Jaguars show flashes of good, bad in loss to Buccaneers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley reviews the film from Saturday’s 27-21 preseason loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers he will see both positives and negatives.

On the Jaguars first defensive series of the game they were able to put pressure on Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston. The Jaguars pass rush forced Tampa into a pair of third-and-long situations. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Jaguars also had a pair of penalties that resulted in first downs for the Buccaneers. On the night the Jaguars had 13 penalties for 121 yards, that area will certainly be a point of emphasis during practice this week.

Outside of the penalties the Jaguars never allowed Winston to get comfortable in the pocket. The 1st team defense also forced its first turnover of the preseason with cornerback Dwayne Gratz getting an interception off of a tipped ball.

Boxscore | Recap

Saturday was also our first look at rookie cornerback Jalen Ramsey. As we’ve seen throughout training camp the Jaguars have moved Ramsey all over the field. He started the game playing outside at corner, but in nickel situations he was moved inside to slot cornerback. Though he was rarely tested by air, Ramsey made a couple of nice tackles in run support.By the end of the first quarter most of the Jaguars defensive starters were already on the sidelines. Through two preseason games they’ve played a total of 26 snaps.

“It felt amazing, I mean its football,” said Ramsey. “I have not played a real game of football since January, so just being out here, I was overjoyed with excitement that I could be out here with my teammates and be able to make some plays. You know, do the best that I can.”

UNCUT POST-GAME: Coach Gus Bradley | QB Blake Bortles

Offensively the Jaguars 1st possession was over before it even got started. Already backed up inside their own 20-yard line, left guard Mackenzy Bernadeau was called for a false start on the first play from scrimmage. The Jaguars would go three-and-out on their opening drive.

“I was a little disappointed on our first drive,” said Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson. “I feel like we kind of hurt ourselves.  We got a penalty early in that drive.  After that I thought we played well. We executed and came out fast, made it third and manageable and made our plays.”

The offense found some rhythm on their second drive of the night. The combination of Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon allowed the Jaguars to move the ball while keeping a fresh running back on the field at all times. The 6-play, 58-yard drive was highlighted by Yeldon’s 14-yard touchdown reception from Blake Bortles.

The Jaguars next offensive drive spanned 80-yards. It was a nice mix of both the run and pass that resulted in Bortles finding Allen Hurns in the back of the end-zone for a touchdown. At the time that score gave the Jaguars a 14-7 lead. That was also the final play of the night for the Jaguars 1st team offense.

“I think it was good,” said Bortles who finished with 85 yards on 8-of-11 passing and two scores. “We had a couple of mental errors in the first series with an off-sides and a couple of pre-snap mishaps that you’d like to eliminate, especially to start the game when you are backed up.  I thought the guys did a really good job of rebounding and coming back and putting up some points.”

Other notes:

- One of the things that Gus Bradley always talks about following practices is does a player show up on the film. There’s no question Josh Johnson fits that definition. He had a 79-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. For a guy trying to make the team, plays like are how you make your case.  

- Jaguars punter Brad Nortman continues to produce booming punts. He had two punts on the night for 122 yards (61-yard average).

- Former Florida Gator, Vernon Hargreaves was also impressive on Saturday. He intercepted two passes thrown by Jaguars backup quarterback Chad Henne.