46 days until kickoff: Jacksonville Jaguars win 31-12 over New York Jets

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We’re counting down to the 2020 NFL preseason opener between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers by ranking all 51 regular season wins over the past decade.

Today at No. 46? Beating the New York Jets and a rookie Sam Darnold. Yay?

Week 4 — September 30, 2018

Last week was that monstrosity of a touchdown-less matchup with the Tennessee Titans. You know the one... where we knocked Blaine Gabbert out of the game and Marcus Mariota limped his way to a 9-6 win.

Jacksonville’s offense looked like a casting call from “The Walking Dead” and couldn’t grind out more than 199 yards on offense.

It was a different story this afternoon. Blake Bortles put the offense on his back for a majority of the game and led multiple scoring drives, passing for a career-high 388 yards and two touchdowns.

Dede Westbrook surpassed 100 yards receiving on the day, but the highlight of the passing attack was a 67-yard bomb for a touchdown to Donte Moncrief.

The aerial attack was sorely needed — the Jaguars lost star running back Leonard Fournette, active for the first time since Week 1, to a repeat hamstring injury that kept him out the previous two weeks. The team also lost center Brandon Linder early to what was described as a back injury. The injury to Linder leaves the team very thinned out along the offensive line, with left tackle Cam Robinson already out for the season and guard A.J. Cann and Jeremy Parnell battling injuries, though both played the entirety of the game.

The defense shut down the rookie quarterback Sam Darnold and the Jets offense for the most part, which included a rare safety scored for the Jags when Marcell Dareus and Calais Campbell stuffed running back Isaiah Crowell in the end zone.

Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue and tackle Malik Jackson attributed for two of the team’s five recorded sacks.

The win moved the Jaguars to 3-1 for the first time since 2007 and set up the beginning of the end against the Kansas City Chiefs the next week.

Why the ranking at No. 46?

We beat a rookie Sam Darnold. The going for two at the end was a nice touch for Marrone, who still won’t admit it was personal. (It was.)

Up tomorrow?

We lit up an injured Tennessee team on national television. Not very Jaguars, if you ask me.