Jags Fall Short at Home, Drop to 0-2

The Jaguars had a 6-point fourth quarter lead, momentum, and a home crowd loudly spurring them on.  So what went wrong?  Jacksonville simply did not make the big plays they needed to down the stretch, and did not have enough left in the tank to put away the Buffalo Bills, who came up big with a heroic finish.

The Jaguars only scored three points in the first half, a deficiency which came back to haunt them, as the Bills remained within striking distance for a fourth quarter, game-changing drive.  The Bills actually had two important touchdown-producing drives, one to open the game, and the other in the fourth quarter to essentially close it.  The Jaguars defense was backpedaling on that game-opening drive, as the Bills Trent Edwards completed all his passes (he went a stellar 20-for-25 on the day), which in turn opened running lanes for Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson.  The Jags front four got was not able to contain the Bills and got pushed around as the Bills cruised down the field getting one first down after another and converting the only two third downs they saw. 7-0 Bills before you could blink, and this opening drive was Reason 1 why the Jaguars lost.

The Jaguars first posession looked awful.  They tried to establish the run early and Fred Taylor got stuffed.  Then on 3rd and 7, the play action fooled no one, and David Garrard was sacked for a big loss.  This poor posession set the tone for a lackluster first half.

The Jaguars defense bounced back starting on the next series.  Defensive tackle Rob Meier broke through for a sack and this seemed to energize the front four, who proceeded to stuff Marshawn Lynch (who was limited to 59 yards on the day) and prevent the Bills running game from being a consistent weapon the remainder of the day.

The Jacksonville offense then put together a field goal drive to open the second quarter, using passes to Dennis Northcutt and Reggie Williams to open the offense, and then taking advantage of Buffalo’s over-pursuit to set up screen passes to Maurice Jones-Drew. Reason 2 why the Jaguars lost however was an ill-conceived series once they were able to get to the Buffalo 16.  2nd and five perhaps should have been a pass, instead Buffalo sniffed the run call and Taylor had to bravely fight off multiple tacklers to claw his way to one difficult yard.  This left Garrard with an obvious pass play on 3rd and four, and the Jags QB tried unsuccessfully to force the ball into a covered Matt Jones amongst the red-zone traffic.  Settling for three points after getting into the red-zone hurt the Jags.

I said earlier the Jags front four answered the bell after that first Buffalo drive, however the Bills’ second quarter field goal drive exposed the Jags linebackers, particularly on a third and one play from the Bills’ 29 which ended up as a 33-yard gain by Fred Jackson on a short dumpoff pass.  The front four continued to stop the Bills running game but yards after the catch doomed the Jags on this drive.

The Jaguars closed the second quarter with one of their best drives of the game, as Garrard (who was well protected by the patchwork offensive line) was able to find Nortcutt and Reggie Williams with regularity, and also kept the drive alive with a thrilling 7-yard run in traffic which took the Jags into the red zone.  However Reason 3 why the Jaguars lost was  the fact they came up empty on the posession, after Garrard tried to force a wobbly pass into the endzone traffic which resulted in a crushing interception.  Just a poor decision which was uncharacteristic of Garrard last year. This left the score 10-3 at the half.

The second half saw the most uplifting moments of the young season for Jaguars fans.  Jacksonville put a nice drive together, went for it on 4th and 1 from their own 45, and aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty, cruised to a game tying touchdown.  (This stands as their only TD drive starting from their own side of the field so far this year).  Reggie Williams also stood out with a courageous catch in traffic.  This was quickly followed by what should have been the play of the game, a brilliantly conceived and well-executed surprise onside kickoff which the Jaguars recovered.  However, this bold call was oddly followed by uninspired play calling on the ensuing drive, which stands as Reason 4 that the Jaguars lost.  The Jags did not pass the ball once on this drive, which fizzled out quickly, despite the fact that Josh Scobee bailed them out with a 50-yard field goal.  The Jags clearly needed to go for the jugular in this situation and put up a TD to squash the Bills hopes; couldn’t they mix in a pass or two here??

Despite this questionable game plan the Jags momentum continued, thanks to a great sack and strip by rookie defensive end Quentin Groves.  This gave the Jags a possession in Bills territory, and continuing momentum, but again the drive fizzled short of a touchdown.  A 10-yard penalty and an unnecessarily short pass to Fred Taylor on third and 11 left the Jags with another FG and a 6 point lead, but again, the lack of a TD ended up as Reason 5 the Jaguars lost.

Reason 6 the Jaguars lost was the Bills game-winning drive, as the Jags secondary, which had played tough all day long suddenly broke down.  A 37-yard bomb to Lee Evans was the back breaker, and set up a Trent Edwards strike to James Hardy in the corner of the endzone.  However there would still remain a Reason 7, which was the inaccurate passing of David Garrard, who when push came to shove, could not put a drive together to answer the Bills in two attempts.

In summary, the Jags came up short because of deficiencies in all phases of the game.  On defense the front four, the linebackers and the secondary all played well for the majority of the game, but each aspect failed at key moments.  And on offense the running game had its moments but was far from dominating when it needed to be in order to sustain the lead.  And the passing game was also unable to build the lead, and lacked the mojo to come back once the Bills nosed ahead.

This loss leaves the underperforming Jaguars hungry and desperate at 0-2, and ups the ante considerably for a huge showdown in Indianapolis next week, with the season now on the line early.   

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Last post (s) by Mark Reichman

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