Jaguar Report

Game Balls: Vikings 27, Jaguars 24

The Jacksonville Jaguars fell to the Minnesota Vikings in overtime as the defense showed out and the young offensive playmakers stepped up big. Kassidy Hill gives out her game balls from the loss.
Kassidy Hill|
Game Balls: Vikings 27, Jaguars 24
Game Balls: Vikings 27, Jaguars 24

The Jacksonville Jaguars fell to the Minnesota Vikings in overtime despite the defense showing out and the young offensive playmakers stepping up big. Kassidy Hill gives out the game balls from the narrow loss.

Offense 

Rookie wide receiver Laviska Shenault gave the Jaguars—and the league—one of the more improbable touchdowns of the season on the first drive of the game. Quarterback Mike Glennon was looking deep for presumably DJ Chark. The ball sailed past Chark and hit the ground, bouncing back up and towards the endzone. It went through two Vikings defenders who stood there and watched the bounce mesmerized and not capitalizing on what would have been an easy interception.

Shenault was the only person on the field still reacting like a football player. He ran up from where he’d been in the back of the endzone and secured the ball on the high bounce for the touchdown. It was a heads-up play from one of the Jaguars' most exciting and promising talents, proving he’s more than just a juke route.

Shenault hauled in two more receptions by the end of the day for a total of three catches for 38 yards. He also gave James Robinson some assistance in the backfield, with two rushes for 30 yards. Shenault was out for two weeks after a hamstring injury versus the Houston Texans. But when he’s back on the field, he continues to prove he can be wherever the Jags need a play at any given time.

Honorable Mention—It was hard not to go with Shenault given the first touchdown and how versatile he was today. But Collin Johnson continues to make an impact on the Jaguars and set himself up for a big career. He lead the team with four receptions on six targets for 66 yards and he snuck his big frame behind the Viking’s defense to haul in a two-point conversion that tied the game late.

Defense

Linebacker Myles Jack continues to put together not only his best season but one of the best linebacker performances in the league this season. Against the Vikings, he played sideline to sideline as well as north and south. With 11 tackles, Jack was consistently the rudder that drove the defense on Sunday. He dropped into coverage on star rookie receiver Justin Jefferson. He filled the hole on the line of scrimmage, playing a big part in holding one of the NFL’s best rushers Dalvin Cooke to 120:yards on 32 rushes (3.7 yards per carry).

Perhaps Jack’s biggest impact on Sunday was his stout play in quick-change situations, none more impactful than when the Jags gave up a fumble in Minnesota territory. The Vikings easily drove down to the Jags' 1-yard line and were poised to punch it in and pad what was at the time a lead.

A bad handoff caused Cook to bobble the ball and Myles Jack made the heads up play to jump on it quickly. 

Special Teams

Logan Cooke is arguably playing at Pro Bowl level and is definitely the Jaguars special teams MVP for the season. His ability to pin teams deep and punt within his coverage is unmatched. He averaged 51.6 yards on his five punts Sunday, with only one of the five going for a touchback.

When you’re never sure what the offense will do from game to game, having a punter like Cooke is all a team can really depend on and the Jaguars have been able to depend on Cooke to do his part each and every week. 

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Kassidy Hill
KASSIDY HILL

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