The New York Jets came to town on a short week, with the stench of a humiliating loss to the New England Patriots still wafting through their air. The Jaguars continued the Jets “Downward Spiral” by picking off quarterback Sam Darnold three times, and using big plays to make the half-way mark of the season a .500 affair.

With Gardner Minshew continuing his rookie of the year quarterback play, other names stepped up to make this a beautifully performed team victory. Wide receiver Chris Conley led all Jaguars receivers in yards with a 4/103/1 performance. Leonard Fournette continues his reinvention tour with a hard fought 4.0 ypc average (thanks to a 1st quarter 66 yard run), but more importantly he led the team in receptions with 7, and his blocking continues to be critical to Minshew’s success. Oft maligned Tre Herndon took two of those three Darnold interceptions, but my man of the day is linebacker Austin Calitro. At a time when the Jaguars needed help at the linebacker position, Calitro stepped up with a team high 7 total tackles, including a quarterback hit and tackle for loss.

Not wanting to ignore the elephant in the room that is whether Nick Foles assumes his starting role once back from injury, I’ll make this short observation. Placing the onus of whether Minshew retains the job based on how he performs in London is a stupid argument. (Stupid defined: having or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense.) Make some other defense for Foles because Minshew’s body of work cannot possibly be minimized by a single game, if you want to be take seriously.

And with all due respect to the “Pride of the Jaguars”, calling it an emotional decision is an equally ridiculous comment to make.

Because there is actually evidence on how well Minshew plays with this team.

The plain truth is that this team plays with excitement, passion, and many see how much fun and life Minshew brings to the field. Break up that chemistry at your own demise.

Enjoy your coffee and breakfast links while you read what is being said around the internet.

John Oehser’s O-Zone addresses fans concerns...one about Marrone’s mental health.

Eric from Jacksonville

I just watched the Marrone presser and he seemed down after a win at home and a two-game win streak. This concerns me for the locker-room morale with a long trip to London upcoming. Any thoughts?

Fear not. Marrone’s never giddy about anything. Jaguars players know this. Seeing him in the dumps after a victory won’t hurt their morale. They might be worried if they saw him happy.

Locked on Jaguars Demetrius Harvey speaks to my point about team chemistry.

Overall, the sentiment within the Jaguars locker room has changed completely since last season. Perhaps still on the 2017 potential Super Bowl run, the Jaguars simply did not have the same energy after a few losses as they have had this year.

Not a single player has given up which is not only a testament to the Jaguars’ head coach Doug Marrone but also the players and their assistant coaches. After the Jaguars’ 29-15 victory over the New York Jets yesterday, Marrone mentioned exactly this.

“People will talk about, ‘Hey, the head coach did this and the head coach did that.’ That’s all bull,” Marrone said when asked if he has to work to keep the team focused on their upcoming game in London.

Jaguars Maven John Shipley looks at the question of replacing Minshew with Foles.

Marrone knows it will be a tough call, and a call that he alone has to make. But he is also doing his best to not have to think about it. Not yet, at least.

”My strength is I can focus on something, but my weakness might be down the road, if you don’t see this thing coming. To answer your question, I really haven’t thought about it,” Marrone said after Sunday’s 29-15 victory over the Jets.

”The reason why is because I don’t have to, and I don’t want to. I’ll deal with it when it happens. And that’s the truth.”

Ex-Jaguars QB Mark Brunell likes the Jaguars playoff odds.

If the defense continues getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks there are a lot of wins on the remaining schedule.

Everything is in place for the Jaguars to make a run at the playoffs.

The Florida Times-Union has some thoughts after a week 8 victory.

The victory returns the Jaguars to .500 — though they’re still technically tied for last in a tightly-packed division — and signals the team’s return to the postseason chase at the season’s halfway point.

That’s big.

CBS Sports Pete Blackburn highlights some frighteningly well done trolling of Sam Darnold.

Coming off an absolutely atrocious performance in which he admitted to “seeing ghosts” against the New England Patriots last Monday night, Darnold was hoping to put that game -- and now viral quote -- behind him and bounce back with a solid performance against the Jaguars on Sunday afternoon. But the Jags weren’t so eager to help let him put ghosts to rest.

Jacksonville’s team mascot, Jaxson de Ville, partook in his usual pregame antics while in ghost costume.

SBNation’s James Dator appreciates the power of Jaguars Twitter.

The Jaguars are the most important team in the NFL, and nobody else is a better lens for society than Jacksonville. We’re still emerging from the dark ages where there was no fun in the NFL, and the Jags are a constant reminder that we all take this stuff way too seriously.

“I thought we did a good job of moving the football. I thought we did a terrible job of scoring, you know, in the red zone.” - Doug Marrone

New York Daily News’ salty Manish Mehta reminds us the only good players on the Jets are available.

Have Robby Anderson and Leonard Williams played their last games for the Jets?

Gang Green has made it clear to teams that both players are available for the right price before the Oct. 29 trade deadline, according to sources.

PAY THE YAN!!!!

You can always find me on Twitter: Brian_BCC