Jaguars Week 9 Stock Report: Offense Struggles, A.J. Bouye Impresses
This is the first time this season I’ve struggled to find anything positive to say about a Jacksonville Jaguars game. Minshew Mania finally ran its course, the wide receivers couldn’t catch a cold, the offensive line didn’t hold up. The list goes on and on.
This battle against the Houston Texans, a 26-3 loss, was another example of the Jaguars coaching staff simply getting outcoached. Houston now owns the season sweep over the Jaguars and has moved up into first place in the division, following its victory and the Indianapolis Colts loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With that being said - not a lot of player’s stocks are on the rise - which is a complete 180 from the last two weeks. But, let’s have a discussion on how the Jaguars did on Sunday against the Texans.
Stock up: Keelan Cole
I like to be positive so let’s start off with one of the lone positive performances from across the pond. Cole put together his second solid performance of the season, reeling in five catches for 80 yards.
Dede Westbrook was out this week, so you saw a lot of receivers who haven’t spent a lot of time on the field get a chance to shine and Cole took advantage of that opportunity. Cole was also one of the few Jaguars receivers that didn’t have a drop.
Other receivers saw their time increase such as C.J. Board and Michael Walker. Walker handled mostly punt and kick return duties whereas Board registered his first NFL catch for 23 yards during garbage time.
Stock down: Gardner Minshew
There’s a ton of things you just hate to see, and the end of Minshew Mania has to be up there as one of the most tragic events in Jaguars history. This was the game where Minshew had to rise to the occasion and earn his job as the Jaguars starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, and he failed to do so. He completed 57 percent of his passes for 309 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
This was by far his worst performance he’s had all season. Not all of it was his fault, as some of it came down to the offensive line, wide receivers, coaching etc. But, his bad game can’t go unnoticed. It really felt like Minshew had a chance to control his own destiny and unfortunately, he failed to earn his job as the Jaguars starting quarterback for the rest of the season.
Stock up: A.J. Bouye
There was an argument to be had in 2017 that Bouye was actually the true number one corner for the Jaguars, and now that Jalen Ramsey is gone, this was his first game to really try and prove that. He rose to the occasion, too.
Bouye held DeAndre Hopkins to eight catches for only 48 yards and one touchdown. He did everything he needed to do against a top-tier NFL wide receiver, proving that Bouye is worth every penny that the Jaguars are paying him. He will continue to show that as he moves on as the Jags number one cornerback.
Stock down: Offensive line
The O-line allowed four total sacks, and Fournette only had 11 carries for 40 yards averaging only 3.6 yards per carry. This was the offensive line’s worst performance thus far this season against a banged-up Houston defensive line. JJ Watt was inactive for the Texans in this contest but that didn’t matter to the Texan defense, as guys like Brennan Scarlett had two sacks against Minshew. To put that into perspective, the most sacks Scarlett has had in a single season up to that point is two.
The most disappointing part of this offensive line, is there really aren’t any injuries. This is the starting five offensive line and it’s still struggling against a team who is pretty banged up at the defensive line position.
Stock up: Jarrod Wilson
What I’m going to say may shock you, but I kinda like what the Jaguars have at the safety position. I think Wilson has shattered everyone’s expectations - sure he hasn’t stuck out particularly but he’s been doing his job. In this game, he really made his first standout play of the season.
Carlos Hyde was gone for a 60-plus yard touchdown run but right before Hyde broke the plain, Wilson punched the ball right out of Hyde’s hands to force a touchback and a Jaguars turnover. Let’s just not discuss the ensuing drive for the Jaguars offense, but Wilson has put together a pretty solid season, as he has 40 tackles, four tackles for a loss and of course a forced fumble.
Stock down: DJ Chark and Chris Conely
Both of these guys are supposed to be leaders in the receiver room and be the number one and two receivers on this Jaguars team. I don’t know if there’s something in the air in London but Chark and Conely both had their worst games thus far this season. So. Many. Drops. They couldn’t create any separation, resulting in two or three coverage sacks. If you’re a receiver in the league and you can’t even cause any separation whatsoever what do you even bring to the team? Both of these guys are super talented and I’m sure they’ll bounce back but for now they are on a slippery downhill slope.
