Week 7: Jaguar Of The Week

Believe it or not, a win over the winless Cincinnati Bengals was crucial for the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

The Jaguars came into Sunday’s game against the Bengals on a two-game losing streak with a record of 2-4. A loss to the Bengals would have all but signaled the demise of the 2019-2020 season for the Jaguars. Fortunately for the Bold City Brigade, I am writing this piece today, as the Jaguars defeated the Bengals by a score of 27-17.

However, despite being down 10-9 in the third quarter, that 10-point margin of victory is deceivingly low. 

The Jaguars had three trips to the red zone in the first quarter and just two field goals to show for it. With a few minor adjustments, it is fair to bet that the Jaguars’ offense will be able to punch it into the endzone next time. 

Overall, the offense played well. Gardner Minshew continued to impress on Sunday with 255 yards passing, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. He also added 48 yards on the ground with 9 rushing attempts. 

Leonard Fournette took 29 carries for 131 yards and came up just inches short of a touchdown on a fourth and goal leap for the end zone in the first quarter. 

The wide receiving core also performed very well. Dede Westbrook led the pack with 6 receptions for 103 yards, Chris Conley reeled in 3 receptions for 83 yards, and Keelan Cole made his presence known with a touchdown reception on third and goal in the fourth quarter.

As for the defense, it was a course-correcting game for the team that just lost star cornerback, Jalen Ramsey. 

Cornerback A.J. Bouye made up for Ramsey’s absence with 6.0 solo tackles, leading the hungry Jaguars defense in tackles. 

Ronnie Harrison recovered a fumble and snagged an interception. A big turnover game is just what the Jaguars needed, as they came into Sunday’s matchup with just one interception. Harrison’s two takeaways were enough to double this number. 

Myles Jack also intercepted Andy Dalton in the red zone to give the Jaguars a late-game boost. The Jags did not stop there, however, as Yannick Ngakoue took an interception to the house for a “pick-six” on a busted screen attempt from the Bengals.

Let’s not forget the special teams unit! Josh Lambo, in traditional Lambo fashion, nailed 4 of 4 field goals, tallying up nearly half of the Jaguars total points by himself (13 points including PATs). And punter Logan Cooke continued his impressive, and undervalued, performance as he pinned the Bengals offense many times. Cooke averaged 42.2 yards on 6 punts, with a long of 53 yards.

Because this was such a well-rounded performance, I have decided to give the first ever total team Jaguar of the Week Award. 

Well done, Jags. Let’s keep the momentum rolling next week at home against the New York Jets.