What grade would you give the Jaguars defense for the third quarter?

As the Jacksonville Jaguars get ready to enter the final four games of their schedule tonight, let’s talk about how both sides of the ball did in the third quarter of the season.

This was a stretch of four games where the defense played well enough to win three. The meltdown against the Indianapolis Colts was certainly a loss on them, but they carried the team to a near win against the Pittsburgh Steelers and a close victory in the rematch against the Indianapolis Colts. While there were certainly breakdowns against the Buffalo Bills, the team should have still won.

We already graded the offense, now let’s grade the defense!

Alfie Crow (@AlfieBCC)

Polar opposite of the offense, the Jaguars defense has been good for the most part during this four game stretch. They blew coverages in the first half against the first Colts game, but after that played very good defense. Sure, Josh Allen had 100 scramble yards, but the defense still did more than enough to win the Steelers, Bills, and second Colts games.

Grade: B+

Ryan Day (@ryaneatscake)

Let’s look at the four games on face value — the defense has played certainly well enough to win two of them, questionably well enough to win another, and was God awful in another. That’s just above average in my book.

Grade: B-

Jon Kirland (@BCBCouch)

I’m glad the agents for Myles, Yan, and Jalen decided to take the quarter to remind them they’re in potential extension territory come February, because the three finally began playing the way we all thought they’d be playing all season. I thought they played the third quarter of the season so much better that it likely will save Todd Wash’s job. Shutting out the Colts and shutting down the Steelers for nearly an entire game, gives then an A. Collapsing against the Steelers at the end, and letting Josh Allen run for almost 100 yards in Buffalo and single-handedly win the game, brings the grade down.

Grade: B

Ryan O’Bleness (@ryanobleness)

The Jaguars defense has really returned to its dominating form these past few weeks. The team shut out Indianapolis last week, and played an incredible game against Pittsburgh in this stretch. The first game against the Colts was an embarrassment in the first half, but the defense clamped down and held Indy to zero points in the second half. The Buffalo Bills game was inexcusable, allowing rookie Josh Allen to beat them with his arm and legs, but for the most part I thought the defense really turned a corner in this last quarter beginning with the second half of the Colts game. The defensive unit is still very much one of the NFL’s best, but consistency has escaped the Jaguars this season.

Grade: B

Brian Fullford (@iambwf)

The shutout of the Colts raises this grade. While I wrote the we should not expect the defense to be perfect every week, a few things cannot be ignored. The first half of the 29-26 loss to Colts was an abomination, highlighting how certain players should not be on the field. The fourth quarter of the Steelers game was soiled with penalties, and blown coverages. Letting Josh Allen put up all those rushing yards is inexcusable.

The defense played one complete game this quarter. Well, if you combine the other three games it’s more like 2 and 3/4.

Grade: C

Filip Prus (@JaxonFil)

And I feel like it’s trending upwards back to the “A” category here in this final quarter. They put up one of the all-time defensive performances in franchise history this past Sunday shutting out Andrew Luck for the first time in his collegiate or professional career. As good as that game was, however, they couldn’t get a stop on that crucial fourth quarter drive against the Steelers at home, had a slew of busted coverages to allow Eric Ebron to score at will in the first Colts match up, and really should have had some more splash plays against a rookie quarterback in Buffalo. With Ronnie Harrison now entrenched as the starter at strong safety, I’m optimistic moving forward and eager to see how they close this season up.

Grade: B