clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

What grade would you give the Jaguars offense for the second quarter of the season?

NFL: New York Jets at Jacksonville Jaguars Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

As the Jacksonville Jaguars get ready to enter the next part of their schedule, let’s talk about how both sides of the ball did in the second quarter of the season.

The second quarter started with a trip to the Kansas City Chiefs where I think everyone expected a loss but not a blowout implosion that has looked like the beginning of the end for Blake Bortles. We didn’t bounce back on the road against the Dallas Cowboys the next week, Bortles was benched the next week against the Houston Texans, and then we just lost in London to the Philadelphia Carsons.

Let’s take a deeper look though and go past the “we’re 0-4 over the last four games” and see how the team has performed the last quarter.

We’ll be grading the offense and defense separately through the week and up first — the offense!

Alfie Crow (@AlfieBCC)

The Jaguars offense right now is an absolute disaster. The offensive line isn’t playing well and when they do the quarterback doesn’t or the receivers drop passes. Outside of a few spurts from T.J. Yeldon they can’t run the ball and seemingly never have anything going down the field. If Leonard Fournette, Cam Robinson and Austin Seferian-Jenkins being out makes their offense go completely off the rails, there are much much bigger issues at work.

Grade: F

Ryan Day (@ryaneatscake)

This offense is an absolute dumpster fire right now. The front office would replace Blake Bortles with a statue of George O’Leary if they could. They made calls all over the league for backups and no one wanted to deal with them. The offensive coordinator is technically involving the running backs but he’s made them backfield wide receivers for the most part. Leonard Fournette has missed half the season due to hamstring injuries. And the red zone magic from previous years is gone. The defense is literally going to have to score to give this team a chance to win because the offense won’t do it on their own.

Grade: F

Jon Kirland (@BCBCouch)

I can’t put into enough words how terrible this unit has looked, really all season if we are being honest with ourselves. They had two games, (Pats, Jets), where they performed above average, other than that it’s been an abhorrent failure. When your best player has been T.J. Yeldon, with all due respect, you know everything you need to know. I’m not even going to comment on the quarterback because this is a family site.

Grade: F

Ryan O’Bleness (@ryanobleness)

The offense, especially during this four game losing streak, has been abysmal. The teams ranks No. 21 in total offense, No. 17 in passing yardage, and No. 25 in rushing yardage, but that doesn’t tell the story. It’s the turnovers and sacks allowed that hurt Jacksonville the most. The Jaguars have the second most giveaways in the league with 18, and the third worst turnover differential at -11. Jacksonville has also allowed 22 sacks this season, which ties for 10th most in the NFL. The offensive line play and quarterback play have both been poor. Jacksonville also took a risk with the wide receiver group that didn’t pay off. This team lacks playmakers in the receiving game, and dropped passes have hurt the squad in recent weeks. Injuries have to be accounted for, though, and that’s the reason my offensive grade isn’t lower. Leonard Fournette has basically missed the entire first half of the season, and while T.J. Yeldon has had a fine season, the running game has fallen out of the game plan as of late. The third-string left tackle is starting while the rest of the offensive line is banged up. The tight end position is so depleted that a guy like David Grinnage is starting. It’s frustrating.

Grade: C-

Brian Fullford (@iambwf)

The offense has been hit hard by injuries, but the one area you might have expected the impact to be the greatest might be the strongest element: The offensive line. They have given Blake enough protection to make plays, he simply isn’t optimizing his opportunities. You’ve benched your franchise quarterback, used a future draft pick on a stop-gap running back, and spent roughly 10 million in the offseason to sign a veteran wide receiver. You are now holding a 3-5 record at the midway point of the season. Nothing about the play calling, or execution, indicates this team is built to win games without the defense playing at an elite level. If Blake can execute with even 25% more efficiency this team is easily 5-3, and maybe even 6-2.

The start of the Eagles game probably defines how inept the offense is. The defense gets you a fumble and an interception on the first two Philadelphia drives of the game and the offense manages 3 points.

Grade: F

Filip Prus (@JaxonFil)

Some will blame injuries decimating four starting spots on offense, but that’s life in the NFL. The quarterback cannot elevate the other ten players in the huddle and it has brimmed over onto the defense. Nathaniel Hackett has abandoned the ground-and-pound identity of this team despite T.J. Yeldon averaging over four yards per carry and the offensive line being in the top 10 in rush yards before contact via NextGen Stats. Marrone has intimated that there is no confidence in the offensive line, which has four out of five regular starters available, and the receivers can’t catch a cold. Simply put, the offense and Bortles’ turnovers are dragging this team down.

Grade: D-

Poll

What grade would you give the offense for the second quarter of the season?

This poll is closed

  • 1%
    A
    (5 votes)
  • 0%
    B
    (0 votes)
  • 1%
    C
    (6 votes)
  • 19%
    D
    (64 votes)
  • 76%
    F
    (246 votes)
321 votes total Vote Now