Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Week 13 sack analysis

The Jacksonville Jaguars offense had its fourth dismal game in as many weeks, failing to score more than seven points when not trailing by multiple touchdowns and giving up multiple sacks.

It was so bad that Nick Foles was benched and backup quarterback Gardner Minshew returns to his rightful place under center. It sparked the entire team — not just the offense — and nearly brought them back from the 25-0 hole that Foles led this team to at halftime.

Tampa Bay, who averaged just more than two sacks per game coming in, racked up five combined on Foles and Minshew.

Who was responsible for those five sacks? Let’s take a look.

Sack #1: 2nd & 10 at JAX 25, 2:39 in 1Q

N. Foles strip sacked by S. Barett. D. White 14 Yrd Fumble Recovery.

I don’t think there’s much of a question here. Jawaan Taylor gets beat by Shaquil Barrett, who is having a monster year with 14.5 sacks and counting. Ugh. It’s been a rough rookie season for Taylor

Fault: Jawaan Taylor

Sack #2: 2nd & 9 at TB 11, 11:26 in 2Q

(Shotgun) N. Foles sacked at TB 18 for -7 yards (C. Nassib). FUMBLES (C. Nassib) [C. Nassib], RECOVERED by TB-N. Suh at TB 17. N. Suh to TB 17 for no gain (B. Linder).

Make no mistake, Jawaan Taylor is at fault for this sack, but Nick Foles should have held onto this ball. The sack is on Taylor but the fumble is on Foles.

Fault: Jawaan Taylor

Sack #3: 1st & 15 at JAX 20, 0:57 in 2Q

(Shotgun) N. Foles sacked at JAX 14 for -6 yards (J. Pierre-Paul).

It’s wild that against edge rushers like Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaquil Barrett, the Jaguars didn’t have tight ends helping their young offensive tackles. You’re down to your fourth and fifth options. You just signed Nick O’Leary off the street. Ben Koyack is your starter. Just use one of them every play to help out.

Fault: Cam Robinson

Sack #4: 2nd & 14 at JAX 26, 4:07 in 4Q

(No Huddle, Shotgun) G. Minshew II sacked at JAX 20 for -6 yards (S. Barrett).

I’m torn on this one. Andrew Norwell needs to anchor and protect better but Gardner Minshew needs to get rid of the ball quicker. I’ll split the blame.

Fault: Andrew Norwell and Gardner Minshew

Sack #5: 4th & 9 at JAX 23, 1:42 in 4Q

(Shotgun) G. Minshew II sacked at JAX 13 for -10 yards (S. Acho). FUMBLES (S. Acho) [S. Acho], recovered by JAX-C. Robinson at JAX 5. C. Robinson to JAX 5 for no gain (B. Allen).

This is all on Gardner Minshew. I know he’s down two touchdowns with less than two minutes to go, but he’s got to see the easy throw to DJ Chark over the middle to pick up the first down. It’s better than a sack and a wild fumble.

Fault: Gardner Minshew

Summary

Minshew is going to turn the ball over as frequently as Foles and he might be responsible for more sacks than he was, but he’s an improvement. The production on offense speaks for itself.

Up next: The Los Angeles Chargers!