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Yesterday, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced that defensive end Josh Allen (knee) would be downgraded from questionable to out just prior to the team taking off for Houston to face the Texans in week five.
On Friday, Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone spoke about the impact of not having Allen will have on the defense when he was originally listed as questionable,
“It’s a tough challenge,” Marrone said. “I mean, they’ve got some crafty veteran receivers out there, they’ve got a quarterback that can do a lot of things: scramble, run. So, I think it’s going to be a great challenge for us. But make no mistake, we’ve got to get some guys obviously getting to the quarterback and getting him off rhythm.”
Look for Jaguars rookie first-round pick defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson to take the majority of repetitions as his replacement. Chaisson was selected 20th overall, the team’s second, first-round pick this year.
Coming into the week, the Jaguars were already battling a gluttony of injuries along the defensive side of the football. Nickel defensive back D.J. Hayden was placed on the team’s reserve/injured list after suffering a hamstring injury that forced him to be carted off into the locker room from the sideline last week against the Cincinnati Bengals.
To replace Hayden, the Jaguars will be looking for cornerback Tre Herndon to take snaps inside with either rookie cornerback Chris Claybrooks or veteran Sidney Jones to take over on the outside. Jaguars defensive coordinator broke down how defense could look without Hayden in the line up earlier this week.
Along with Hayden, other players such as linebacker Myles Jack (ankle) and cornerback CJ Henderson (shoulder) were also listed as questionable.
The Jaguars are going to have some work to do without some of its key players today against the Texans and quarterback Deshaun Watson. On the year, the defense has accounted for just four sacks, including two by Allen himself. If Jack isn’t able to play, the team will have one player on defense that have had sacks: Chaisson.
According to Pro Football Focus, Chaisson has just two pressures on the year. Allen himself had the highest total pressures with 13, and defensive end Dawuane Smoot is second with five on the year. Defensive tackles Taven Bryan (4) and Davon Hamilton (3) are the next two defensive linemen.