Big Cat Country
Sometimes it’s all about how you respond. The Jacksonville Jaguars responded Sunday afternoon.
After an embarrassing road loss last week, the Jags flipped the script this week with their 17-10 win over the hated Houston Texans. It was far from pretty or clean but it was a win nonetheless, showing this team might be built for adversity after all.
For the third straight week the Jacksonville defense produced three turnovers, already eclipsing the team’s season total from the year before. Brian Thomas Jr. responded in a big way late in the game. And Trevor Lawrence called his own number to extend what ended up being the game-winning drive with a scramble.
Things were at rock bottom after Cincinnati. After beating your bitter rival at home for the first time in years? The mountaintop, if only for a couple days.
WINNERS
Defensive Backs
What a day the Jags DBs had on Sunday.
The Jacksonville defensive backfield had a stellar performance led by the likes of Tyson Campbell and Hall of Fame free agent signing Jourdan Lewis. The defense overall had a tremendous day by only allowing one touchdown to what can be a fairly potent offense, but the corners and safeties deserve a ton of credit for that win. Limiting Texans not named Nico Collins to just 100 yards receiving combined is a heck of a way to show out.
Lewis: The big play of the day for Lewis was his interception in the fourth quarter. It didn’t result in points for Jacksonville but it felt like a bit of a momentum shift. It was also C.J. Stroud’s first pick against the Jags in his three-year career.
Campbell: The almost $80 million man led the team in tackling and had key pass breakups down the stretch. But no play Sunday was bigger than Campbell forcing a Nico Collins fumble that resulted in the game-winning drive by the Jags. What a way to respond for Campbell after last week.
Andrew Wingard: Say what you will, but Dewey Wingard is playing some good football this year. Always good for a soundbite, the veteran safety was third on the team in tackles with six.
Antonio Johnson: What a random player to get the game-sealing pick but congrats to Antonio Johnson for making a great diving effort on Stroud’s final pass. With Darnell Savage now gone, Johnson will have to step up even more. So far so good for the safety.
Travis Hunter: Another guy who responded in a fine way was Travis Hunter, who played 43 snaps on defense. Hunter had some sticky coverage on Collins in the end zone that resulted in an incompletion on what could have been a costly touchdown. He is far from polished, and the team is far from understanding what to do with him, but this was a step in the right direction.
Josh Hines-Allen
No one probably deserves this more than Hines-Allen, who has seen the worst of the worst in Jacksonville and has been around for...
