JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars lost in Arizona 27-24 on Phil Dawson’s career long 57 yard field goal, knocking the Jaguars back into a first place tie with the Titans in the AFC South. Jacksonville is now 7-4 on the season. Here’s how they answered the four biggest questions I had entering the game:
Can the Jaguars defense continue to dominate without Jalen Ramsey?
They didn’t have to play without Ramsey, who didn’t miss a play after injuring his hand on Friday in practice. The defense made some big plays, but also gave up a 58-yard touchdown pass by Blaine Gabbert, and allowed Gabbert to complete two passes in the final seconds to set up the game winning field goal by Dawson. Still, this one was not on the defense, who scored their sixth touchdown of the year when Yannick Ngakoue forced Gabbert to fumble and Calais Campbell recovered and ran it in for a touchdown.
Will the offensive line continue to perform well enough, despite injuries and lineup changes?
The offensive line struggled. They paved the way for only 29 yards rushing by Jaguars running backs. Bortles did run for 62 yards, but he was constantly harassed by Arizona’s defensive end Chandler Jones, who recorded a pair of sacks and several other quarterback pressures. The Jaguars offensive line needs to be better. The big question going forward is whether they have the ability to be better than mediocre the rest of the season.
Can the Jaguars continue to play well on the road?
The Jaguars sleep-walked through the first half and were fortunate to only be down 13-3 at halftime. They did not have their best game on the road. Traveling across time zones and playing a late game didn’t suit the Jaguars, who saw their four-game winning streak die in the desert.
Can the Jaguars remain unaffected by new injuries?
The one significant injury during the game was the concussion sustained by Telvin Smith. On the next play, the Cardinals connected on a touchdown pass to the tight end. It did not appear that the Jaguars missed Smith after that, but they did give up 14 points in the second half with Smith out of the game. The other injury to consider is the one that Leonard Fournete is playing with. Last week, he totaled 111 yards on the ankle, but this week, he was held to 12 carries for 25 yards.