Jaguars vs. Falcons: Key Stats for Jacksonville in the First Half

In a battle of Southern teams from opposing divisions, the Jags headed into the Georgia Dome to try to steal a win from the seemingly playoff-bound Falcons.

The Jaguars are not a good road team, and the Georgia Dome can get pretty loud, but they were coming off a pretty resounding win over the Bucs, presumably playing with some swagger after putting up 41 points last week.

Things haven't gone that way, though, and they trail the Falcons by a 27-0 score at the half. Here are some key Jacksonville stats from the first half:

1. First Offensive Drive

Blaine Gabbert was sacked twice on the Jaguars' first drive, with one being rescinded due to an Atlanta penalty. Gabbert is holding the ball too long with Atlanta's pass rush coming at him. He needs to become more friendly with throwing the ball away, or he's going to lose a lot of yards tonight.

2. Time of Possession

Jacksonville began to rely on the run to keep Atlanta's offense off the field and allow Gabbert some breathing room late in the first quarter. Maurice Jones-Drew never fails to impress, picking up a first down. Then Tucker got impatient and went to the pass again, resulting in another Harris punt. We need to see more MJD in the second half; it would benefit the offense and the defense, which both look sluggish.

3. Punt Returns

Jarett Dillard muffed a catch on a punt return early in the second quarter. Four seconds later, the Falcons were up by another seven points. In four seconds, the game went from being a possible upset win for the Jags to being almost surely out of reach. A number of NFL coaches would bench Dillard for such a costly mental mistake. It will be interesting to see if Tucker is one of them.

4. Third-Down Conversions

Jacksonville has not converted a third down. A few of those, and the Jags should be able to at least put a few points on the board in the second half, or maybe even get back into the game for real.