Can the Jaguars struggling defense contain the Saints elite skill player duo on Sunday?

The Jacksonville Jaguars defense has allowed 24 or more points in three of the team's five games this season, with only one of those games resulting in a Jaguars victory (26-24 win over Denver Broncos in week 4).

Through five games, the 2-3 Jaguars have the following numbers on defense:

1,910 total yards allowed (26th in NFL).
6.1 yards allowed per play (tied for 29th in NFL).
One defensive takeaway (32nd in NFL).
7 rushing touchdowns allowed (tied for 32nd in NFL).
5.5 yards per carry allowed (32nd in NFL).

The pinnacle of the Jaguars' defensive failures in 2019 was its performance in Jacksonville's 34-27 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The once proud defense allowed 445 total yards, an astonishing 285 yards rushing and allowed two touchdown runs of 50+ yards.

The defense is looking for a bounce back game against the New Orleans Saints this Sunday, but much like Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey was an obvious challenge leading up to last week's game, they are presented once again with top-tier skill players that they are going to be tasked with limiting.

Saints running back Alvin Kamara does not have a 100-yard rushing game this season but he leads the NFL in broken tackles with 25, eight more than the next closest player. He is averaging 4.6 yards per carry and has once again been a focal point of the entire Saints offense, not just the running game.

And like McCaffrey, Kamara has the ability to make defenders look silly in space. This presents a problem for a Jaguars defense that has struggled with missed tackles in nearly every game this season.

“Similar from a standpoint of their both very productive and very good. I would say it that way. I think that [he’s] a really good runner, both inside and outside. Really difficult to tackle, can run through tackles. You’re going to have to get people on him," head coach Doug Marrone said this week.

"Obviously, the receiving aspect of it, from either out of the backfield, or lining up at receiver or getting the screens. Whatever it may be, he’s obviously a great playmaker."

But unlike the defense's focus leading into the Panthers game, when it was obvious McCraffrey was the largest threat on the field, the Jaguars can not focus on one player.

That is because Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas is among the NFL's elite at his position. Through five games in 2019, Thomas has 45 receptions for 543 yards and three touchdowns. He is a tough task for any defense, and this applies to the Jaguars unit regardless of cornerback Jalen Ramsey's game status on Sunday.

"They like to throw it a lot. A lot of 11 personnel. We just gotta be sticky on them and make sure your guy don't catch the ball," cornerback D.J. Hayden said in the locker room on Wednesday.

And when asked about how the defense intends to slow down Thomas, Hayden's answer was blunt and immediate.

"We just gotta stop him," he said. "Whoever on him gotta guard him and make sure he don't get the ball. I mean, there really ain't no magic to it. Just gotta do your job. And I am confident in all of my teammates that they can take care of this job."

It will be no easy job on Sunday. But if the Jaguars hope to get back to .500, it will be a job they have to get done.

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