JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The misery is heading into December.
The Jaguars turned in another offensive clunker on Sunday in a 21-14 loss to the Falcons at TIAA Bank Field. Jacksonville needed nearly three full quarters before it found the end zone, another maddening performance for Trevor Lawrence and the offense.
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The Jaguars had a final shot to mount a game-tying drive, starting at their own 18 with 2 minutes and 13 seconds to play. But drops (two of them on that drive) and bad throws gave it no chance of success.
Coach Urban Meyer said that the constant struggles of the offense are frustrating, but it’s not because the coaching staff is set in its ways and refusing to adapt. They’re looking at ways to get things going and trying to, but it’s just a lack of execution, he said.
“So no, there’s no stubbornness, it’s just we’re all figuring this thing out, and we should have it figured out by now, and I would say this, that it’s not like we don’t have it figured out,” Meyer said. “We’re not executing at a high level. We’re putting ourselves in position to win a game and if we eliminate some nonsense then we would go win a game.”
The Jaguars (2-9) will head into the final month of the year with a three-game losing streak, double-digit losses on the horizon and a slate of imposing road games on tap. The Jaguars visit the Rams next Sunday (4:25 p.m.) and then head to Nashville to face the division-leading Titans on Dec. 12.
Jacksonville is 1-4 all-time against the Rams, although four of those games came when that franchise was located in St. Louis. They’ve never played in L.A, but the Jaguars’ dubious West Coast history is well known. Jacksonville is 3-14 all-time in games in California and Washington. Its struggles at Tennessee are significant, too. The Jaguars haven’t won there since 2013.
This was a winnable game on the second half of the schedule, especially with Atlanta’s recent struggles.
But Jacksonville couldn’t stop a team that entered having been outscored 68-3 in its last two games, giving up 108 rushing yards and two touchdowns to Cordarrelle Patterson and trailing from start to finish.
“I mean, any loss is definitely just a bad feeling, especially — it’s not a good feeling right now, man. We’re sick and tired of it,” said linebacker/defensive end Josh Allen. “We’re just trying to figure out what the hell (is happening) — know what I mean? I can’t really answer that one [how frustrating another loss was]. Just tired of it.”
But, as they have so often, the Jaguars scratched back late. As they have so often, Jacksonville just couldn’t find a way to close. Meyer said that he doesn’t see regression or Lawrence beating himself up over the losing.
“Yeah, I’ve had many, many daily conversations with him, and he’s a fighter. He doesn’t look at it that way. He looks, he came here to help lift an organization, and that’s the way he looks at it. He’s very hard on himself, as most great players are, and the whole question even I ask the team, ask myself, ask ourselves, what can we do better to go win that game, and the answer is a multitude of things,” Meyer said. “That’s never really come up. That’s not a woe-is-me and feel sorry for yourself. What can we do to get better is how he approaches everything.”
After doing a better job on defense in the second half, the Jaguars had a shot. Lawrence hit Tavon Austin on a 7-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter, then added the two-point pass to James O’Shaughnessy to get within 21-11.
Jacksonville had a first-and-goal from the 6 with seven and a half minutes to play, but Jawaan Taylor was flagged for a hold and the Jaguars wound up having to settle for a field goal to get within 21-14.
That still afforded Lawrence and the Jaguars a shot at a game-tying drive, but drops by Carlos Hyde and Laquon Treadwell set them back, and Lawrence misfired on two other throws, including the final fourth-down toss in the direction of Laviska Shenault that dropped incomplete.
“Like I said, I thought we were more efficient, still got a lot of work to do, got to get better. Only scored one touchdown so got to help our defense out,” Lawrence said. “You feel better after this game as an offense compared to last week or the week before. That’s a positive, but yeah, we’ve got to just score some more points at the end of the day.”
Another rough start made the hole too big to dig out of.
Jacksonville had just one drive in the first quarter, an eight-play drive that ended with a punt. It managed just a field goal in the first half and wasted a prime defensive opportunity before halftime after Tyson Campbell’s first career interception. Jacksonville needed roughly 15 yards for a field goal try but couldn’t even get that. Lawrence also threw an interception early in the second quarter, his 10th of the season.
Lawrence finished 23 of 42 for 228 yards, a touchdown and an interception. James Robinson rushed for 86 yards on 17 carries.