Rookie Gardner Minshew started at quarterback and had his helmet knocked off. Twice. And he was the best of the quarterbacks for the Jaguars Thursday night in a 29-0 preseason loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
With 32 regular players listed as not playing due to either injury or Doug Marrone's decision, the Jaguars backups, and the backups' backups struggled against the Ravens, who played most of their starters early in the game. Here are my four takeaways from the game:
1. Gardner Minshew is going to be the backup quarterback-Minshew finished 7 of 14 passing for 46 yards, but unlike Tanner Lee and Alex McGough, he didn't turn the ball over. He did make some good tosses, including an 18-yard connection with Tre McBride on a third down. Minshew looks like he has a fast processor, which is what you want from a backup quarterback.
2. Last year's injuries have left a lasting impact on Marrone's approach-With the injury to Marqise Lee in the preseason and all of the injuries in the regular season that helped to derail the Jaguars' season in 2018, Marrone didn't want to risk anything in the opener. Will he put any of the regulars in the game next Thursday when the Jaguars host the Philadelphia Eagles? I suspect that they will play the starters for a short period of time. We will look forward to seeing Nick Foles make his Jaguars' debut against his former team.
3. There were some guys worth noting-In the first half, C.J. Revis looked like a guy playing with his younger siblings. He was everywhere and he was a tackling machine, totaling eight tackles in the first half. A very impressive performance. Rookie running back Ryquell Armstead also ran hard. With 22 yards on eight carries, the numbers weren't massive, but he looked decisive and powerful.
4. It's only the first preseason game-Don't put too much into this game. With the Jaguars sitting so many players, there is very little that can be drawn from this game, other than the Jaguars need to stay healthy this season, which we already knew.