5 Predictions For Jaguars Vs. Ravens: Jacksonville Fails to Limit Lamar Jackson

In the next chance for the Jacksonville Jaguars to stop one of the two worst losing streaks in franchise history, the team has the tough task of stopping the 2019 MVP and the 8-5 Baltimore Ravens.

The Jaguars (1-12) have lost 12 games in a row -- or every single game they have played since a Week 1 upset of the Indianapolis Colts. Could that change against Lamar Jackson and a Ravens team pushing for a playoff spot? We give our predictions to give an idea of the likelihood of them pulling off another upset.

Lamar Jackson collects 115 rushing yards, 3 total touchdowns

The Jaguars' defense under Todd Wash has struggled against a few specific types of players over the years, and mobile quarterbacks certainly fall into this category. Jacksonville's defensive scheme just doesn't allow them to always have the necessary speed and spacing needed to prevent a quarterback from extending plays or picking up yards with his legs. We have seen this consistently over the years against Deshaun Watson, while even immobile quarterbacks (Ryan Fitzpatrick) have found success against the Jaguars with their legs.

As a result, we think the Ravens deploy Lamar Jackson as a rushing threat on a frequent basis on Sunday, finding great success while doing so. Jackson's speed and elusiveness will prove too much for Jacksonville's young and inconsistent defense and the Ravens will quickly realize that their best chance to move the ball is through their signal-caller, resulting in a pair of rushing scores and a passing touchdown.

Gardner Minshew finishes with a quarterback rating of 85 or lower

Gardner Minshew will get his first start since Week 7 on Sunday, a result of Mike Glennon and Jake Luton both failing to stake a true claim to the starting gig. But while Minshew is Jacksonville's best option among their current quarterbacks, there is still little chance Minshew and the offense find their footing against a tough Ravens defense. Due to the matchup, Jacksonville's lack of offensive consistency, and Minshew's overall ineffectiveness this year, we are predicting a game with a quarterback rating of 85 or lower.

Minshew has just two starts this season with a quarterback rating below 92.7 -- against the Dolphins in Week 3 (79.0) and against the Lions in Week 7 (70.5). But the Ravens defense is filled with playmakers at all three levels who are capable of forcing turnovers, and Minshew's play style and history against complex defenses like Baltimore's are working against him. The Ravens as a whole have allowed just an 89.2 quarterback rating to opposing passers this year, the ninth-best figure in the NFL this season. While the excitement for Minshew's return is understandable, there is a lot that points to a tough game for the signal-caller on Sunday.

Jaguars allow a strip-sack by Yannick Ngakoue

We don't think Yannick Ngakoue is going to actually treat this game as a "revenge game" -- the Jaguars offered him one of the better deals he will likely ever be offered, for one, and he is a player who is equally prepared and psyched for each game he plays. With that said, we do think Ngakoue forces a strip-sack of Minshew by beating left tackle Cam Robinson, who has allowed 9 pressures over the last two weeks despite playing two teams with bad pass-rushing units.

Ngakoue is one of the best strip-sack artists in the entire NFL, and his style is typically the type of player that Robinson has struggled against in pass-protection in the past. Ngakoue has already forced three fumbles this year after forcing four last year, and Minshew is a quarterback who has had bouts of ball security issues in the past.

K'Lavon Chaisson gets to the quarterback, too

While Yannick Ngakoue will make a game-changing turnover, we also predict that K'Lavon Chaisson will get to the quarterback, recording his first sack since Week 2. Chaisson has had the two best games of his rookie season in the last two weeks, recording eight pressures and five quarterback hits. He is surging for the Jaguars down the stretch and we predict this continues on Sunday.

For as elusive as Jackson is, Baltimore's offensive line has struggled in 2020 due to injuries. They have allowed 2.4 sacks per game and have the fifth-worst adjusted sack rate in the league with 8.1%, per Football Outsiders. Right tackle D.J. Fluker is a strong run blocker but his feet are too slow in pass protection to keep up with Chaisson on a consistent basis, so we believe Chaisson has a good chance to get another sack on his stat sheet on Sunday.

Ravens win an ugly 35-13 game

It just doesn't look like a win is in the cards for the Jaguars on Sunday. They have played a few playoff teams tough this season, but the Jaguars don't have any good answer for Jackson, plus their lack of healthy cornerbacks is clearly a hindrance to what they can even do schematically. As for the offense, Minshew's inability to hang in the pocket against pressure looks will be a big red flag heading into Sunday.

Because of these factors, we predict a 35-13 Jaguars loss.

Add us as a preferred source on Google