second-best player on the offense on Sunday. He didn't look like he lost any explosion at all, he was rock-solid in pass-pro, and he scored both on the ground and through the air.
"It was awesome. I thought he did a great job today. Just fun to see him out there. He’s a great player. To see that smile on his face after scoring a couple touchdowns, it’s awesome. He’s a great player and he’s going to have a great year," Lawrence said about Robinson.
There is also the fact that No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker looked the part. He had a slow start, but he made two special plays in the second-half ith a stellar pass-rush rep and an interception of Carson Wentz. It is clear Walker is still learning his role after playing a much different one at Georgia, but the flashes were special.
The bad
Far, far too many missed opportunities. The Jaguars left far too many points on the field for a young team that needs to learn how to win. It started on the first drive when Trevor Lawrence missed a lay-up touchdown pass to a wide-open Travis Etienne, and continued throughout the game as Lawrence and Zay Jones failed to connect on two passes in the end zone that Jones got his hands on. Add in a Travis Etienne drop on fourth-down and that is three potential touchdowns the passing game failed to pick up, and this doesn't even include the times the Jaguars shot themselves in the foots with penalties or poor special teams play.
Then there is the fact the Jaguars got beat in the trenches on each side of the ball. They allowed 10 quarterback hits on 44 drop backs, meaning the Commanders were close to a sack on nearly every fourth pass. Montez Sweat and Daron Payne each had three quarterback hits by themselves, a staggering figure when you take in the fact the Jaguars had just four as a team and had no player record two.
The ugly
Despite the Jaguars never being down by more than 11, they never leaned on the running game. They threw 42 passes in comparison to 18 runs, even though they were far more successful and efficient on the ground, in part due to missed throws from Lawrence, missed plays by the skill players and a shaky offensive line. Even with all of this a factor, the Jaguars forgot the running game existed, giving James Robinson 11 carries (66 yards, 6.0 yards per carry) and Travis Etienne four carries (47 yards, 11.8 yards per carry average). Each of Etienne and Robinson generated explosive runs of more than 20 yards, too, so it isn't like the chunk gains weren't there. The Jaguars just didn't use them.
There was also some questionable play in the secondary. Cornerback Shaquill Griffin was beat for two touchdowns -- one by Jahan Dotson and one by Terry McLaurin -- while Tyson Campbell's interception has to be balanced with the game-winning touchdown he allowed to Dotson. Add in an up and down game from Andre Cisco and Rayshawn Jenkins and a bad tackling performance from Darious Williams, and this was a game to forget for a unit the Jaguars were hoping would be much-improved.
“That’s just what we’re talking about, you know. It’s finish. It’s just the finish, finish, finish of the game, finish the play, finish the series, finish the drive," Pederson said about the scores given up in the air.
"Those are all teachable moments and that’s what we’re going to do as a staff. We’re going to teach these guys and we’re going to show them exactly how to do that and this group is going to be better because of it. We don’t make any excuses. Give credit to Washington, they came back and won this football game, but a lot of good takeaways for us.
