JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars have had an interesting week. Lost in the mix of all of the drama is that the Jaguars have a game on Sunday. Interim head coach Darrell Bevell will lead the team against the Texans.
Bevell experienced being an interim head coach when he took over for the Lions last season and led them to a 1-4 record. That means if the Jaguars win on Sunday he would have the same amount of career wins in the NFL as Urban Meyer. The Jaguars are the favorites on Sunday by five points. It feels like forever since the Jaguars have been the favorite to win a game. But if they are going to cap the week with a W, here are four things they need to do.
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Don’t let Mills beat you
Davis Mills is starting at QB for the Texans on Sunday. The rookie has played in nine games this season and all of them have been losses. The Jaguars do not want to give him his first win as a starting QB. Mills’ best game of the season came against the Patriots when he carved them up to the tune of 312 yards and three TDs. Mills has shown flashes of being a capable QB. On Sunday, Joe Cullen will need to dial up the pressure to keep the rookie off balance so he doesn’t shred the Jaguars defense.
Let J Rob work
James Robinson’s workload has been a huge question mark for weeks now but in Darrell Bevell’s first press conference as interim head coach he said, “James Robinson is our starting running back and he will be played as such.”
That sounds like we might finally be able to put this to bed. Robinson has not had more than 18 carries in a game this season. With Carlos Hyde out for Sunday’s game, hopefully Robinson will break the 20-carry mark. In Robinson’s career he has carried the ball 20 or more times in four games and the Jaguars scored 20 or more points in each of those. That (20 points) may not sound like a lot but the Jaguars have not scored 20 points since Oct. 17.
Don’t get cooked by Cooks
Brandon Cooks is the Texans’ most dangerous receiving option. In Week 1, Cooks went off. He racked up five catches for 132 yards and made some of the Jaguars secondary look silly in the process. The Jaguars have to do a better job keeping him contained this time around. With Shaquill Griffin back healthy and Tyson Campbell’s play getting better each week, the Jaguars should be better prepared for him this time around.
Leave the drama behind
There have been endless distractions around this team since the offseason. Trevor Lawrence noted this week that at times it made it difficult to focus on football.
“It’s hard to be focused and have all your attention and efforts going towards winning the game when there’s so many things going on,” he said.
With the Jaguars having such a young roster, understandably, many of them would have difficulty navigating the distraction-filled season they have had this year. Joe Cullen said he thought the team has done a good job.
“In life there is always going to be something that hits you that you aren’t ready for and I think our younger guys have done a really good job,” he said.
The team will need to show just how good they are at blocking out the drama on Sunday.