Big Cat Country
Well that didn’t end the way it was supposed to.
The Jacksonville Jaguars went down to the Big Easy and left with a 17-17 tie against the New Orleans Saints. Despite the Jags controlling the entire game, yet another iteration of a Jacksonville v. New Orleans game came down to some wackiness.
The Jags starters looked the part as Trevor Lawrence and company did just about anything they wanted to against the Saints. On defense, things were kept in check as Saints rookie starting quarterback Tyler Shough was never allowed to get in a rhythm.
Outcome aside, Sunday’s game was a big step in the right direction for the Jags after a muddied opener to the preseason last week.
The Starters
The offensive starters did exceptionally well Sunday. Lawrence finished his day 8-10 for 76 yards and a touchdown pass, with one of those incompletions coming from a not-oft-seen drop from Brian Thomas Jr.
Starting tight end Brenton Strange had two third down pickups, finishing his day with two catches for 22 yards.
Travis Etienne ran well (three rushes, 24 yards) and caught a pass for eight yards.
Through two games, no Jags quarterback has taken a sack either, with a big nod going to the starting offensive line iteration this week.
Sunday’s blemishes from the starters were just Thomas’ drop and Lawrence getting his feet tangled while trying to hand the ball off to Tank Bigsby, resulting in a red zone fumble. Other than that, this Jags team looked comfortable and ready to roll all day even without Travis Hunter and Dyami Brown.
Running Backs
It was a solid day all around for the toolshed of running backs the Jags deployed. The Jags finished with only 96 yards on the ground, but it felt like this team was able to lean into the Saints at all times and run the football.
Rookie Bhayshul Tuten had a big day, finishing with 10 touches for 35 yards and a touchdown, his second in two games.
Both Bigsby and Etienne looked in regular season form as well in their limited touches.
Tuten is going to be the big story headed into Preseason Week 3. If the Jags can tap into the speed and dynamism Tuten has, to pair with Bigsby’s bruising style and Etienne’s ability to run and catch, this team could have an extremely strong rushing game.
Dewey and The Boys
Tell me that wouldn’t be an awesome band name!
Outside of that last Saints drive, the Jags played excellent defense all day. Dewey Wingard got the party started with a sack off the edge. Later in the game, Ventrell Miller was credited for a sack that both he and Dawuane Smoot got in on.
In terms of making stops, Devin Lloyd had a TFL which was one of five on the day. Keni-H Lovely recorded the team’s first turnover of the preseason.
Christian Braswell even looked pretty good at times though he did commit a pass interference late...
