San Diego Chargers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Jacksonville Grades, Notes & Quotes

A disappointing performance from the Jacksonville Jaguars dropped them to 4-7 on the season. The 31-25 loss to the San Diego Chargers now makes the race for the AFC South that much harder, and the Jaguars did little to provide hope for their chances.

Winning three of their past four games coming up to Sunday, the Jaguars were favored to win, but they needed an offensive showing to beat the Philip Rivers-led San Diego Chargers.

That simply didn't happen, and abhorrent red-zone execution was the primary failing of the Jaguars offense. When they needed to, they couldn't execute in the most opportunistic spots, and that's been a fatal flaw of this offense.

The defense allowed 31 points, but quarterback Blake Bortles gifted them a short field late, and that led to an easy touchdown. Other than that, the Jaguars defense allowed 24 points to Rivers, who played another fantastic game against the Jaguars.

The hopes for the AFC South took a major blow, but they are still mathematically in it. Sunday was a spotlight on the Jaguars' problems, and they now need to try and bounce back.

Position Grades

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

Quarterback: C+

Honestly, Bortles wasn't that bad. Of his two bone-headed passes past the line of scrimmage, only one had a chance of a run for the first down, but the fact that there were two is still concerning. Other than that, the poorly timed interception to Chargers linebacker Manti Te'o was the only other major mistake.

Bortles threw an outrageous 49 passes but did well to complete 30 of those for 315 yards and two touchdowns. He's getting more accurate and choosing easier throws, and seeing that two weeks in a row brought him out to a slightly positive grade.

Running Back: B-

Can't fault the running backs, especially when they were given so few opportunities. Whenever rookie T.J. Yeldon would have a positive rush or two, the Jaguars automatically started looking elsewhere.

The Jaguars had chances to run the ball against a bad Chargers run defense but instead decided that throwing early and often with Bortles was the better move. I have to disagree.

Wide Receivers: C

It really wasn't a spectacular day for the wide receiver group. Allen Robinson scored late but was somewhat quiet throughout the game, as was Allen Hurns before he suffered a concussion late in the game.

That injury was the bitter icing on an awful cake offensively. Rashad Greene, Bryan Walters and Marqise Lee played small roles, but it never clicked as a whole for this group.

Tight Ends: B

So, the tight end the Jaguars were expecting to get out of Julius Thomas showed up: nine catches, 116 yards and a big fourth-down TD grab to give the Jaguars a little hope. A big game for him, and that'll hopefully kick-start a strong finish.

Even Marcedes Lewis got involved with a big 24-yard gain on his sole reception. It was a better all-around day for the TEs, and that's more of what people expected out of them coming into the season.

Offensive Line: B-

It wasn't a lights-out day from the offensive line, but they only allowed two sacks and the RBs averaged 4.9 yards a carry. They did their job fine, but a lack of finishing did not reward them.

The blatant holding call by offensive tackle Luke Joeckel took back a big gain and then led to Bortles' pick, but he had another good overall game. It's not easy to praise him considering his previous seasons, but this was another decent showing overall.

Defensive Line: C

The Jaguars were only able to get to Rivers twice all game, but those sacks came from defensive tackle Roy Miller and defensive end Jared Odrick. The front had three sacks last week and added a pedestrian two more against a struggling Chargers offensive line.

They did only allow three yards per carry, even with Rivers' scrambles. The run defense continues to stand tall for the most part, but Rivers made that pointless by dicing the Jaguars.

Linebackers: B-

With Chargers TE Antonio Gates lighting up the Jaguars, it may seem like they had a bad day, but the Jaguars actually switched up coverage on Gates from safeties to linebackers to corners to even defensive end Ryan Davis (which did not go well).

They did a good job stopping the run but did struggle at times in coverage. None of them was given chances to blitz, and that made a difference, but that's less on them and more on the staff.

Secondary: D+

When cornerback Davon House doesn't play up to par, it's probably going to be a rough day. Pretty much every single member of the secondary struggled at times, both in coverage and in tackling. 

House was pretty much average throughout the game and had a couple of plays on which he got abused. Elsewhere, both Demetrius McCray and Dwayne Gratz struggled, with Aaron Colvin putting in a fine, but not incredible, afternoon.

Safeties Josh Evans, Johnathan Cyprien and Sergio Brown all played below-average. Cyprien didn't provide the pop he's had in recent weeks but was all right otherwise. Brown and Evans continue to be mediocre on most plays and can be a liability in spread situations, which the Chargers took advantage of.

Special Teams: B-

Not a bad day overall. Punter Bryan Anger wasn't great, but kicker Jason Myers' four field goals were solid, despite his PAT miss late. Greene continues to show promise as a return man, but it wasn't enough to make the difference.

Coaching: D

Offensive coordinator Greg Olson continues to lose control of the offense in the red zone. Even with Robinson's late TD catch, when the game was in grasp, they couldn't execute. Also, refusing to run the ball when there were cracks showing was befuddling to say the least.

As for defensive coordinator Bob Babich and head coach Gus Bradley, it's on them to get more aggressive. Rivers was going to make big throws, and the Jaguars simply didn't get enough pressure with just the front. They decided not to bring an extra man or two throughout the game, and that let Rivers throw without pressure. 

Blake Bortles Continues to Be Solid, but Is Still Prone to Mistakes

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Bortles completed 61 percent of his passes on Sunday for 329 yards and two touchdowns. That is a solid day overall. However, three blatant mistakes, two of which were costly on a major level, put the Jaguars in a hole, continuing the trend of Bortles' demoralizing errors.

Throughout the game, Bortles did a fantastic job of incorporating all of his receivers and made sure to try and throw to the best option possible. However, in a situation in which he's thrived—the two-minute offense—Bortles threw a poor interception that set up an easy score for the Chargers and a 21-9 deficit.

It's not easy to go an entire game without making an error or two, but Bortles has a knack for making those mistakes in situations that either set up the opposing offense or stall a relatively successful drive.

There's no real explanation for it. The illegal forward passes were something new in that regard, and he continues to find ways to make those errors.

He's got the ability to be a good QB, which is evident in the score sheet. He's going to break multiple franchise passing records this year. But despite all that, he still hasn't done what's needed in crucial situations.

Jared Odrick Continues to Elevate His Performance

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

Odrick was a relatively big signing this past offseason, and his addition can't be appreciated enough. Teams avoid him in the run, and now that he's adding sacks he's becoming a versatile and high-performing strong end for the Jaguars.

With his latest sack, he's tied Colvin for the team high with four total. He's getting after the quarterback more often than ever, and that has led to two consecutive games with sacks.

He may never be a star player, but his addition to the squad is one that is setting up the rest of the team for success. In the Jaguars' 4-3, the opposite "Leo" end is supposed to find the QB and make plays, but in their absence, Odrick is trying to pick up the slack.

In the pass rush, this defensive line is hard to love, and it will likely stay that way until the end of the season. Odrick makes it a little bit easier to embrace.

Gus Bradley Talks About Allen Hurns' Injury

John Raoux/Associated Press

The offensive struggles throughout the day didn't satisfy the players, staff or the fans, but what was really frightening to see was Hurns suffering an injury on a late drive.

In an effort for a diving catch, Hurns suffered a concussion, leading to him being stretchered off the field and sent to the hospital in precaution. Bradley, in his postgame press conference on Jaguars.com, talked about his experience with the event.

"Well, it was [scary]. He got knocked down, and he didn’t move right away," Bradley said. "I know when I was out there, he had some movement, so I think that was a relief. That responsive part, to hear that before I came in here was great."

Concussions are one of the worst parts of the game, and the fact that Hurns is apparently not in serious danger is a relief. The Jaguars have dealt with concussions throughout the season, but this was one of the worst-looking ones.

Hurns has been battered and bruised throughout the season, and this doesn't help. As good he's been, the season has taken a toll on him, and the Jaguars may start to wonder if it would be best to put him on injury reserve going forward.

Blake Bortles Addresses Red-Zone Issues

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

Bortles played well for the most part on Sunday, and it was the sophomore QB who made a lot of big throws to progress the ball downfield and to try and put the Jaguars in opportunities to get in the end zone.

However, that simply didn't happen. It's partly his responsibility, and he recognizes that. He took a moment to address it early in his postgame press conference, per Jaguars.com.

"It’s obviously frustrating to go down there four times or whatever and not come away with a touchdown," Bortles said. "But on the bright side, I think we did a good job of moving the ball. We got down there a bunch of times… just a lack of execution."

While a lot of the Jaguars' red-zone woes can be blamed on Olson's play-calling, it's still on Bortles to not make mistakes like illegal forward passes and to make better decisions, especially since the Jaguars allow him to such leeway in the red zone.

It's not going to be easy to get over this hurdle, but it's one that needs to happen sooner rather than later. It's on Olson, it's on the offense and it's on Bortles as well.

All stats provided by ESPN.com unless otherwise stated.

Evan Reier is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report covering the Jacksonville Jaguars. Follow Evan on Twitter @evanreier.