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Jaguars vs. Raiders: 4 to watch 4

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Four things to keep an eye on when the Jacksonville Jaguars welcome the Oakland Raiders to EverBank Field:

1.Running game

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So far in 2016 this has been a common theme previewing every game. Can the Jaguars run the ball?  Averaging 71 yards per game they haven’t been a threat on the ground in any of their five contests this year. Against Indianapolis it was a part of their offense but nothing special. Otherwise, it’s been non-existent.  So this week Gus Bradley says he “challenged” the offensive line to get it going.

"I think it is painting a clearer picture to them. What is the truth? I think there is a lot of attention being drawn on the run game and surely they feel that part of it,” Bradley said. It would be great if either T.J. Yeldon or Chris Ivory could have 100 yards rushing but at this point having them reach 100 yards combined would give the Jaguars a better chance at winning. Oakland’s defense is ranked near the bottom of the league and is not good against the run. They’ll give up yards and points if the Jaguars are efficient.

2.Build momentum

Wins in the last 4 years for the Jaguars have been a sporadic event. They happened to beat a few teams but never seemed to be building any momentum or identity.  With back-to-back victories and a 2-3 record are the Jaguars finding out who they are and building on that?  They’re figuring out what they’re good at, giving players a chance to succeed. Whether it’s moving Bortles around, running up-tempo on offense or taking advantage of the man-to-man skills in their defensive backfield, the Jaguars need to build some momentum by playing well and winning. They might be young and learning but there’s enough veteran experience on this team to take advantage of what they do best. If they’re the ascending team they keep telling us they are, then go out there and prove it.

Bradley says he saw the beginnings of that this week. “A very focused group. Even the locker room after Chicago game, ‘Hey we’re excited, we appreciate it,’ and then it was like, ‘Okay that’s not what we totally wanted to accomplish, we still got a lot of work to do.’ Even Wednesday, sitting in the meetings, just a very, very focused group.”

3.The schedule

With two of their first three games in Jacksonville and the 4th a “home” game in London, the Jaguars had a favorable schedule in the beginning of the year, save for the quarterbacks they were facing. This game against Oakland is the only one in Jacksonville for the Jaguars in six weeks. The team is guarding against this being just another game and wants to take advantage of Oakland’s long trip and the crowd enthusiasm at home. “You have a good home schedule right away and then there’s going to be times in the middle of the schedule when you got to go on the road,” Bradley explained. “I think we look at we love to play in front of our fans, obviously you love playing at home, but we got to have the mindset that wherever we go we got to play well.”

4.Let the “D” Roll

In the first half against Chicago the Jaguars defense gave up 7 third down conversions including 5 on one drive. After a tongue lashing by Bradley at halftime and a few changes in strategy, the Jaguars played with a physical presence in the second half, allowing no third down conversions and coming up with big stops to keep them in the game. Their red zone performance kept the Bears at bay by allowing field goals and made plays in the 4th quarter giving the Jaguars offense a chance to win the game. They need to keep that going, play with a swagger from the opening whistle and let the Raiders know it’s going to be a long day. No “cheapies” to Amari Cooper early, no getting beat over the top for 6 without earning it. Derek Carr is one of the young quarterbacks making a name for himself in the NFL so he needs to be harassed into making mistakes and giving the ball to the Jaguars. The run defense needs to be stout early, not letting the Raiders gain any confidence. If that happens, somewhere mid-3rd quarter, Oakland will be ready to go home.