JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The more I watch Gardner Minshew II, the more I like him.
There is just no quit in this kid. If there’s just an ounce of hope in a football game, you can bet that he’ll give the Jaguars a chance to win it.
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That was the case Sunday as the Jaguars lost a nail biter to the Panthers, 34-27. They had a chance in this one and there are some positives to take away from it before New Orleans comes to TIAA Bank Field next Sunday.
DJ Chark continues to get better. He had eight receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns and his ability to catch, and hang on to passes, is getting better by the game.
Leonard Fournette went over 100 yards again, his second time in as many weeks.
Minshew threw for nearly 400 yards and a couple touchdowns. When you look at that production from those three main offensive weapons, that's a highly productive day.
But you know what I’m going to say here and it's what I've talked about several times through the preseason and start of the regular season. There is only one statistic that really matters in an NFL game and that’s the number of turnovers a team either gets or gives.
Our young quarterback is truly a competitor, and he’s only going to get better. Remember, this is only the fourth start in his NFL career, and with each game, he’s learning how to play at this level. But what he needs to learn is the importance of taking care of the ball. Three fumbles had everything to do with the loss.
Two of those fumbles led to 14 points and that was obviously the difference. Minshew no doubt understands this and will certainly do everything he can to improve. It’s part of the process. It’s part of the development of a young player. The good thing is that it can be fixed.
And knowing a little bit about our quarterback, it will get fixed. Go Jaguars!