Brutal Loss
Jaguars 31, Patriots 20 (final): Blake Bortles carves up the D in finishing 29-of-45 for 377 yards, with 4 TDs and 1 INT as defense fails to build on momentum of strong season-opener. Second-half comeback falls short, as it was too big of a hole to recover from.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 16, 2018
Unfortunately, losing will happen. The Patriots suffered a tough loss on Sunday to the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-21. The takeaway from this game was fairly clear: Patriots defense couldn’t manage pressure on the QB.
The Patriots had a terrible first half and failed to adjust to the Jaguars speed and resulted in large gains for Blake Bortles who carved the defense up. His score on the day, 29-of-45 for 377 yards, with 4 TDs and 1 INT. To say the defense was beat is an understatement. In addition, the Patriots lost DEs Trey Flowers, Deatrich Wise Jr. and SS Patrick Chung fell to injuries following the game.
The team made adjustments in the second half that resulted in two turnovers (a forced fumble and INT). However, the Patriots offensive line got crunched up and it resulted in multiple sacks. Brady performed below his expectations, going for 24-35 for 234 yards, with 2 TDs and no INTs.
Defense Got Beat Downfield
The #Patriots defense has actually done a nice job defending the #Jaguars packaged plays and swing screens. It's been the downfield passes that have killed them.
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) September 16, 2018
While the Patriots on the offense struggled, it resulted in the defense being pushed hard to create turnovers. The defense worked well when it came to short passes (including the second half) to receivers Keelan Cole, DJ Chark Jr. and Donte Moncrief. However, when it came to deep ball passes, especially early in the game, the secondary gave up a lot of yards.
The defensive line also failed in generating pressure on Jags QB Blake Bortles. It didn’t help with losing Trey Flowers, but the offensive line kept the defense at bay. In addition, the Patriots failed to capitalize on several key situations, including the offense. The could have kept the game close but blew it when it mattered the most.
Back To Work
“I think you’re going to see this rematch right here. These two teams, in the AFC title game again… and it’s going to be a monster.” -Tony Romo on the Patriots & Jaguars pic.twitter.com/2SOfCJxKjz
— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) September 16, 2018
The Patriots lost. I predicted it this season (though I got the Houston game wrong obviously) but its still a tough pill to swallow. All the same, the Jaguars played out of this world. For them, this will be what they hope to see in the AFC Championship game this season. Though there is much football left to play, the Patriots will improve from here. The team will visit Ford Field next week to compete against the 0-2 Detroit Lions. Former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has not been having a pleasant start to his 1st season as a Head Coach so it will be interesting to see how he can motivate his team next Sunday at 8:20 PM EST.
