The Jacksonville Jaguars were beaten 31-27 by the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2.
On the face of it, the scoreline makes this look like a nail-biter. To be fair, for the most part, it was.
However, when it comes down to the wire, you have to be able to finish games. Unfortunately for the Jags, they are still struggling to accomplish this.
On the whole, the Jags played well. The new offensive playbook seems to be working and the defense put up some impressive stops and takeaways.
Bhayshul Tuten getting his first touchdown was a highlight of the evening, and the offensive playbook suits quarterback Trevor Lawrence better. That provides reassurance to a hopeful Jags fan.
As pleased as I was with what I saw, I cannot unsee the crucial issues that contributed to the loss.
I predicted that we would lose but not down to self-inflicted penalties.
The three crucial issues
- The number of illegal shifts that the Jags incurred contributed heavily to them being forced into crucial third downs and having to change the playbook to overcome these penalties.
- In Week 1, we saw a lack of concentration from wide receivers, especially Brian Thomas Jr. This has continued into Week 2 and was significant in the team failing conversions that would have almost certainly won the game.
- I do not want to single players out, especially stars like Travis Hunter, but his lack of NFL experience at cornerback showed. A cheap pass interference penalty and a clear mismatch between himself and Ja’Marr Chase set up the crucial final drive for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hopefully, Liam Coen can go through the tape and iron out the issues that will actively harm our season.
With our first divisional match-up against the Houston Texans next week, the Jaguars need to bounce back quickly.
