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The Jacksonville Jaguars offense took a complete nose dive after rookie offensive guard Brandon Linder went down with a shoulder injury in the first quarter of Sunday's 33-23 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Not that the Jaguars offense was marching up and down the field before he got hurt, but they were noticeably out of whack the next three drives, with two quick three-and-outs and stalling out before the end of the first half.
Linder has been a surprising bright spot on the Jaguars offensive line, a line that was much maligned in the preseason and early on. Linder has been steady however, consistently being one of, if not the Jaguars best offensive lineman.
Nothing new on #Jaguars RG Brandon Linder (shoulder) and S Josh Evans (shoulder). Will be monitored this week. Should qualify as good news
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) November 3, 2014
We'll know more about the severity of his injury later this week, but so far it looks good because he made the trip to London and hasn't been downgraded at all since he left the game.
Currently, Linder is the Jaguars highest graded offensive player on Pro Football Focus and the sixth highest graded offensive guard in the NFL. He's the third highest graded right guard and the highest graded right guard in the NFC AFC.
Jacques McClendon settled in after halftime, but the Jaguars are better with Linder in the lineup.