Game Balls: Titans 31, Jaguars 10

The Jaguars once again dropped a regular season game, this time a 31-10 loss to the the Titans in Week 14 to drop them to 1-12. Despite the loss, John Shipley and Kassidy Hill pass out the game balls to the latest loss.

In what has unfortunately become a never-ending pattern for the 2020 Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday once again featured a loss to an AFC South rival that was never really all that close. 

Despite the Jaguars losing their 12th straight game in a 31-10 blowout to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, there are still a few individual performances worth pointing out and praising from the Jaguars' sideline. 

With that said, here are this week's game balls from Kassidy Hill and John Shipley.

Offense 

Shipley: This is a tough one to pick considering just how lifeless the offense was outside of one drive where Gardner Minshew provided a spark. I am opting to give this week's offensive game ball to James Robinson, partially due to default and partially for the milestone he reached on Sunday. 

It was tough sledding for much of Sunday for the rookie running back, but Robinson eventually was able to push through enough to break the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season. Robinson became the fourth undrafted rookie to ever rush for 1,000 rushing yards, with the rookie phenom hitting the figure thanks to a 47-yard run across the left end of the formation during the second half. 

Robinson ended the game with just 12 rushes for 67 yards (5.6 yards per carry), so he recorded just 20 yards on his other 11 carries. But his 47-yard carry was Jacksonville's biggest play of the day and his issues on the ground were otherwise more due to issues up front. Robinson also had a rushing touchdown negated by an illegal formation penalty on DJ Chark, so his day should have been better than it ended up being.

1️⃣ 0️⃣ 0️⃣ 0️⃣@Robinson_jamess is only the 4th undrafted rookie in @NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

RT to #ProBowlVote
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/0n009nRjAk

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) December 13, 2020

Hill: There are certain receivers that certain quarterbacks feel more comfortable with and it was evident from the moment Gardner Minshew stepped back on the field that Keelan Cole was still his safety blanket. Cole finished with seven receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets. There were times—with both Minshew and Mike Glennon—that the receiver was targeted even when covered like a blanket and with three guys in his face. It’s indicative of the trust both passers feel with Cole. But Minshew specifically knows he can always depend on the speedy and shifty route runner.

His route in the red-zone to get open for the touchdown was textbook, cutting back off a linebacker to get open for the small window throw at the plane.

As teams continue to put pressure and coverage on D.J. Chark based on his pure talent alone—and understandable so—the opportunity for Cole to knock a secondary back on their heels remains a threat. 

That route by @Air4Cole 👌@GardnerMinshew5 finds him for the TD.

📺: CBS | https://t.co/ipBIjeiLwZ pic.twitter.com/DrNImXmxS3

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) December 13, 2020

Defense 

Shipley: Considering the beating the Titans put on the Jaguars' defense over Sunday's four quarters, it is a bit hard to pick a game ball for the defense. The Titans rushed for 249 yards and gained 6.2 yards a pop, with 215 of those yards and two touchdowns coming from Derrick Henry. Ryan Tannehill also threw just five incompletions, so it was far from a good defensive day. 

With that said, I am opting to give a game ball to strong side linebacker Joe Giles-Harris. Giles-Harris had a breakout game in Week 13 against the Vikings by collecting four quarterback hits and he continued his strong play this weekend against the Titans. 

Giles-Harris was once again disruptive in Week 14 as he made the start for an injured Kamalei Correa, recording five tackles, one sack, one quarterback hit, and one tackle for loss. The fourth different strong side linebacker the Jaguars have started this season has proven to be the best option the team has at the position. 

Hill: Linebacker Joe Schobert set a new record on Sunday, becoming the only linebacker in the NFL since 2016 (when he entered the league) to have 500 career tackles and eight interceptions. He finished Sunday with eight tackles, a quarterback hurry, and a tackle for loss—the latter of which would have been a sack had Ryan Tannehill not let it fly as he himself was flying to the ground under Schobert.

His spot in the middle of the field, with Myles Jack (team-high 10 tackles with one for loss) on the edge has helped secure that third of the playing field. 

Special Teams

Shipley: Only one kick or punt was returned by the Jaguars on Sunday and Aldrick Rosas slipped on two kicks, including a field goal attempt, so can we give the game ball to anyone but Logan Cooke? He boomed a 62-yard punt, which is more than anyone else did on special teams for the Jaguars on Sunday. 

Hill: How bad would some of the Jaguars' losses have been if not for Logan Cooke? That rang true again on Sunday as the special teams relied on Cooke to pin opponents deep. His four punts averaged 49.8 yards per trip, with one touchback. Aldrick Rosas slipped on his first 53-yard field goal attempt, made up for on his second 53-yard attempt (which was good) and slipped on a kickoff that led to him having his cleats checked on the sideline. But it was Cooke, as it is time and time again, who bailed the offense out of bad field position while giving the Titans more field to cover, starting on average from their own 26-yard line off of Cooke’s punts.