Jaguars @ Eagles: James Robinson - Eight Runs
JT: A tale of play calling
The Jacksonville Jaguars, in a steady rainstorm, with one of the best running backs in the first three weeks of the NFL season, ran the ball 19 times. Eight of those 19 went to James Robinson. Only eight. The Philadelphia Eagles put on a how to properly call a game in a torrential downpour clinic, and ran the ball 50 times. Philadelphia dominated in the time of possession, 39:51 to 20:09. Turnovers were 5 to 1 in favor of the Eagles. First downs were 25-13 Eagles. Total yards were 401 to 219 Philly. Rushing yards 210-71, Philly. The Jags had 4 penalties for 38 yards. How in the world were the Jaguars still in the game until the end? I mean, I want to claim a moral victory but there is no such thing. The Jacksonville Jaguars regressed to the same losing team from week one in Washington. The “correctable mistakes” of that loss all came back to rear their ugly heads. Trevor Lawrence missed a wide open receiver in the endzone for a touchdown that would have changed the entire game. There were too many penalties, five turnovers, and Doug Pederson didn’t run the ball enough. All of these things contributed to a week four loss against a dominant Philadelphia team.
Let’s take the most obvious problem with the Jaguars/Eagles game first. The game was being played in the remnants of the same Hurricane that the Jaguars practiced in during the week. It rains literally every single day in Florida, so this should be nothing new for JAX. James Robinson was one of the most explosive running backs in the NFL through the first three weeks, yet Doug Pederson called 8 running plays for J-Rob. He called just 19 total for the Jags compared to 50 for the winning Philadelphia Eagles. I’m pretty sure Jacksonville had access to the same weather reports as Philly. If not, I’m almost positive the coaches and players were standing in the rain for several hours leading up to and during the game. That should’ve tipped them off. If somehow that went unnoticed, they could have picked up on all of the dropped passes by numerous players on both teams. Maybe it was difficult to see the ball constantly hitting the turf through the sheets of rain crashing down in front of the Jaguars sideline. Philadelphia saw it, so I figured our side would be able to as well, but I’ve been wrong before. In addition, I realize that Trevor doesn’t like wearing gloves, but I’m thinking it might be advantageous to put some on when you fumble the wet ball four times. These are just a few things that crossed our minds here at JaguarsTalk headquarters while we watched Jacksonville give away a 14-0 first quarter lead.
Now, what can be done about this loss? How can Jacksonville learn from this and move forward in a positive manner? This week four loss mirrors the Washington week one loss in that all of the problems against the Eagles are “correctable.” Trevor Lawrence forgot about pocket presence. He held the ball too long resulting in sacks, hurries, and turnovers. T-Law did the same thing in the Washington game. Also, Lawrence forced and telegraphed throws this week. James Bradberry of the Eagles made a game changing interception in the red zone because Trevor Lawrence stared a hole through his receiver from the snap of the ball. It was almost as if he hand delivered an invitation to intercept his pass. In addition, Lawrence missed a wide open Jamal Agnew in the endzone to go up 21-0 in the first half. All of these things were the “correctable mistakes” that Head Coach Doug Pederson supposedly corrected after week one. It would seem that the corrections wear off. Maybe Trevor needs a correctable mistake booster every couple of weeks.
The other correctable mistake that the Jaguars repeated from their week one loss was a lack of running plays. In week one Doug Pederson called 18 running plays. Today, against the Eagles, in a downpour (did I mention it was raining) Pederson called 19 running plays, and only eight of them to James Robinson. The first touchdown drive for the Jaguars contained five runs and three passes. The rest of the game consisted of 14 runs to 24 passes and not another scoring drive until midway through the fourth quarter. I’m at a loss as to why. The Philadelphia Eagles called the very game that the Jacksonville Jaguars should have called. The very game that the Jacksonville Jaguars called in weeks two and three, when they had convincing wins. That’s it. That’s the difference between a win in Philly and the loss that the Jags are instead bringing home to Jacksonville.
Doug Pederson needs to call more runs, especially in the rain when his receivers are dropping passes left and right and Trevor Lawrence needs to hit his open receivers, not stare down his guys. Also, develop a better pocket presence and maybe, just maybe, consider wearing some gloves after your second or third or fourth lost fumble. Jacksonville prides itself on winning the turnover battle. Nobody wins an NFL game when they turn the ball over five times. You have to win takeaways, especially against a team like the Eagles. With all of that said, the Jaguars were in the game until the end, and that should mean something other than they lost. I don’t know what, but it should mean something.
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