Big Cat Country
What is it about backup quarterbacks that they get superpowers when playing the Jacksonville Jaguars?
It’s been Chad Henne before. It was Jake Browning (twice). On Sunday, it was Davis Mills winning just his sixth NFL game as he led the Houston Texans on a furious comeback to upset the Jags.
Jacksonville led 29-10 heading into the fourth quarter. They had a punt return touchdown, and even led the turnover battle. And yet the Jags flat out didn’t win. How often does that happen?
This year’s team has been a rollercoaster under a first-year head coach and first-year coordinators. It showed badly on Sunday afternoon. There have been plenty of messes this year, but that loss was definitely the worst. As can be expected, there are far more questions than answers after a defeat of that caliber. It didn’t ruin the team’s playoff position, though it did nothing to help secure it.
Jarrian Jones
The only defensive player you can at least make an argument about playing well over the weekend was Jarrian Jones.
Jones recorded the defense’s lone interception on Mills by jumping right in front of a route for his second career pick. He also led the team in tackles for loss with two, part of a five-TFL day for the Jags. Midway through the third quarter, Jones broke up a pass on fourth-and-5 to create another turnover for the defense.
No, he is not a perfect corner, but Jones certainly looked like he at least deserved to be playing football on the defensive side — which is more than many others could say.
Parker Washington
The overall best player on the day for Jacksonville was Parker Washington.
Washington caught a touchdown and returned a punt 72 yards for a score. He became the first player in franchise history to return three punts over the course of a career and the second Jag in the past 25 years to return a punt and catch a touchdown in one game.
In the absence of basically every other receiving threat, Washington has moved to WR1. Unsurprisingly, he led the team in targets with seven. His impact was basically felt just on the one touchdown catch as the passing offense went for a measly 158 yards overall, with Washington contributing 33 yards on three catches. Washington can only do so much about the rest of his offense being injured or not playing well.
Last week, I said Travis Etienne might be the team’s best offensive player. While Etienne did play alright Sunday, that crown might now belong to Washington.
Liam Coen
With the few bright spots now done with, we turn our attention once again to head coach Liam Coen. The question still needs to be asked: What the hell is this team practicing? How the hell is this team preparing? Because it clearly isn’t working consistently.
I am all for giving Coen a bit of grace, even at this point, when it comes to being a...
