Monday morning. Time to look back at the game that was with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Jets in New York. This game was decided by the big plays.
The missed tackle letting the Jets scoot for a long touchdown and a run play up the middle going for 69 yards for a touchdown by New York. Those big plays for the Jets were followed by the fumble recovery taken 81 yards to the end zone by young defensive standout, Myles Jack.
A couple of field goals tied it all up and sent it into overtime where QB Blake Bortles went 0-5 passing and gave the Jets a chance at the game-winning field goal to put down the Jags 23-20.
I had said that the Jags were going to win this game 24-17. I also knew that it would rely heavily on Jacksonville’s ability to run the football.
RB Leonard Fournette had 24 carries for 86 yards. Not a bad outing for the rookie running back. Two big plays from the Jet’s offense really made the game against the Jags. Two running plays that should have been stopped at the line of scrimmage ended up going for long touchdowns.
The interior defense really has to improve if Jacksonville wants to stay in the hunt for the division title and a playoff berth. In overtime Jacksonville once again showed that Bortles is not a game winner, he is a game manager. If you put the game on his shoulders, it’s not going to go well.
The overtime period should have been handled the same way the opening drive was, run the ball and then use play action pass to take chunks of yards and get into the end zone. The Jaguars quarterback is not the same type of player that Tom Coughlin is used to from his time with the New York Giants. Tom Coughlin and Doug Marrone have to have a better game plan for close games.
Going forward, the Jacksonville Jaguars need to get more playmakers involved. Your leading rusher and receiver were the same player, Leonard Fournette. WR Marqise Lee needs to be targeted more to open up the field for the Jags. The Jaguars success still remains in establishing the running game and then using that to get the play action passing to stretch the field.
Next Week: @Steelers Sun 10/8, 1 pm ET