It was long overdue, but the Jacksonville Jaguars finally won a game. After letting a 23-6 lead slip away from them, the Jags held off the Colts for a nail biting 30-27 victory. Some “fans” feel this win means nothing. Some think that even after a win, this season will be a waste of time, even if the not so liked Gus Bradley is fired. Well, woke up early to watch the Jaguars take on the Colts in London and saw several positive things about this game. Here is what they are:
1. No Blake Bortles interceptions
Interceptions have always been a problem for Bortles but it wasn’t one on Sunday’s matchup vs. the Indianapolis Colts. To give you an example of how much of an issue interceptions can be for the Jaguars’ quarterback, out of the 34 NFL games Bortles has been in, this is only his 8th where he didn’t throw a single interception. Bortles really did a better job of protecting the ball on Sunday and finished with 207 yards and 2 touchdowns.
2. Pressuring Andrew Luck
Andrew Luck was sacked six times in this game! The pass rush in this game for the Jaguars was the best its looked in a long time. There was even that deflected pass by Dante Fowler that turned into an interception for Yannick Ngakoue.
3. A second place standing in the AFC South
This may not be something worth bragging but I’m gonna do it anyway. Even though it is technically a three-way tie between Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and Tennessee, the Jags have the ultimate advantage since they won a divisional game. This win has propelled us from the bottom of the division to second, behind the Houston Texans who, as of now, sit at a 3-1 record. The Jags are only two games behind and have some momentum going into the bye week. If they perform well against the Bears (and the Texans lose next week), they could pull themselves back into the AFC South race.
4. Running game showed some improvements
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The rushing game looked pretty bad in the first three games for Jacksonville. Today, it looked better. T.J. Yeldon, Chris Ivory and even Blake Bortles all ran for season highs during this game, finishing with 71 yards, 29 yards and 36 yards respectively. There was also less of the stoppage at the line of scrimmage, which was a huge issue during last week’s game against the Ravens.
5. Play Calling was better
Up until late in the game, the play calling was actually pretty respectable. Bortles threw more passes to Robinson (something that should be happening), there were two fake run plays with Chris Ivory on the goal line that turned into touchdowns (one of which included Bortles’ first rush TD of the season), and they called even less screen passes, which was something that didn’t work for them against the Packers and Chargers. However, late in the game, the play calling turned conservative and that risked letting the Colts steal the game twice in the fourth quarter.
6. Gus Bradley
Even though a majority of Jaguars fans seem to want Bradley out, if you’re still a fan of the Gus Bus, then you now have a reason to celebrate. Yes, multiple sources said that even if the Jags lost, Bradley still wouldn’t be fired but now a win pretty much secures his job for at least a few more games. This win improves Bradley’s all-time lowly record to 13-39.
7. Closing out a close game
Last season, the Jaguars lost five of their eleven losses by seven points or less. This season, out of their first three losses, two of them were four points or less. The London game was the first time this season we got to see the Jags finish off a close game. Granted, they almost blew it, but they didn’t and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
8. A Win (duh)
Well, a win is always a positive part of the game. With this win over the Colts, the Jags are now 1-3 on the season and the fears of a 0-16 season can be put aside. However, there are still 12 games left and the Jags could still finish below their 5-11 record. But some super optimistic fans still think the Jags can reach their current ceiling of 13-3. This season has already been a roller coaster for Jaguars fans, so let’s see which direction it decides to go.
