Well, on the fifteenth week of the NFL season, the CDC gave to me, a wave of players out with COVID-19.
Take comfort in the fact I didn’t bother with parodying “The Little Drummer Boy.” We were blessed with the fifteenth week of the NFL season hanging around with sloppy gameplay and limited rosters. There was so much drama this week. If you were able to look beyond your fantasy football playoff scoreboard, you’d have seen the two starless crossed lovers battle for the ages.
I am sorry for your loss Jacksonville Jaguars, but your season is over.
Now, why on Earth would I take time to acknowledge the twelfth loss for the Jaguars as the nail in the coffin? Sometimes, when you see someone struggle and suffer for so long, when it’s all over there is a sense of relief. This Sunday, the mighty Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-16.
This was the first game for the Jaguars without Urban Meyer as their head coach. Would they respond with Urban back at the bar with OSU alumni? Would Dabo Swinney just buy a ticket and give signals to Trevor Lawrence for old times’ sake? NO!
The Jaguars entered week fifteen with what experts may call, “zero chance of making the playoffs.” Despite that, this week’s game was billed more as a franchise rebirth as they worked out their dirty laundry. Next move, post some thirst trap videos on the Gram.
Trevor Lawrence has been compared to the likes of Peyton Manning. Aside from abnormal foreheads, that is where the comparison ends. Lawrence to date has 9 touchdowns and 14 picks. He was clean against the Texans with zero interceptions but still no passing touchdowns, giving him two touchdowns and six picks since the calendar flipped to November. When a third-round QB is going toe-to-toe with the #1 overall pick, that is more deflating than your coach not flying back with the team.
James Robinson supplied Jacksonville’s lone touchdown. You know, the running back that Lawrence said needs to be on the field. Lawrence really only successfully aired it out twice all game. Once to his tight end, James O’Shaughnessy, for thirty yards and Laviska Shenault for twenty-one yards. Say what you will about the other hot mess in the Houston Texans, but their defense can show up. They rushed Lawrence and knocked him down or sacked him seven times during the game. The NFL should have never exiled Lovie Smith to coach at the University of Illinois.
The football public has its eyes constantly on the Jacksonville offense, as they should, with a stud prospect at quarterback. The defense is sliding by with anonymity while all scrutiny is falling on the lack of offense. We heard earlier this year Aaron Rodgers tell Bears fans, “I still own you!” Well, Brandin Cooks owns the Jags. This guy is money in the bank when he lines up against the Jaguars. This time, he put up two TDs on 102 yards and seven receptions. In five of the last six games they played, Cooks was over 100 yards. Maybe someone in Jacksonville can watch some game tape?
There is so much hope and potential in this iteration of the Jacksonville rebuild. The expression says: when you’re at the bottom there’s nowhere to go but up. True. Except in Jacksonville. This franchise will likely forever be chasing its own tail.
Do you want more 2021 NFL discussion? Then check out these links!
Discord!
Podcast!
Patreon!
Twitch!
By Tennessee Titans – YouTube: Malcolm Butler's Big Plays vs. the Jaguars | Beneath the Surface – View/save archived versions on archive.org and archive.today, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=101901713
