By Don Coble, Jax Sports News and Florida Sports Wire
(www,jaxsportsday.com) The Jacksonville Jaguars got some important answers ahead of formalizing its final 53-man roster during Saturday’s 24-20 at the New Orleans Saints, but none more important than:
Most importantly, starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence needs to stay healthy. While backup Carter Bradley showed plenty in Saturday’s first preseason game, he was inconsistent. He was 3-for-8 for 36 yards and an interception in the first half, but he rallied to be 7-for-9 for 69 yards and a touchdown in the second, leading the Jaguars from a 20-6 halftime deficit. Second-string Nick Mullins (3-for-7 for 33 yards and an interception) and rookie Joey Aguilar (1-for-2 for 43 yards) were unimpressive in the first half.
• Rookie J’Mari Taylor went a long way to making the roster after rushing 22 times for 78 yards. He also scored on a game-winning two-yard run, then he added a two-yard two-point conversion run by lowering his hand and plowing through the middle of the goal line scrum.
“In the second half it was just the mentality of the one cup mentality, one ball,” he said. “So, me out there, I’m a mellow guy, so I just know I’m thankful for this opportunity, and I just wanted to go out there and see; that was my whole thing. That was great to come out with a win, and it was great that, you know, I scored my first season. You know, guys are like, ‘Just keep the game ball, like nah nah, we just need to find it, so you can do it’. It was fun, man.”
• Concerns about the health of the offensive line continued when right tackle Chuma Edoga hurt his left leg on the first play from scrimmage. Jacksonville then quickly pulled key backups C Jonah Monheim and RG Wyatt Milum.
“It was the plan. We wanted to give them a little bit of work early,” Head Coach Liam Coen said. “It was a longer drive. I wanted to get those guys out of there but give them work. We wanted to give them some reps and get them out.”
• Jabbar Muhammad was projected to be the final cornerback, but he helped himself with a physically impressive two-yard pass from Hunter Dekkers to Jalen Moreno-Cropper. It was a good comeback since his pass interference a play earlier gave the Saints the ball at the two.
• Others who made big plays were rookie safety Jalen Huskey, who came from across the field and ran down Ty Chandler at the 9-yardline following an 86-yard return; receivers Josh Cameron (one catch for 17 yards) and CJ Williams (two catches for 28) carried their solid training camp performances to the preseason game to keep them solidly in the 53-man outlook, while Trebor Pena (three catches for 43 yards) showed enough to win a likely spot on the practice squad.
“I thought they were solid. CJ had the one drop. Josh could have maybe taken advantage of the second punt return. He had a lot of room,” Coen said. “A lot of good learning opportunities and moments for these guys. There were so many getting first time NFL exposure today. It was a lot of good learning opportunities and things to clean up.”
Pena let a potential 17-yard touchdown go through his hands in the endzone, but he came back to make catches of 6 and 43 in the two fourth-quarter touchdown drives. The rookie from Penn State also added an 8-yard end-around run.
“Carter threw a great ball in a tight window. I thought he came down with it and ended up losing it late,” Coen said of Pena’s TD drop. “He had a big-time double move to put us in position to win the game. I am proud of them and the response from those guys.”
Although Jacksonville didn’t play any veteran starters, the first half was difficult to watch. The team was outgained 176-82 in total yards. They also had two turnovers and were flagged four times for 25 yards, including two false starts by LT Jimto Obidegwu, and one by LT Geron Christian and a holding by OL Ricky Lee.
The second half was completely different, as the defense posted a shutout (101 total yards and a fumble recovery) of the New Orleans backups and free agents hoping to make the team, while the offense rallied behind Taylor and Bradley for 183 yards, two touchdowns and a two-point conversion.
“It is always good to win. I appreciate and like the response in the second half,” Coen said. “We started slow obviously with the crummy kickoff coverage. They scored a touchdown. Besides that, I thought our defense played pretty well. We got into a couple of two minutes situations. I am proud of the guys and the response.”
Up next
The Jaguars will return training camp on Monday, Aug. 17, with a workout at the Miller Electric Center at 8:30 a.m. Fans need to lock in their free seats by visiting jaguars.com/training camp. Tickets are required for entry.
