JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In the team’s first game in Jacksonville since before Halloween, the Jaguars lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 28-11 on Sunday.
Nick Foles struggled, and fans were calling for Gardner Minshew in the first quarter. They got him at the start of the third quarter. Here are my four biggest takeaways from the loss.
Futile Foles
In his first action at TIAA Bank Field since breaking his collarbone in Week 1, Foles became the first quarterback since 2017 to turn the ball over three times in his first three possessions. On the Jaguars’ first possession, he threw the ball directly to Tampa Bay linebacker Devin White.
Foles appeared to be hit on the play. On the second possession, Foles was hit from behind by Shaquil Barrett, who beat Jawaan Taylor around the edge. Foles fumbled, it was picked up by White who ran it in for a touchdown. On the third possession, Foles was hit by Carl Nassib, fumbled and Ndamukong Suh recovered for the Buccaneers.
The boo birds were out early and often. Chants of “Minshew” were heard in the stands. The Jaguars fans have turned on Nick Foles. His performance and his press conferences have not helped. When Doug Marrone made the move to go with Foles in place of Minshew, he said Foles gave the Jaguars the best chance of winning. That opinion is difficult to defend at this point.
Offensive line woes
The first half issues weren’t all on Foles. The offensive line did a poor job of protecting the quarterback. Both tackles, Taylor and Robinson struggled in pass protection. Andrew Norwell continues to pick up penalties, flagged for holding and a false start.
It wasn’t just the offense. Again
The Jaguars’ defense, missing middle linebacker Myles Jack and starting strong safety Ronnie Harrison, were unable to stop the Buccaneers. Jameis Winston threw for 268 yards and the Bucs ran for 74 on a Jaguars defense that had surrendered over 200 yards rushing each of the last three games. This is a team that is depleted of many of its biggest defensive playmakers and it showed.
In a year that was supposed to be about getting back to playoff contention, the Jaguars have taken the November nosedive and turned it into death in December.
Now what?
The Jaguars said all week that they were motivated to win so they could have a winning record. Now, is the motivation to not have a losing record? They will have to win out to be 8-8. You won’t find anybody willing to bet on that outcome. We’re now to four straight losses by double digits or more for the first time in Jaguars’ history. Things are going from bad to worse. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s an oncoming train