Jaguars reply in a giant means, hammer Chargers to get again on observe

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The rumored demise of the Jaguars was a bit untimely.

Jacksonville’s beleaguered protection got here alive, the offense was clear and didn’t even must punt, and the Jaguars walloped the Chargers 35-6 on a postcard-perfect Sunday at EverBank Stadium.

The Jaguars desperately wanted one thing constructive to regular issues, and the blowout actually offered that. Jacksonville knocked round quarterback Justin Herbert, who managed simply 81 passing yards, and the early-season protection confirmed again up.

The Jaguars held the Chargers to simply 135 yards of offense and dominated from begin to end. Jacksonville’s offense did a lot of the harm on the bottom, with Travis Etienne and Bhayshul Tuten offering the muscle.

And the Jaguars desperately wanted any kind of constructive after an uneven stretch that was solely a DaVon Hamilton swatted go down in time beyond regulation towards the Raiders from getting into this one on a four-game dropping streak.

Jacksonville (6-4) had misplaced three of its final 4 video games, together with a humiliating defeat final week at Houston. The Jaguars gave up 26 unanswered factors within the fourth quarter to squander the largest second-half lead in franchise historical past. It was pure to marvel if the Jaguars had peaked after that Monday night time win over the Chiefs and if they may proceed to beat a staggering variety of accidents.

They answered that query towards the Chargers emphatically.

Not an opportunity.

“It was a hard week, man. That was hard obviously, last Sunday and when you have that taste in your mouth and it has to live there all week and you can only get so much of that taste out of your mouth in practice and going through the game planning and you’re going through it and last night, we just talked about, guys, let’s keep this real simple,” mentioned head coach Liam Coen. “Let’s go out and cut it loose for four quarters, as a team, and see what happens.”

Defense performed lights out

Jacksonville knocked Los Angeles round from the get-go.

The oft-criticized go rush saved the warmth on Herbert all sport lengthy. The Jaguars managed simply two sacks, together with Josh Hines-Allen’s franchise document breaker, however the strain was relentless from the opening play.

Travon Walker’s strain on Herbert on the primary snap of the sport compelled an intentional grounding name. Linebacker Devin Lloyd had one of the best sort out for lack of the sport, studying a brief Herbert go to Kimani Vidal and erasing it for a lack of 5. Walker and Danny Striggow teamed up for a sack and Arik Armstead added one other.

“That’s where we won the game, I thought. That’s where we imposed our will a little bit there on the OL and DL. Came out, obviously, defensively they came out throwing a few screens early. You could tell that they just wanted to get the ball on the perimeter and we were hunting up front,” Coen mentioned. “That’s for sure. Very proud of Josh Hines-Allen, getting the franchise record but it was a group effort, really. That whole group, that whole front, all those guys that got in, and have the ability to rush and create some havoc and kind of keep them under duress. That’s really what helped us win that game, and that’s where it started.”

Herbert had an all-around depressing day. Antonio Johnson intercepted a Herbert go with just below 12 minutes to play and his 44-yard runback went right down to the Chargers 13. Travis Etienne turned that right into a landing simply two snaps later, and Herbert’s day was finished in a 35-6 gap.

“I think we need to take each week separately and have that same attention to detail that each player came out with this week to have and I think that’s where our focus needs to kind of remain,” Hines-Allen mentioned. “If we tend to stay within that type of focus as a team, as individuals, we will continue to have the outcomes we had today.”

Offense will get the job finished

Trevor Lawrence didn’t have a giant day statistically (14 of twenty-two, 153 yards, TD, INT) however unfold issues round nicely. He hit Jakobi Meyers 5 instances for 64 yards and located Tim Patrick for a 1-yard landing that put Jacksonville on cruise management early within the fourth quarter, up 28-6.

“I think guys understood how important this game was today as far as just our team and where we’re at and it’s a game you got to win. You’re playing a good AFC team, getting into November, later in the season, you start to look at your schedule and the games and you’re starting to run out of opportunities,” Lawrence mentioned. “I think for all of us, we know how important this game was after we gave one away last week in Houston, obviously, and it was a great way to bounce back for us. Complementary football, offense, defense, special teams, everyone pitched in. We fed off one another, the energy, the momentum. It was a fun day.”

Lawrence additionally rushed for a landing, and apart from a nasty determination on an interception to kill a Jacksonville drive within the second quarter, was environment friendly and didn’t damage the crew. The numbers weren’t jaw-dropping, however Lawrence and the offense didn’t even must punt towards the Chargers.

The floor sport ran sturdy from the outset. Etienne had 73 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Tuten had his finest sport, going for 74 yards on 15 carries and a landing.

Injuries, accidents, accidents

Jacksonville has been wrecked by accidents this 12 months. Rookie Travis Hunter is on injured reserve. Receiver Brian Thomas Jr. missed his second consecutive sport. Tight finish Brenton Strange was activated from injured reserve final week however was inactive Sunday. So, too, have been cornerback Jourdan Lewis, proper sort out Anton Harrison and tight finish Hunter Long. Those three are all starters.

The Jaguars misplaced beginning cornerback Greg Newsome to an ankle damage, and had Tuten come up limping out of a pile early within the fourth quarter.