Jacksonville / Munich – A team has to do something like this first: The Jacksonville Jaguars are the absolute surprise team of the NFL for two seasons in a row – 2017 in the positive sense, now in the negative.
After they made it into the AFC Championship Game last season, where they even took the lead after three quarters against the New England Patriots, the current season is like a disaster.
After the 9:30 loss in the Thursday Night Game against the Tennessee Titans, the playoffs are mathematically no longer possible. Nobody believed in that anymore anyway.
They lost eight of the last nine games. The disastrous interim result: four wins, eight defeats. “I’m very disappointed,” said Head Coach Doug Marrone after the game against the Titans.
Campbell: We haven’t given up
Defensive end Calais Campbell contradicts the thesis that the Jaguars had already finished the season: “We didn’t give up. I have to look again at the tape, but I haven’t seen anyone who I think has stopped fighting.”
Perhaps he will reconsider his opinion after the analysis. Derrick Henry’s 99-yard touchdown run alone speaks volumes: three defense players have the option of tackling the Titans’ running back or at least pushing them over the sidelines. But they act so half-heartedly that Henry easily asserts himself with his stiff arm. And that at a time when the game is still completely open.
Offense vulnerability
Defense is not the real problem. She may not be as dominant as she was last season when she put up the best pass defense, allowed the second fewest yards (281.1), and knocked the opposing quarterback down so many times that the Twitter account was renamed Sacksonville.
But a defense that only allows 324.1 yards per game and thus has the fifth best value in the league is still a force. The Jaguars’ problem lies in the offense.
In terms of yards earned, the Florida franchise only ranks 26th in the NFL. One or two skeptics had foreseen this when the Jaguars presented their quarterback Blake Bortles with a mega-contract worth 54 million dollars for three years.
Almost all experts agreed that the Jaguars reached the AFC Championship Game not because of, but rather despite Bortles. Last season, the 26-year-old had a rating of 84.7. A value at which other general managers are more likely to consider terminating a contract than extending a contract.
The reason for the successful preseason was the running game – or more precisely: It was running back Leonard Fournette. The 2017 first round pick hit immediately, giving the Jaguars the most rushing yards of any team.
This season, however, the 23-year-old is plagued by injuries and so he missed six games of the season. Other players such as TJ Yeldon or Carlos Hyde, who was signed up, cannot close the gap. The result: an average of only 107.3 rushing yards per game, ranked 19th in the NFL.
The personnel decisions fizzled out
Now it’s not as if Head Coach Marrone isn’t trying to somehow save the season with personnel decisions. Not until November, for example, does he fire offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, put quarterback Blake Bortles on the bench and trust backup Cody Kessler instead. “I felt like I had to change something so that we had a chance to win a few more games,” said the coach.
The big turnaround in the attack failed to materialize. The win against the Indianapolis Colts last weekend is only thanks to the defense, which allows no points. Final score: 6: 0.
A bad season usually demands consequences. Head Coach Marrone did not extend his contract until the 2021 season in February. But the coach knows about the fast pace of the NFL. “If the people they work for don’t rate their work as good enough, they are sent away,” he says. “You can’t complain about injuries or blame others. It’s my responsibility here.”
Marrone is worried about his job
Nonetheless, Marrone hopes that the owner Shahid Khan will continue to rely on him: “I love this place, I love Jacksonville. This is my home. And I plan to stay here in town for quite a while.”
Maybe a few wins in the season finish will help the coach get another chance. In any case, Campbell promises not to give away the remaining games. “We will keep fighting,” he says. “Hopefully we’ll play better next time.”
The only problem is: Jacksonville has been clinging to that hope for a while.
Oliver Jensen
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