Improving Jaguars Defense Takes Center Stage in TNF Win over Titans

It's been a challenging season for the Jacksonville Jaguars. So much so that, even against a woeful Tennessee Titans defense on Thursday Night Football, the Jaguars could only post 21 points.

Quarterback Blake Bortles went just 11-of-15 for 115 yards and a touchdown, taking four sacks while at times looking overwhelmed in the face of the Tennessee pressure. But with the help of Bortles' legs, and a big fourth-down stop that was immediately cashed in for a touchdown on a long, tackle-breaking Jordan Todman run, the Jaguars were able to do what they have so often failed to do this season: cash in on their improved defense. Florida Times-Union reporter Ryan O'Halloran quoted Bradley regarding Bortles:

Jacksonville's defense has quietly risen to respectability after a few embarrassing results in the early going. Removing safety Winston Guy has helped a lot, and youngsters like linebacker Telvin Smith, cornerback Aaron Colvin and defensive lineman Ryan Davis have been major contributors to the resurgence. 

Per Football Outsiders, through five weeks, the Jaguars were 29th in defensive DVOA. Since then, the defense has gone on a tear, though you wouldn't really know it from the points-allowed totals since the offense has put them in lousy field position fairly often. Through Week 15, the Jaguars were 16th in defensive DVOA. 

Beating up on Titans quarterback Charlie Whitehurst isn't anecdotally impressive, but it's likely that when the numbers are run, the Jaguars will have their fifth straight game with a DVOA under 1.1 percent. This is despite the fact that key contributors from last year's team like linebacker Paul Posluszny and cornerbacks Alan Ball, Will Blackmon and Dwayne Gratz have been hurt, absent, or underwhelming for most of the season.

Opponent	Defensive DVOA	Pass Defense DVOA	Run Defense DVOA	Points Allowed
@ IND	-21.7%	-57.0%	12.9%	23
v. NYG	-4.8%	-6.5%	-3.2%	24
v. HOU	-4.6%	-19.8%	1.6%	27
@ BAL	1.1%	31.0%	-31.5%	20
v. TEN	n/a	n/a	n/a	13

The main key to Jacksonville's defensive resurgence has been an impressive pass rush keyed by ex-Titans defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks. Marks, a reclamation project the Jaguars signed in free agency following the 2013 season, has turned into one of the best interior pass-rushers in the NFL. 

We looked a little bit at Jacksonville's defensive line rotation earlier in the season. Perhaps this is one of the frontiers of the analytics research that Jacksonville has been leaning on heavily, but the Jaguars employ a very deep rotation on the line. So far, so good: The Jaguars have six different linemen with two or more sacks, and 10 with at least one sack. Despite not having someone who can dominate a tackle one-on-one, the Jaguars are second in the NFL in defensive adjusted sack rate.

This game was emblematic of how the season as a whole has gone for the rush: Four different players sacked Whitehurst once, including a dramatic game-ender by Marks that helped him reach a bonus incentive in the long-term deal he signed with the Jaguars toward the end of the 2013 season. Teammate Red Bryant chimed in on that bonus, per The Associated Press writer Mark Long:

This hasn't been the kind of step-forward season Jacksonville was hoping for when it took the field in Week 1—head coach Gus Bradley's team has been stuck in a holding pattern as top picks like Bortles and left tackle Luke Joeckel try to find their footing in the NFL.

But Bradley was brought in to impart the Seattle defensive system, and though this unit has no standout talent like Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas or Bobby Wagner, it is doing its part in Jacksonville's climb out of the bottom.

With another offseason, a high draft pick spent on what will likely be a premium pass-rusher and some more growth from the youngsters, Jacksonville has a chance to become a trendy sleeper pick next year. The Jaguars remind this writer a lot of the 2014 Bills. That team, of course, would be a strong playoff contender had EJ Manuel become the quarterback the Bills had projected him to be.

Blake Bortles, it's your turn to grow. The other side of the ball is ready. 

Rivers McCown is the AFC South lead writer for Bleacher Report and the co-host of the Three-Cone Drill podcast. His work has also appeared on Football Outsiders and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @riversmccown.