JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One drive was all that Carolina needed to see of Cam Newton. In his preseason debut against the Jaguars on Thursday night the Panthers quarterback led a dominating game opening drive.
After a lack luster performance against Tampa Bay the Jaguars first team defense was anxious for another chance to prove that last week was the exception and not the rule. Instead Newton and the Panthers began the game with a flawless 10-play 75 yard drive that gave Carolina the early 7-0 lead.
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“We were not happy, we were offended how they drove the ball on us,” said Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack following the Jaguars 24-23 loss. “We just kind of looked at each other like ok they got the first punch off. We can’t ever do that again.”
On the drive Newton wasn’t asked to do much. Outside of the 9-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin the only other pass Newton attempted was a short check-down to rookie running back Christian McCaffrey. That’s because the Panthers were able to run the ball at will. On that drive Carolina had eight rushes for 52 yards (6.5 yards per carry).
Once the Jaguars first team defense made it back to the sideline Calais Campbell huddled the defense together for a pep talk. From a distance it looked like a spirited chat. From there the Jaguars first team-defense only allowed a field goal. But it should be noted that they were going up against backup quarterback Derek Anderson who replaced Newton after the Panthers first offensive possession.
“You never want to give up points to start a game,” said Jaguars defensive lineman Calais Campbell. “I want our defense to set the tone for the game. We can’t go down and give up seven [points]. But we responded after that and played some good football. At the end of the day I feel like there’s a lot of stuff to correct for us to get better.”
There lies the problem. We’ve likely seen the last of the majority of the Jaguars defensive starters this preseason. Tom Brady didn’t play for the Patriots in the preseason opener. Jameis Winston dominated in the second preseason game and Newton did the same in his one drive on Thursday night.
Barring any late injuries during training camp the Jaguars should have their full defense healthy against Houston in week one. Cornerbacks A.J. Bouye and Aaron Colvin haven’t played this entire preseason. Jalen Ramsey made his preseason debut against Carolina and only played one drive.
We’ll reserve full judgment on the Jaguars defense until Sept. 10 against Houston, but right now it doesn’t look promising.
News and Notes:
-Against Carolina it was easy to see why the Jaguars love Myles Jack and also why they don’t completely trust him just yet. On a third and seven he had excellent coverage on TE Greg Olsen who caught the pass for a touchdown. There aren’t many TE’s better than Olsen and Jack was in the right spot just couldn’t quite make the play. Later Jack showed off his great sideline-to-sideline speed, chasing down a ball carrier. Problem is he was called for a horse collar tackle that led to an automatic first down.
-Turnovers have been hard to come by for the Jaguars. Cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste came up with an interception of Anderson when he read the quarterbacks eyes and peeled off of Benjamin to make the pick.