Winners and Losers From Jaguars Deflating 24–14 Loss to Falcons

Which Jaguars came out of Sunday's loss to the Falcons looking good and which struggled?

Another Sunday, another dissapointing loss for the Jacksonville Jaguars. This time it came in the form of a 24-12 loss to the Atlanta Falcons that was over before it really began, dropping Jacksonville to a 5-10 record, the team's eighth season with double-digit losses in the last nine years. 

Jacksonville lost the game in all phases, so it is hard to truly blame one side or unit much more so than any other. Jacksonville's defense only got one sack vs. a bad offensive line and allowed over 500 yards, while the offense only scored 12 points and totaled less than 300 yards. 

So after this latest Jaguars loss, who left a positive impression and who noticeable struggled? We examined a few names to consider. 

Loser: Doug Marrone

Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone may or may not be coaching for his job right now. It is hard to tell exactly what Shad Khan is thinking when it comes to the future of his franchise and whether or not the final games of 2019 are a time for Marrone to prove his worth. 

But if Marrone did need good performances down the stretch to save his job, then Sunday did him no favors. Jacksonville came out flat on both sides of the ball and simply did not look prepared to win a football game. Marrone also had a few questionable decisions in terms of game managemet, such as opting to kick a field goal down 17-3 in the third quarter. 

Marrone has done a good job of keeping his team focused this season, but Sunday's performance was a poor one in a coaching sense, 

Loser: Gardner Minshew

A week after rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II led a remarkable second half comeback and was flawless in the second half, he once again had a game that told different tales at the begginning and end. For the second week in a row, Minshew ended the first half 3 of 10 passing, but this time he only had 21 yards to show for it. He missed throws due to poor accuracy as well as choosing to leave the pocket too early on occaision. He simply did not play well in the first half. 

In the second half, Minshew played a bit better. He led two scoring drives and nearly a third one, but went 0 for 4 passing on one goal-to-goal oppourtuity to turn the ball over late in the game. He ended the game 13 of 31 for 181 yards, an abysmall stat line. Only 41.9% of his passes were completed and his yards per attempt was a lowly 5.8.

Minshew has done a lot of good this season, but Sunday wasn't a game worth remembering. 

Winner: Chris Conley

The veteran wide receiver had his best game of the season in Week 15 vs.the Oakland Raiders and he followed it up with some good plays in Atlanta this past Sunday. Conley has had major consistency issues throughout this season, but he has now scored three touchdowns in the last two weeks after catching a 42-yard touchdown pass from Minshew in the second half of yesterday's game. 

Conley hasn't been much of a deep threat this season, but he came up big on his touchdown grab. He beat the cornerback on a vertical route and then made a great hands catch, tracking the ball and hanging onto it by his finger tips to ensure the score.

Loser: Jaguars' pass rush

Atlanta walked into Sunday's game having allowed 43 sacks, the 11th highest amount of sacks allowed in the NFL. Despite this, Jacksonville simply couldn't get anywhere near Matt Ryan on Sunday. Whether it was a seven-step drop or play-action, it seemed as if he had all day in the pocket because Yannick Ngakoue, Josh Allen, and Calais Campbell were neutralized. 

Jacksonville's lone sack came from Dawuane Smoot, his fifth sack of the season. It was a nice hustle sack on third down, tracking down Ryan has he stepped up in the pocket to extend a play. But, it was far from a dominating rep, something Jacksonville failed to find on Sunday.

Winner: UDFA defensive backs

Not a lot of good things happened for Jacksonville's defense on Sunday. They got gashed by Ryan and Julio Jones and allowed far too many third down conversions, as well as putting forth a poor red zone defensive effort. But, there was one posiitve in the form of a pair of former undrafted free agents making plays. 

Cornerback Tre Herndon and safey Jarrod Wilson both recorded interceptions on plays Ryan targetted Jones, with Herndon playing a deep ball well in the air down the sideline and Wilson undercutting an intermediate route and showing terrific recognition to close on the ball. Herndon and Wilson have now combined for six turnovers forced this season, a solid figure for two first-year starters. 

Loser: Michael Walker

For the second time in the last five weeks, rookie kick returner Michael Walker fumbled a kickoff which was recovered by the opponent in Jacksonville territory, leading to a touchdown for the other team. This time, Walker fumbled on the first Falcons' kickoff of the game, giving Atlanta the ball and a chance to go up 14-0 before Jacksonville even took a snap.