Jacksonville Jaguars vs. San Diego Chargers: Full Report Card Grades for Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the San Diego Chargers in another blowout, 33-14. This game marks the fourth straight blowout loss for the Jaguars in a trend that is becoming quite ridiculous.
Despite playing a strong first half that left the team trailing 17-14, the Jaguars came out in the second half with a conservative game plan that led to a dink-and-dunk approach to offense and soft zone coverage on defense.
Blake Bortles led the Jaguars with a strong debut as the starting quarterback, throwing for 253 yards. Also, rookies Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson continue to impress and have become legitimate threats as receivers.
Overall, the offense totaled 319 yards and controlled the ball for 30:34.
On defense, Paul Posluszny led the way with 11 tackles and helped keep the Chargers rushing attack to a mere 2.1 yards per carry.
Other players who stepped up big were linebacker Geno Hayes (eight tackles) and Roy Miller (one sack). The defense was able to get to quarterback Philip Rivers two times for a loss of 12 yards.
Overall, this was a pretty mediocre effort by the Jaguars. For a team with a lot of potential, Jacksonville seems to be giving up easily. A big reason for that could be the coaches’ inability to make halftime adjustments and take risks.
Let’s take a look at how each positional unit graded out in this Week 4 matchup.
Quarterback
1 of 11
There will likely be mixed opinions about Blake Bortles’ debut as a starter, but overall, I thought he was really solid.
Bortles finished the day 29-of-37 passing for 253 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. It should be noted that those interceptions were more a matter of the team’s circumstance than Bortles’ mistakes.
On the first interception, Bortles targeted Cecil Shorts on a play where Shorts quit his route early, which led to a great play by San Diego's Brandon Flowers.
The second interception was just Bortles trying to make a play with the team down over two scores.
Bortles is a gunslinger, not a game manager. The coaching staff has to know that he’s best when trying to push the ball downfield. Eventually he’ll learn how to manage certain situations and emerge as an elite quarterback.
Grade: B-
Running Back
2 of 11
It was another unsatisfying day for the Jaguar rushing attack. Toby Gerhart led the way with 32 yards on the ground over 10 attempts. Overall, the unit averaged 3.4 yards per carry on 25 attempts.
This continues a trend where the running game hasn’t been reliable. In multiple short-yardage situations, these backs were called upon and ended up failing.
If you can’t trust these guys to convert on tough, short-yardage situations, then the whole unit needs to be reevaluated.
Grade: D
Wide Receiver
3 of 11
The big point with this group is that the rookies are really coming into their own. Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson continue to be the group’s biggest weapons, and they are only getting better with more snaps.
Hurns and Robinson combined for 13 receptions and 107 yards on 15 targets.
These two players continue to grow and seem to have great chemistry with Blake Bortles. At this rate, both players should be candidates for offensive rookie of the year, and both are giving the Jaguars front office a reason to be optimistic about the future.
The downside here is that Cecil Shorts and Mike Brown have been disappointments. Shorts can’t stay on the field, and Brown has a serious case of the "dropsies."
It’ll be up to the rookies to keep this unit productive.
Grade: B
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Tight End
4 of 11
This unit was surprisingly improved from last week with the return of Clay Harbor. Harbor played very well in the game and amassed 69 yards on eight receptions.
I’ll have to take a second look at the game film, but upon first impression, I thought Harbor was also solid as a run-blocker. Harbor is a young player whom the Jaguars would love to see emerge as a legitimate all-around tight end.
The tight end unit also got a lift from recently acquired Nic Jacobs, who was the recipient of a Blake Bortles touchdown.
Grade: B
Offensive Line
5 of 11
Well, the good news is that Blake Bortles was only sacked three times. The bad news is that three sacks is a low number for the Jaguars.
The offensive line is still learning to play together, I get that, but at some point they’re going to have to start limiting the pressure on Bortles.
Bortles was constantly under pressure by the Chargers defensive line, and the running backs didn’t have much in the way of open gaps.
This is a young unit that needs to develop, but I’m still waiting to see hints of the development so far.
This was not an improvement from last week.
Grade: C-
Defensive Line
6 of 11
For a unit that is typically the best on the field, I left this game rather unimpressed by the defensive line's effort.
Roy Miller and Sen’Derrick Marks continue to lead this unit with their ability to rush the quarterback from the interior. Besides that, the team got very limited pressure on quarterback Philip Rivers.
What’s most frustrating is the unexplained use of defensive lineman Ryan Davis. Davis had a sack in each of the first two games and then saw decreased snaps over Weeks 3 and 4.
I can’t imagine why the Jaguars aren’t giving Davis more opportunities, especially when you consider the edge rushing hasn’t been great.
Grade: C+
Linebacker
7 of 11
Linebacker was easily the most improved unit this week. In a season where they’ve been absolutely torched by the running game, the linebackers were able to limit the San Diego rushing attack.
The Chargers averaged 2.1 yards per carry on 20 carries and were unable to get any type of rhythm against the Jaguars defense.
Paul Posluszny again led this unit with 11 tackles, and it seemed like Geno Hayes and Telvin Smith were also playing well in pursuit.
The Jaguars need to keep getting better here, but this is a really strong improvement from Week 3.
Grade: B
Secondary
8 of 11
The secondary has been completely abysmal this season, and it continued that trend in Week 4. Coming into the season, I thought this unit was a strength for the Jaguars, but now I think it's the team’s biggest weakness.
On two occasions, San Diego receiver Eddie Royal got completely behind the secondary for long touchdowns—that’s unacceptable. The Jaguars have been deploying soft zone coverage with a single high safety and have been getting absolutely burnt doing so.
The only real positive I saw from this group was from second-year safety Johnathan Cyprien, whose only job was to shadow Antonio Gates. Cyprien did a great job shutting down Gates and showed that he’s improving in coverage.
Grade: D
Special Teams
9 of 11
It was a pretty uneventful day for the Jaguars special teams unit. Josh Scobee’s only attempts were two extra points, which he converted.
Punter Bryan Anger also had a quiet day, as he only attempted two punts. However, those two punts averaged an astounding 56 yards.
Overall, this unit continues to be solid when called upon.
Grade: B
Coaching
10 of 11
I can only defend this coaching staff so much before I lose credibility. The fact is that this staff is holding the team back with its cautious style of play.
The offense is continually stuck with dink-and-dunk play calls that typically result in throws behind the line of scrimmage. This is most frustrating because Bortles is a bit of a gunslinger, and the offense is most efficient when the team stretches the field.
On defense, the team is consistently playing a deep zone that leaves it vulnerable against show passes and yards after the catch.
This coaching staff is clearly still figuring out the strengths of its team, but in the process, it's keeping the players from fully reaching their potential and ultimately winning.
Grade: D
Cumulative Grade
11 of 11
| Quarterback | B- |
| Running Back | D |
| Wide Receiver | B |
| Tight End | B |
| Offensive Line | C- |
| Defensive Line | C+ |
| Linebacker | B |
| Secondary | D |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | D |
Another week, another pedestrian effort—typically I try to be the optimist here, but it’s hard to see any real improvement with the team.
This week only served as reassurance that the Jaguars can’t be competitive in their division, yet alone their conference. Something needs to change quickly if the team wants to salvage this season.
Grade: D
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