JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars needed something to go their way in the worst possible way.
Finally, it did.
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The Jaguars needed a win. No doubt about that. And Sunday’s 20-16 comeback to stun the Raiders, in the final game in the Oakland Coliseum, no less, certainly qualifies as a big one for Jacksonville.
But I try and look at this with some perspective.
I don’t think this does anything to change what we’re going to see moving forward.
The team showed a lot of heart Sunday. The Jaguars had been playing arguably the worst football in the league over the past five and a half weeks. Their performance during their five-game losing streak was the worst such stretch in the NFL since 1986. And we’re going to see big changes in the franchise because of it.
But for one day, it didn’t really matter, because Gardner Minshew channeled some of his early season magic and the defense got the pass rush going.
Minshew is limited in terms of being a pocket passer, but he does have that ‘it’ factor. A bit of magic. He’s got something where you can never truly count him out. He’s getting better, too.
Minshew didn’t have a turnover against the Raiders and he made a veteran-like drive with the game on the line Sunday. That’s a great quality to have and it’s certainly exciting to watch. He just doesn’t give up. Some of his limitations come with youth and he’s growing through them.
The defense played really well in a tough environment and had game-changing effort at the line of scrimmage. For one afternoon, it ended well and gave the Jaguars something to build on .
But I go back to what I mentioned earlier.
A win was nice, and it was needed. I just don’t think the Jaguars can do anything at this point to change what’s on the horizon.