INDIANAPOLIS – The Jacksonville Jaguars have a defensive identity problem.
They were one of the NFL’s top units through the first three weeks of the season but have fallen off significantly in the last three. Sunday’s performance in a 34-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium was the latest breakdown and now they’re scrambling to try and figure out how to stop the slide. Remaining in contention in the AFC South depends on it.
“The main thing is we’ve got to have everybody to continue to believe in what we’ve got going on and understand that we have everything that we need to contend and make it happen,” cornerback Shaquill Griffin said. “So we just got to get this taste out of our mouth. It’s tough to go three in a row and not getting the numbers or the win that you deserve. The main thing is we’ve got to wash this off.”
The sting of what happened against the Colts will linger. The Colts were without running backs Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines and on their fifth offensive line combination in six weeks, yet the Jaguars allowed the under-manned unit to score on its last five possessions, including the game-winning touchdown with 17 seconds to play.
The Jaguars sacked quarterback Matt Ryan five times and intercepted him three times in a Week 2 shutout victory, but they did neither on Sunday. They did, however, commit two penalties that extended drives that ended in touchdowns: A roughing the passer call on linebacker Travon Walker that negated a third-down incompletion and pass interference on Griffin that put the ball at the Jaguars’ 10-yard line.
It’s the second week in a row that Walker committed a penalty on third-down. He jumped offside and then slammed Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills to the ground on a third-and-20 play to keep what turned out to be the game-winning drive alive.
The Colts used tempo, quick passes and crossing routes to roll up 389 yards passing, the final 32 coming on Ryan’s deep pass down the sideline to Alex Pierce over Griffin for a touchdown. That capped a rough day for Griffin, who also had another pass interference penalty.
The defense is likely going to see a similar game plan from upcoming opponents -- the Jaguars play host to the New York Giants on Sunday before playing the Denver Broncos at Wembley Stadium in London on Oct. 30. The Giants and Broncos may not use the quick game as extensively as the Colts, but the Jaguars should expect effective crossing routes.
“That’s one thing about this league: Until you stop something you’re going to continue to see it,” head coach Doug Pederson said. “We’ve got to evaluate the tape, making sure we’re doing the right things as coaches to put our players in position to win those battles.”
The Jaguars were pretty good in the first three weeks: eight turnovers, seven sacks and 38 points allowed. They shut out the Colts in Jacksonville and held Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert to just 10 points in SoFi Stadium. Since that 38-10 victory in LA, the Jaguars have forced just one turnover, have only three sacks and have given up 76 points -- as well as committing several penalties that extended drives that eventually ended in touchdowns.
“As a defense, we’ve got to close it,” linebacker Josh Allen said. “We didn’t even [capitalize on] the opportunity [to make a final stop against the Colts] so we’ve got to look back at what we did wrong in that position because it’s going to come back up.
“Next time we’ve got to come out on top and we’ve got to figure out how.”