Jacksonville Jaguars Struggle Early, Show They Have Work to Do

The Jacksonville Jaguars fell to the Atlanta Falcons, 23-17, on Sunday, dropping them to 5-9 on the season and putting them in a dire situation in the AFC South race. It was unlikely before, but now it's even harder for them to make the postseason.

It was a solid contest, and as we've seen throughout the season, the Jaguars were able to compete with the Falcons and had chances to win the game late. 

They obviously failed to do so, but the first-half mistakes that put them into a hole are more to blame than the fourth-quarter mistakes that hindered the Jaguars from continuing their offensive attack.

Whether it was the early confusion and miscues that led to four punts in their first five drives or the defense's flaccidity against Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan at times, both sides of the ball were at fault for the 17-3 deficit at the half.

Quarterback Blake Bortles threw an awful pick near the end of the first half that resulted in a 10-point swing, but that is less of an outlier and more of a representation of the offense's first half, as seen below.

Plays	Yards	Result
3	1	Punt
6	20	Punt
9	68	Field Goal
4	23	Punt
3	1	Punt
9	87	Interception

The Jaguars offense has shown great improvement over the course of the season, but its youth and reliance on big plays means that periods of offensive struggle are definitely a possibility, and that's what happened Sunday.

The Jaguars failed to get things going in the running or the passing game for the most part, and they didn't get a whole lot of help from the defense. Allowing 14 points to an offense that had scored 12 points in the first half of their previous three games combined is a bit of a letdown.

This is especially true when you consider how good the Jaguars looked against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 14. They only allowed nine offensive points all game in that one, but the lack of a pass rush and impactful plays elsewhere allowed the Falcons to have success early just a week later.

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

The Jaguars haven't put themselves in major holes all too often this season, but they certainly did that against the Falcons. Both sides of the ball came out flat, which was surprising considering that it was the last home game of the year.

And while the Jaguars deserve a lot of credit for rallying at half and tying the game up, it should've been to earn or possibly extend a lead.

This team showed what a complete performance can achieve in its 51-16 demolition of the Colts last weekend and, while the Jags should've been able to build on and learn from that victory, it didn't appear so from start to finish in Week 15.

Periods of flat failure and confusing mistakes have haunted the Jaguars nearly every week, and that led to another loss on Sunday. It's the consistent struggle that makes it hard to believe the Jaguars will win either of their last two games against the New Orleans Saints or Houston Texans.

The progress and promise have reared their heads throughout the season, but neither have materialized into something concrete and common. The Jaguars don't seem far, but their problems are still as prevalent now as they were in Week 1.

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