Turnovers Finally Come in Bunches for Jacksonville's Defense in Week 7
In football, turnovers come in bunches for defenses. It is one of the greatest cliches in all of sports, but it is one that has rung true for the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4) all season in 2019.
And after six frustrating games without any signs of those bunches appearing for the Jaguars' defense, the floodgates finally opened against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7's 27-17 road win. After entering the game with only one takeaway through six games, the Jaguars forced four against the Bengals.
Those takeaways came via:
- D.J. Hayden forcing a Tyler Boyd fumble in the 3rd Quarter, which Ronnie Harrison recovered. Hayden slipped on the play but then recovered and made the smart move to knock the ball out from behind.
- A Myles Jack interception inside the red zone in the 4th Quarter, the best play Jack has made in all of 2019 and a giant momentum shift for the entire game.
- The third turnover was the most important play of the game. Yannick Ngakoue perfectly read a screen pass and was able to grab the ball out of the air and then make the athletic play to turn it into a touchdown.
“We always talk about reading screens. I noticed when 25 (Bengals HB Giovani Bernard) was in the game, they were looking pass," Ngakoue said after the game.
"And when it was 28 (Joe Mixon), they were looking run. So I thought it was going to be a screen.”
The final turnover was a dagger into the Bengals heart, though the game was already over at this point. Harrison read Andy Dalton's eyes and undercut a wide receiver's route to get his second interception of the year, along with a solid return.
Following the game, Jacksonville's defensive players seemed overjoyed that they were finally able to break out of their turnover funk. Far too many times this season the ball bounced the wrong way or it simply slipped out of their hands. But not on Sunday.
“It creates a lot of momentum. That’s what we want — we want the ball," Hayden said after the game. "There’s some stuff we need to clean up, but next week we’re going to try to get three more — maybe four, maybe five, maybe six, maybe seven.”
Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said following the game that his defense showed flashes of what they were capable of during the week of practice leading up to the Bengals game. And thankfully for the Jaguars, those flashes carried over to game day.
“They did a good job during the week. We had our hands on a lot of footballs during the week," Marrone said post-game.
"I even said something to (defensive coordinator Todd) Wash. I said, ‘Gosh, we got our hands on a lot of footballs’ and he goes ‘I think we might have gotten our hands on more balls this week than in all the practices we’ve had.’ So you know, I said ‘I hope that’s something that’s good’ and I think we did. We had some opportunities today.”
Marrone, a former offensive line coach and offensive coordinator, does not necessarily subscribe to the idea that turnovers come in bunches or that bad turnover luck exists.
But after a game like Sunday, he just may be a little more convinced. He noted the turnovers started to come rapidly after Hayden's forced fumble, and for the first time all year, they came in bunches.
"That one was a very important play in this game because I think, you know — the defensive guys say this, I don’t know if I buy in — but we always say it on defense that when you get turnovers they come in bunches," Marrone said. "I kind of think that’s B.S. — but maybe because I’m an offensive coach — but we did get a bunch."
But it isn't just the plays that cause turnovers that changed the Jaguars' fortunes on Sunday, Marrone noted. For instance, Hayden made a good open-field tackle on the play immediately before Ngakoue's interception to prevent a first down which then, in theory, led to the screen call.
"I’ll tell you about the play that people aren’t going to talk about — the play before Yannick (Ngakoue) intercepts this screen for the touchdown, D.J. makes a hell of a play on the screen prior to it," Marrone said.
"So prior to that play, D.J. makes a play on the sideline, right — the first screen — then they come back with another screen and the next thing you know Yannick’s got a big play. I always say to myself if D.J. doesn’t make the play on the screen and the guy gets a big gain, do they come back something different."
For the Jaguars to stack up wins as the season progresses, they will need to continue forcing turnovers. The hope for Marrone, Hayden and the rest of the defense is that Week 7 is what they needed to finally turn the tide of momentum their way.
