Jaguars vs. Seahawks: Notes and Thoughts at Halftime
That was a first-half to forget.
After a week to prepare for the Seattle Seahawks off the bye, the Jaguars simply offered little resistance to the struggling Seahawks, falling behind 17-0.
Where did things go wrong for the Jaguars, and where did things go right? We break it all down below.
Plays of the half
The big play that hurt the Jaguars' offense at the start of the game was on their 3rd-and-9. The Jaguars had the ball at the Seahawks' 39-yard line and any positive yardage at least gives the Jaguars a chance to get points. Instead, the Jaguars lost 11 yards on a Ryan Neal sack after the Seahawks brought pressure, turning a solid first drive into a punt and, eventually, just a touchback.
The Jaguars' defense made a few stops in the first-half, including Shaquill Griffin locking down D.K. Metcalf on one key third-down. Still, a 27-yard gain from Tyler Lockett that followed a roughing the passer penalty helped the Jets get to the one-yard line, resulting in a Geno Smith touchdown on fourth-down.
Trevor Lawrence's development has been rapid and he made a number of solid throws leading up to his second-quarter drive, but Lawrence and Tavon Austin had a miscommunication on a deep play-action throw on 1st-and-10, resulting in an interception and another failed drive. This came one drive after the Jaguars were forced to punt due to a third-down drop by Laviska Shenault.
Where are the Jaguars winning?
I am not really sure? The Jaguars got into penalty trouble, had to burn multiple timeouts due to either having too many players on the field on defense or delay of game issues on offense. Trevor Lawrence started out sharp but he and his receivers simply were nowhere on the same page as the half went on. And on defense, the Jaguars didn't force a single Smith incompletion.
If there is one thing the Jaguars did well, it is likely stopping the run. The Seahawks got 28 yards on their first four carries but just 17 on their next 10 as the run defense stiffened and Myles Jack and Damien Wilson made big stops. Other than that, though, there isn't much positive.
Where are the Jaguars losing?
The Jaguars are getting torched by Geno Smith, no matter how you cut it. Smith completed all of his first 10 passes, throwing for 93 yards and a touchdown and gashing the Jaguars' on third-down. Smith hasn't been efficient or even productive from a volume standpoint as the Seahawks' starter, but he shredded the Jaguars to start the half, completing every pass to either Tyler Lockett or Metcalf to start the game and completed his first 14 passes overall for 137 yards.
The Jaguars simply are getting ran by in man coverage and the pressure isn't getting home on the other downs. The one time the Jaguars hit Smith resulted in a penalty on DaVon Hamilton. Otherwise, the Seahawks kept him clean and even blitzes failed to generate much pressure. If the Jaguars are going to win, they need some kind of resistance from their pass defense.
The Jaguars also largely became a one-dimensional offense when James Robinson left the game on the final play of the first quarter. Robinson left with an ankle injury after a 17-yard gain, resulting in Carlos Hyde being given the bell cow role and not producing much with it, rushing three times for 10 yards.
