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Touchdown Jaguars!
Touchdown Jaguars!
Episode 128: Jaguars/Raiders Week 9 Analysis - Jags Earn a Gritty Win in LV + Land Meyers
We gut out a 30–29 overtime win in Las Vegas, then break down why the Jakobi Myers trade fits our offense and our moment. A record 68-yard field goal lifts the locker room, the run game returns, and Trevor Lawrence settles in after a brutal mistake.
The specific talking points that were discussed included:
• Why a fourth and sixth for Jacoby Myers solves several issues
• The plan for Meyers this season
• Trevor Lawrence's reset after the interception and red-zone runs
• The return of a run-first identity to steady tempo
• Cam Little’s 68-yard record and confidence swing
• Injuries across WR, OL, TE, and defense and how depth responded
• Playoff math after a must-win West Coast game
• What the GM’s aggression signals at the deadline
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James Johnson and Phil Barrera bring you the best and most up to date Jacksonville Jaguars news. "Touchdown Jaguars!" is a tribute to the prospective ownership group "Touchdown Jacksonville!" In 1991, the NFL announced plans to add two expansion teams and "Touchdown Jacksonville!" announced its bid for a team, and Jacksonville was ultimately chosen as one of five finalists. In November 1993, the NFL owners voted 26–2 in favor of awarding the 30th franchise to Jacksonville. James and Phil have been fans of the franchise ever since and have had the honor (and sometimes dishonor) of covering the team professionally since 2017. The rest as they say, is history.
Welcome to the Touchdown Jaguars Podcast. Here are your hosts, James Johnson and Phil Smith.
SPEAKER_00:What's good, good people, what's good. It is your boy James Johnson here, one half of your host and panel of the Touchdown Jaguars podcast for episode 128, if I'm not mistaken. Let me check the list here. Yeah, 128 here. Um, as we are coming off a victory here. The Jacksonville Jaguars were able to handle business against the Las Vegas Raiders. It's so hard to get that instilled in my brain saying Las Vegas Raiders. I want to say Oakland every time, but we were able to go over down the West Coast, get another West Coast win, y'all. Um, by a score of 30 to 29. A gritty battle. Um, but nonetheless, we got it done in overtime. And, you know, we went into that game understanding that it was a must-win. And um, granted, the circumstances, it don't really matter how we won it. I think the key is that we just knew that we needed to win it. And if we could win that game heading forward, that would open up a realm of opportunities in terms of um you know making it to the playoffs in the postseason. Um, so we'll talk about that in just a little bit here. Um, but yeah, I will be riding this one solo dolo, as Phil had some obligations to take care of with his other project, the Wait for It podcast. Shoutouts to Phil Barrera and the Wait For It Podcast. Shoutouts to his co-host, um Eric Cerna as well. That's their 50-50 operation, much like this operation is a 50-50 operation over here with me and Phil. But shout outs to them. They stream every Wednesday, I think it is, Wednesday night on Twitch, some kind of video game content. They just choose random games in which they um they stream. So feel free to check that out. And I might be getting in the streaming game myself soon. You know, I know you all seen the tech and clips I post. I'm I'm kind of okay at the game, if you will. Ranked within the top 2,000 in in score, uh, in ranked scores. So, you know, I'm kind of okay in it. Uh, don't want don't mean to toot my own horn, but um, I digress from my point. Just stay tuned for that news down the road in terms of me getting in the streaming game too. I'll put it on Twitter. Um, but this nonetheless is a football podcast, so we won't even go down that road too much. But do feel free to follow the Wait Forward podcast on Twitch, on Twitter, so on and so forth, and show Phil and Eric some love, all right? But reeling it back all in, getting back to the gridiron here. Not only are the Jacksonville Jaguars coming off of a um big time win, um, in which they had to go into overtime with the Raiders um four, and it's it's just so hard to say the Las Vegas Raiders. I want to say Oakland each time, but um the Las Vegas Raiders, um, you know, they fought hard. Uh, they are a team that, you know, only two wins. So, you know, the desperation was going to be there, and you know, it really showed. And uh, they fought tooth and nail with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the Jacksonville Jaguars were able to make just one more play thanks to Devon Hamilton at the end of the game, who we'll talk about a little bit as well, probably down the road in this podcast. But um, the Jaguars were able to make that one play more than them at the end of the game, and the rest is history. But even with the victory, the trade deadline followed. So, of course, there was the potential for some more exciting news past the win as well, and James Gladstone did not disappoint us in that regard either. Well, you know what, he may have disappointed some people because maybe he wasn't as active as some people think he should have been, and we'll talk about that in the details on that as well. Um, on the surface, at least, it looked that way, but it looks like they had interest in more than they acquired. We'll talk about that as well. But they were able to acquire a very popular name within the Jaguars community and Jacoby Myers, a wide receiver. So we'll talk about that trade and what it means for the Jacksonville Jaguars. But one of the bigger trades of not just Jaguars history, but one of the bigger trades of um this past deadline of the 2025 deadline. Um, I mean, they weren't as active as like the Jets and the Cowboys and didn't make as big a moves as them and the Colts as well. We I guess we got to kind of talk about that too. But still a big trade because the Jacksonville Jaguars are not only getting a player that people were high on in the Jacksonville community, um, but also they are getting somebody who helps them in a lot of areas where they are weak at, not just because of injury, but in terms of the technical aspect that he'll bring into that wide receiver room and the leadership he'll bring in the experience. So we'll talk about that today as we have an action-packed episode. And I I say this all the time. I I hope to not make this one a long one, which is kind of good that Phil is not here because it's more than enough to talk about for my uh just for me as a solo podcaster. But just imagine if he was here, we'd really be rambling and going off. But I hope to keep this one as close to 30 minutes as I can. That never works out. We'll see if I can. And um, all of that said, let's get right into it. But before we get into it, actually, of course, we got to plug all our handles and all of the information that you all need to stay connected with the Touchdown Jaguars podcast, your go-to podcast for the latest in Jacksonville Jaguars news. You can find our podcast in terms of platforms on any of the major platforms out there. And if we aren't on your favorite platform, let us know and we'll do our best to get on there. But we are on the notable ones like iTunes, aka Apple Podcast, Spotify. We also have a website, touchdownjad wars.com, where the archived episodes go as well in written content. Um, when we are able to write content, it's been a while since we've done that. Uh, but it is there for you all. You can follow me on Twitter at sportsgrind underscore done Phil at Phil the Filipino. And you can follow the Touchdown Jaguars podcast handle on Twitter as TD Jags Pod. Also, feel free to use our promotion code Touchdown Jaguars with SeatGeek, your go-to place for your ticketing needs, whether it's in the sports realm, concert realm, whatever the case may be, whatever event you need tickets for. You can save yourself$20 on your first order by using our promotion code TouchdownJAGWars on SeatGeek, whether that's on the app or the website. Pay them a visit, see what kind of deal you could get. Use our code to save yourself some money and uh put that towards gas or snacks or whatever the case may be in this day and age of uh overly priced things, right? Okay, so getting right into the thick of things here. The Jacksonville Jaguars, uh, we'll get into the game last in this uh two-part segment. Uh, we'll start with the trade because that's the most recent news. But the Jacksonville Jaguars and James Gladstone and and what a difference a change in GM makes, right? Because around this time, you know, we'd be dealing with a stingy Trent Balkey who wouldn't want to give up a fourth-round pick for something that could turn the team around, right? But that's not the case anymore. Um, not to dance on Trent Balkey's grave. We have a GM here who is always not just on the trade deadline, not just, you know, after the 52-man roster was first constructed, but is always looking, and he has said this himself, always looking for a way to improve the roster. And he did that in a big way in terms of landing. Jacoby Myers, who they just saw literally on Sunday playing across the field from them and got a up-close and personal look at, and probably even got an up-close and personal look at um in terms of the pregame process when all of the executives are on the field and whatnot and what have you. But I have the Jaguars PR release pulled up here as they agreed to terms to um receive Las Vegas Raiders or former Las Vegas Raiders receiver Jacoby Myers, who entered the league in what was it, 2019 as an undrafted player with the New England Patriots. And they will be sending a fourth and a sixth round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for him. So first we'll start there with the compensation. Um, while Myers is on the last year of his deal, um, to me, a fourth and a six isn't too much to give up, um, especially when considering how many draft picks the Jaguars had and just how bad off they were at receiver. Um, not just because of just underperforming there, but injuries as well. Um, and also to we'll talk about this in a little bit, but um, they're also getting uh, which is kind of rare for a wide receiver, they're getting a a player in Myers who uh could probably hit the ground running here with the Jacksonville Jaguars, despite how difficult it is to do that at the wide receiver position after just being traded to a team. Now, Liam Cohen um talked about him, I think it was today, on Wednesday, in the press conference, um, saying that, you know, in this scheme, in his scheme specifically, the outside the boundary receivers um it's pretty clear-cut and dry what they have to do in their assignments, or it's a little bit easier to understand their assignments as opposed to you know your slot receiver. Um, so while Myers is a very good slot receiver, it sounds like the plan is to use him on the perimeter because you know, he's just getting here and it's a lot to learn. And um, you know, you you kind of want to hit the ground running with him. So it sounds like that's gonna be the plan first and foremost with him. And he said that Parker Washington will handle things in the interior. And and by the way, Parker Washington, we'll talk about this, had a great game, man. He looked phenomenal out there, just holding it down while, you know, we were dealing with injuries, and we were just kind of undermanned, if you will, um, at the wide receiver position. So there's that in terms of how they'll use him. But Jacoby Myers entered the league 2019 with the New England Patriots as an undrafted player. He went to the University of North Carolina State. So he was with the Wolfpack uh from Lithonia, Georgia, um, at the Atlanta area. So he'll be close to home. He he's got to be excited about that. Uh and left his collegiate career with the Wolf Pack with a total of 168 receptions for 100 for excuse me, 1,932 yards and nine touchdowns. After entering the draft in 2019, he remained with the Patriots as an undrafted player from 2019 to 2022. He joined the Raiders in free agency in 2023 and totaled a career total of 426 receptions for 4,944 yards and 20 touchdowns in 98 games at 76 starts. His career highs came at uh the or during the 2024 season, where he had 87 receptions with the Raiders for 1,027 yards. That is the only time he's registered 1,000 yards, if I'm not mistaken, and four touchdown receptions. Now, in terms of what he brings to the table, he had his first practice with the team. So he's getting acclimated with the team that he was quote unquote just talking crazy to on the opposite side with the Raiders on Sunday. Now he has to get acclimated with the guys he was talking crazy with. But that's the league, you know, and you know, they can all put that past him. Of course, it's it's easy to do that when you're you're fighting for the same cause, right? And of course, mo emotions are high, especially in a game of that magnitude. So, you know, I doubt it's any love lost. But he had his first practice with the team. And in terms of my thoughts on the trade and what he brings to the equation, as I already mentioned, uh, the compensation don't really bother me. Um, even though the Jaguars have scored, not necessarily in the fourth round, to my recollection, but they have scored some um or picked up some some notable players in the sixth round. Um, I think what Cam Little was one of them. We'll talk about him later. And Parker Washington, I think, was one, um, if I'm not mistaken. Um, but still, nonetheless, it's not a big deal to give up a late round pick when considering how banged up they were, and you know, what other options there would have been right out there to get, right? You got practice squad guys, of course, who who stepped up big for us, by the way. We'll talk about that too. Uh, a lot to talk about here. Um, you know, you got practice squad guys, and then you got the guys you could have gotten off the street. How many of those guys are better than Jacoby Myers? Although he does have to learn the system, right? Who brings this physical skill set that he has and the ability and the experience that he has and the stats and the statistics and the accomplishments, right, that he brings to the table? Not many. You sure aren't gonna get that out of a rookie that you would have, you know, used your sixth-round pick on or your fourth round pick on. You know, chances are he is gonna be way better than anything you could have gotten in those two rounds. So there's that which I already discussed. From a talent standpoint, I love the trade for many reasons, and I I even watched a full game of him. I think it was against the Broncos or the Chiefs last year, and I watched a lot of highlights from him as well. But Myers, even though, you know, they already said they won't probably use him in the slot as much as people are hoping for out of the gate, at least. Um, you know, he's a guy that really will help this team in terms of those interior patterns and those interior routes that um can help get Trevor Lawrence going. If y'all can remember when Brenton Strange was healthy and he was, you know, hopefully we get him back, but when he was a part of this offense, Trevor went to him in the middle of the offense a lot, you know, for these interior patterns and stuff like that. But the injury came and, you know, that sidelined him for a little bit. But that's kind of one of the things that I believe will help get Trevor going and you know would have helped him to have a better season than he's having if he had strange is that big target um to hit for short routes in the middle of the field. So Myers does help with that, whether it's now or later down the road, if they re-sign him and bring him back, whatever the case may be, he does give Trevor Lawrence that type of target um in the interior of the field. And we've seen how Brian Thomas looks when he has to go across the middle, right? So there's that, and it, you know, it hasn't been pretty, right? You know, and here we are having second thoughts. I've even said it as go as far as you know, trading the young man. They didn't, and um, it's probably for the better that they didn't when you look at the condition of their uh wide receiver room in the first place. And you know, the talent is there, but at the same time, some of the things that you can't coach kind of scare me with him. But you know, you never know, man. Like we might get the old Brian Thomas uh back, and I'll just have to eat my words, and I would love to, right? Because I love what I saw from him last year. I would love to eat my words on Trade Brian Thomas Jr. And I'm hoping he proves me wrong and a bunch of other people wrong. But in terms of helping his team in the middle of the field, he hasn't done that very much. Um, of course, there was the the big catch against the Texans, right? But aside from that, you know, it's been shaky. It's been shaky. Um, but all of that said, Myers really helps in that regard. Um, and he also just gives Trevor Lawrence not just an easy target to hit in the middle of the field, but in general. Because Myers, one thing about him that I notice is he adjusts to balls well. Um, pause, by the way, but he adjusts to um the quarterback's throws well, regardless as to if it's a little off or not. And we're talking about a guy who also has kind of seen success with just like a kind of a revolving doorhead quarterback, right? It was one game, I think, yeah, that I watched where Minshew was, you know, the quarterback, and then they had to bring in Minshew's backup um because Minshew, I think, was replacing O'Connell, who was hurt, and then Minshew's backup had to come in who was um I'm the name is escaping me right now. It was the kid that the the Falcons drafted, uh Desmond Ritter. That's it. Desmond Ritter had to come in. And um, I think he got a few passes out there that Jacoby caught. So um he in that regard, he kind of reminds me, not saying they're the same receiver, but of a DeAndre Hopkins, of like regardless of who the quarterback was for the Texans. It was one time where the Texans went through like three quarterbacks, right? It was like Watson, Yates, and somebody else, and and Nook Hopkins was going off with whoever was back there, right? He kind of reminds me of Nook in that regard, and I think he won't have a hard time adjusting to Trevor Lawrence after just adjusting to all of the the quarterbacks that he dealt with with the Raiders, and even before that in New England, right? Cam Newton was one of them. Then it went from him to Mac Jones. So this guy's not somebody who hasn't seen his share of different quarterbacks and and different types of uh passes thrown to him and different passing speeds and so on and so forth. So I think that's one of the reasons he'll hit the ground running is because he just has shown his ability to adjust to you know whoever is back there uh pulling the trigger. And yeah, he makes all of the adjustments you like to see. Um it was one time where he adjusted well to a Minshew back shoulder throw, right? Then he went from that to adjusting later in the year when I was watching some more highlights, adjusting to O'Connell's throws. Who it looks like he throws a little bit of uh a stronger pass than Minshew. Um, it was one where I forgot the the Chiefs corner that uh that was guarding him or that was covering him, but um O'Connell had to throw the ball behind the the cornerback on an outbreaking route, and Myers had to adapt to it because normally, you know, those passes go closer to the sideline as opposed to the opposite. And Myers adapted to it, caught the ball, and it was, you know, one of the um more impressive catches that he had that year, right? But that just kind of just goes to show you that you know, if if it's a day where Trevor's off, he has the ability to adapt to you know whatever kind of passes are thrown his way. And um also his hands, man, which Gladstone mentioned, right? He has um pretty good hands, and uh, I think Daniel Griffiths even put out a tweet about um his drop percentage, which was lower than everybody. Uh maybe aside from Travis Hunter, I'll pull that up. Give me one second here. Yeah, so um shout outs to Daniel D. Griffiths. He has um the catch percentages for the Jaguars top receivers, um, or excuse me, the drop percentage. Brian Thomas Jr., 18.9. That's putrid, but you know, um, we we don't want to kick the man while he's down, but you know, that just kind of is the story of his 2025 season. Deami Brown, 17.4% drop rate, which isn't great at all. Parker Washington, uh 13.8, who seems to be getting better with his hands as the season progresses, but that's you know, double figures there. Travis Hunter, 6.7% drop rate, and Jacoby Myers actually has a lower one than Travis Hunter, 5.7. So reliable hands, James Gladstone, as I mentioned, pointed that out as well. So it helps in that regard because the Jaguars have led the league in drops for the last two years or so, and we're just tired of seeing drop passes, and uh, you know, he uh could be a shot in the arm and fixing that or getting better results there and putting us in a position where we're not leading the league there or are you know making a good bit of improvement on that number, which you don't like to be atop the league in. All right, and also to the size, um, which I kind of already mentioned. I said he's a big target, but uh yeah, we got a young man here who is 6'2, 193 pounds. So, you know, um he should be able to um take all of the contact that you would take as a um a guy that might catch some interior passes. Um the height is where you would like, especially for a guy that plays a lot in the slot, you know. Um that's that's pretty tall for a slot guy. He's kind of a little bigger than um your prototypical slot guy. Uh, maybe that's why he's had so much success there. But all around, man, just love the trade. I love the Jaguars thought process, right, of understanding that they needed to make a move there. Trent Balkey, you know, he would have had some half, you know what, attempt at maybe fixing a big need that the team would have right now. But he wouldn't have the stomach or he wouldn't have the wherewithal to package the picks together and and pull the trigger, right? He'd be trying to basically lowball whoever it was um that he was trying to trade with. And um, yeah, shoutouts to Gladstone for that. That's just a breath of fresh air, as I mentioned earlier. Um, them just understanding that they need somebody that's a reliable target with better hands and just knowing the gravity of how beat up the the wide receiving core was. Trent Balkey would have probably been trying to just make the make up the difference with everybody in practice squad, right? Which a lot of times they don't go according to plan, even though our guys on practice squad did step up. But um, you know, Balkey would have been trying to send four practice squad guys out there to get through a game. Like, no. But in addition to that, um, it was also reported by David Schultz or um Jordan Schultz, I'm sorry, from Bleacher Report that the Jacksonville Jaguars were one of those teams who were like heavy in pursuit of Quentin Williams, right? And um, that didn't go through ultimately because the Dallas Cowboys gave up a first round pick for him. They had two. Um, so they got in the way of that. Thanks a lot. Dallas Fields second team, by the way. Great job on their part, right? But um just the mindset of Gladstone trying to make a trade that big, right? Understanding, you know, how bad off they are um in the interior in terms of not necessarily injuries, but they're just not getting any push there, right? They they need that guy to get some push there. And Williams is one of those guys that I mentioned, like that I would like to land, but I just didn't want to give up what it may take. Because we, you know, we're already we've already given up our first round pick for for Hunter. And then if you, you know, if it came to it, I would have been okay now with giving up the second round pick that we have uh to acquire Williams. Because, like, who are you gonna get in the second round that has the skill set that he does? And I think he has more than one year left on this deal. But in this scenario, that wouldn't have been enough because again, the Cowboys came in and they had a better deal. They offered a first round pick, and I think more. So you can only give Gladstone props for trying, like, he can't give them a first-round pick that we don't have, right? Like, and Dallas certainly probably didn't want the 2026 for first round pick. That's too far out, right? Like, they probably wanted something immediately, uh, but or immediate, but nonetheless, um, shout outs to James Gladstone as he he continues to um you know make moves and veer away from what we're accustomed to seeing and what we saw at the GM position for four years. All right, so now for the game itself, which was a nail biter, um, it got off to a real slow start. So the uh second quarter and the end result um look nothing like the first two quarters. But as I mentioned, the Jacksonville Jaguars acquired their fifth win of the season, surpassing their 2024 win total of four, um, putting them at a record of five and three. Acquired win number five. Um going against or after a game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Las Vegas, another West Coast win under Liam Cohen by a score of 30 to 29. And we'll go through the stats real quick here. Don't want to spend too much time on them, but I mean, then again, they are an important part of the game. Um, Trevor Lawrence um was 23 of 34 for 220 yards, and he had a pick, a very, very, very questionable and bone-headed pick that uh I don't have the words to get into, but we'll we'll talk about Trevor a little bit later. Um, because at the end of the day, he cleaned that up, did what had to be done. So um, yeah, shoutouts to Trevor Lawrence getting past that mistake. Um, we have here also Travis ETN led the way. We'll talk about the run game in general, but he led the way for the run game. 22 carries for 84 yards, had a 3.8 um average in terms of yards per carry. His stats probably don't speak about or or say enough about how much of an impact he was, but we'll talk about that a little bit. Beshall Tootin was right behind him, nine carries for 29 yards, had a 3.2 average, had one touchdown. Trevor Lawrence had nine carries for 24 yards for two touchdowns. So he helped the team a lot in that regard, in terms of making up for his pick. Parker Washington led the way or for the receiver's core, eight receptions for 80 yards, or excuse me, 90. I need glasses. Um, but yeah, he led the way for that group as um Brian Thomas uh was dealing with a little bit of an injury towards the end. He had three receptions, and that was good for 55 yards. He was second on the team in receiving, but they leaned on the run game here in this game. Um, shout outs to Cam Little, who um was three for three on field goals, and he hit one of those for the league record, ladies and gentlemen. We got um Cam Little will be probably um enshrined or acknowledged in some way, shape, or form at Canton for his 68-yard kick lead high. Um, got the NFL record. They're probably gonna ask him to send his jersey that way or whatever the case may be. I think they did that for the one that he kicked in the preseason, which was actually longer. So, Cam Little, you know, getting the Jaguars name and the Jaguars logo and Jaguars memorabilia into Canton, at least temporarily. He might send some more memorabilia there down the road in terms of surpassing his own record. We'll see and time will tell. But um, he, you know, got over a rocky season, you Know with this game or through this game, and hopefully that consent continues. But he was three of three, 100% on his kicks. So, yep, that's um the biggest contribution on special teams on defense. Um, Foyer Lewickin led the way in tackles, had 11 total tackles, had one for loss and had one pass breakup. Jarian Jones was um right behind him with 10 tackles. In regards to sacks, um Emmanuel Ogba had a half a sack. Josh Hines Allen had a sack and a half, which he got late in the game in the fourth quarter and then in overtime. Um so yeah, he what I believe he tied the record in terms of um Jacksonville players in terms of sacks. So um I think in the next game he should be able to surpass that. Let's hope he can get to the quarterback better than he has been. And then on the Raiders side, we'll go through that briefly. Um Geno Smith, 29 of 39, had 284 passing yards uh through four touchdowns and one pick in terms of the run game. Um, they didn't get much going there, but Ashton Genty, uh Jacksonville Native, uh had 13 carries for 42 yards, a good for a 3.2 yard average. Um, they didn't get any touchdowns through the run game. Um, Brock Bowers, man, what a task he was to cover in this game. And I would know personally, go dogs, by the way. Big Brock Bowers fan. Watched that kid since he was a freshman at Georgia, man, and even seen some of his high school stuff. Not the slightest bit surprised that he's becoming what he has become. But he had 12 receptions led the way for them receiving with 127 yards and three touchdowns. So three of Gino's four touchdown passes went to him. The other one went to Ashton Genty, um, who had five receptions. He was second on the team in that regard with 47 yards. I think that's a good place to start with the statistics for the game, and uh, we'll actually get into my takeaways here. And again, I want to make these um quick because I think I have hit the 30-minute mark. So um let's see if I could actually achieve that here. But um, I got four here. I might not speak on all of them, but I got four. The first one that I'll start with, and I have it in my notes here that this was simply a gritty win, as I mentioned earlier. It was a must-win because the rest of the division lost their games and it gave the Jacksonville Jaguars an opportunity to gain ground. And then even in regards to that wildcard race, I think the Chiefs got bumped down because of their loss to the Bills, if I'm not mistaken. And um that bumped them even out of the last wild card spot, at least for now. And the Jaguars hold that spot, but it was a must-win and it was a gritty win in regards to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They were already beat up coming into the game a little bit. They were without Devin Lloyd, right? Big time player form. They were without Travis Hunter. We didn't even talk about Travis Hunter. So much going on here. Travis Hunter has been placed on IR. Um, now the good news is as we got closer um to today, it was revealed that the injury might not hold him out as long as projected. So, you know, he could be looking at maybe, of course, four weeks because he's on IR. Um, but if more than four weeks, it it won't be much more than four weeks. At least it's sounded like right now. We'll monitor that as time goes on. But that was one of the talking points I didn't even get into. But Travis Hunter on IR put the Jaguars in a predicament where they were gonna be without the guy who they planned on being their number one coming out of the bye week. But of course, that's the game, right? Injuries happen, and you just have to adapt, right? And um, that is exactly what they did. They were able to etch out a gritty win here without him, without Devin Lloyd, without Brenton Strange coming into the game. And then when we got into the game, it felt like the the team just started dropping like flies at that point, man. And that's just kind of the nature of a physical game like that. You know, you kind of you're playing a Pete Carroll team, even though their record is, you know, one that just shows them having what, two wins, two and six. Um, but still, you know, Pete Carroll teams are gritty. They were coming off of bye-week two, right? Um, and you know, they're a hard-nosed team. They um they embody Pete Carroll and who he is. And I know a lot of people will argue that he needs to retire, but at the very least, you're gonna be facing the physical team anytime you face a team with Pete Carroll's name tied to it. But it felt like the Jaguars were dropping like flies, and they could have easily folded and lost this game like they would have in the past, especially granted the circumstances, it would have been easy to just tuck your tail and say, like, yeah, this one is not one we're gonna win, right? And that might be why the score was so close. A lot of people keep saying, like, yeah, we won, but we beat a bad team. But when looking at the circumstances of the condition that Jaguars roster was going into this game and even the condition they came out of the game where they lost even more people during the game, a 30 to 29 win looks a little bit more impressive than people want to give them credit for. And seeing all of these people were saying they beat a bad team. Yeah, they beat a bad team, and they were tremendously understaffed, if you will, right? They get into the game and they lose some more additions in addition to Brent Strange, in addition to Devin Lloyd, in addition to Travis Hunter. Um at some point, I think third quarter, Deomi Brown is out for a concussion. They lose Ezra Cleveland at some point in the game. So they they have to start putting Cole Van Lannon in, who was playing anyway, because they were rolling out jumbo packages. But now he has to step in at guard. Brian Thomas Jr. acquires a high ankle sprain. I think it was a high ankle sprain, but a low grade high ankle sprain. He acquires a high ankle sprain on his last reception, even though I think he did come in for a little bit, come back in for a little bit, but ankle sprains, especially high ones, even if it's a low grade one, isn't anything to play with, right? So they lost two of their three top receivers, really just leaving Parker Washington in terms of your most notable receivers. You lose one of your starting offensive linemen in Cleveland. Hunter Long also got hurt in the first or second quarter, too. Now he came back in, but uh he looked like he was in a world of pain when he got hurt. So you were kind of thin a lot of the game or a good portion of the game. You were thin at tight end, right? Which that's no easy task to get over. They also lost Jordan Lewis, a team captain, you know, probably arguably their best defensive player because Josh Hines Allen just kind of hasn't been what we've been accustomed to. And in his defense, you know, they need more interior push to help him. But they they lost Jordan Lewis, they lost a team captain, so they came out of this game banged up. And, you know, for them to even get to a point where they can send this game into overtime and then have the wherewithal to go into overtime without many of these players I mentioned, they were hurt at that point, if not all of them, and still find a way to win. That that shows the kind of character that this team has under Liam Cohen. Because again, as I mentioned, they would have folded. Um, had this been a Trent Balkey or a Doug Peterson team, they would have folded, they would have let the injuries get the best of them. It would have got to their heads, and they would have found a way to lose this game. But instead, they found a way to win it. That used to be the theme, right? They'll find a way to lose it. Well, they found a way to win this one. And uh, you got to give them props where props are due because they needed this one. They needed this one, absolutely, to gain ground on the division and um, you know, also stay um within reach of the wild card as well. And now we have a situation where the Colts have just one win or one loss more than the Jacksonville Jaguars. So um it helped them in that regard. Now, the second takeaway is with all of those injuries, and a lot of which I mentioned on the offensive side, some on the defensive side. Um, shoutouts to Trevor Lawrence, man, who threw a a pick that we all would rather forget, right? One of the worst picks we ever seen in a long time. And in his defense, he had been taking at the very least, despite his struggles throughout these last few weeks, he had at least been taking care of the ball. And then that happened, right? And it's like, oh my God. And, you know, I put out a tweet at halftime that it was time to step up, man. Right? It's it's basic concepts of the game that he's not getting. This is basically what I said in the tweet. And um, you know, they weren't gonna win the game without him, obviously. You know, he it was time for him to step up and lead this team, which was kind of flat. Thanks to Cam Little, you know, we went in the halftime with a with a shot in the arm. So they were kind of flat otherwise. And when you're making the money that he's making, and when you're the number one overall pick, um, that's when the eyes start to turn to you, especially when you're losing your like some of your best player or role players one by one by one. It's like, okay, well, this one is really gonna have to fall on you, Trevor Lawrence. And man, did he answer it, man? Because, you know, it's it's crazy because last week, right? I think it was last week or week before last, before we went into Dubai, you know, everybody uh rightfully was highly upset with Trevor. And um, I can remember even the uh the tweet that Wig put out for lockdown, Jack Wars. Shout out to Wig and the wonderful work that he does there, where he said, you know, he finds himself often saying, Show me something, Trevor, show me something. And I agree, like, not just him, like I do and other fans do, and Phil does, my co-host, and you know, all of my friends that are Jack Wars fans. We always find ourselves in this situation where, you know, we're we're looking for him to show us something. And this is coming from me, a Trevor Lawrence defender. And he answered that call, Wig. And ladies and gentlemen, now everybody that has been asking him to show us something, he did. You know, in that second half, he got going, he led this team like a leader should help to uh help them to acquire what. Um, and and you know, a lot of it you you could say was was helped by Tramble as well and his big time kick return, too. But in terms of the second, or excuse me, the third and fourth quarter, the Jacksonville Jaguars were able to put up 20 points, right? And you don't do that without your quarterback, obviously. And another key factor to that was Trav's Etienne. We'll talk about him in a little bit later. But Trevor, in terms of the passing game and connecting with especially Parker Washington, um, were also keys to the Jacksonville Jaguars, um, getting those 19 or um 20 points that they got in the second half when they really got going. Keep in mind they only had three, which was the Cam Little kick you know in the first two quarters. So um they really ignited from that kick and Trevor Lawrence um linking up with Parker Washington is a key reason that they were able to get going in that second half and even in halftime. So shout outs to him because that's what you like to see out of your quarterback. Again, a lot of people will throw out there, oh, well, it was against the Raiders and this, that, and the other. But again, keep in mind he's doing this while understaffed on the offensive side, losing Hunter Long, you know, a key part of the blocking game, and losing Ezra Cleveland eventually, and losing Brian Thomas eventually, and you losing Deomi Brown eventually. For him to be able to do that despite all of that, and remain focused and keep his head in the game, even it also, you know, he could have let that pick get to him too, in addition to all of these injuries. But remaining focused and having tunnel vision, focusing on the vision, making sure he could get the team through this all and through this rocky start, and you know, through this two-game stretch in which, you know, they lost the previous two games. For him to remain focused and come out at halftime and come out firing how he was was very impressive on his part. And, you know, it could be the start, especially with the addition of Jacoby Myers, now it could be the start of him trending upwards, right, and getting going and starting to look like you know, Trevor Lawrence looked in that um 20, what was it, 2022 season, uh Doug Peterson's first season, where he um caught fire after those first five, six games or so. So I'm excited about what he showed us against the Raiders. And going to my third takeaway, another key, which this helped Trevor as well. And um, they probably, you know, part of it was probably injuries, right? You know, you kind of had to go this way. But Liam, even before the injuries, though, in this game, Liam got back to his roots, running the ball, which I had said needed to be done. Um, like in that Rams game. A lot of people keep saying, like, they got away from the run in the Rams game because the game got out of hand. But you I could make the argument that in the third quarter that they could have ran the ball a little bit more in the third quarter of that Rams game. Like, they got away from it quicker than they should have, in my opinion. Like, I think they should have gotten to the run game at least to slow things down at the rate that the Rams were going, slow things down in that third quarter with the run game, and also give you your defense a breather instead of just going past happy at that point. Because I think it was, you know, the Rams were up 21 to zip or 21 to whatever the Jaguars had at that point. You need to slow the game down a little bit and limit those possessions the Rams would have had. And uh he got back to his roots to his credit. I digress from one point, and um, he was led by Travis Hunter in that run game, who had an impressive game, and then you got to be happy for Travis Hunter, man, who, or excuse me, Travis ETN, who um, you remember again, I I talk about this all the time. After the first game last year, he was kind of down and deflated, right? And here he is, man. Um, after that that Miami game that I'm talking about last year, man, being a leader for this team and leading the way, man. He looked like he had Maurice Jones drew in his body, the way he was running out there physically, right? And Leah mentioned this too. The physicality that he brought to the table really is something that ignited this team as well. And it's crazy because, you know, this is the first year we're kind of seeing that out of him, right? Uh, he was a little bit more of a finesse guy and a guy you see, you know, running routes and what have you, but he's lowering his shoulder. And you know, these times, you know, the times where he was, excuse me, having physical runs um under the Doug Peterson regime, it looks like he was just getting straight blasted out there. He would, you know, fall two yards back and what have you. Now he's the one running over people, right? It's the total opposite. And he's running well in between the tackles. And it looks like, you know, linebackers and and safeties and defensive backs, you know, they might want to strap their chin straps up a little bit tighter when when running up on Travis Etienne and trying to bring him down because he is a way more physical or much more physical runner than he was last year. And he's looking to hurt people this year, you know, and he still has those flashy elements to his game, too, as well. So he he hasn't lost that as well, but he's added a physical element to his game. And then, you know, there were some good runs again. Like, you know, nobody averaged over four yards a carry, but Basil Tootin has some good runs in there. He had the touchdown as well. Um, he had the one in in overtime as well for like 12 yards, and I think the Jaguars ran the ball like seven times in that overtime. Like, I think all of their plays, or many most of their plays were run plays in overtime, right? So they just flat out leaned on the physicality at that point, and they chewed up a good bit of clock in the process, too, as well. So, man, shout outs to getting back to the run game, man. Like, that's gonna be the key to getting us to the playoffs, especially in December. You got to run the ball well in December. And I'm glad, you know, that in the bye week they took the time to assess themselves and realize what they needed to do. You know, they they had to do it in a unique way, they had to bring out some jumbo packages and all of that. But, you know, the run game could come a little bit easier when we get Brenton Strange back. Um, hopefully we get some more guys back in terms of Hunter Long. He's on the injury report now, as I mentioned, got injured in the game, even though he returned. Uh Jacoby Myers, you know, gives you a good stall blocker, a nice size stall blocker. So there's that too. But yeah, man, just glad to see that element brought back to this offense and the physicality brought back to the offense. And lastly, um certainly not least, shout outs to Cam Little. That's my last takeaway. Um, overcoming just a rough patch that he had previously coming to this game. You know, you get the bye week, you get to rest your mind a little bit, get your mind right. And, you know, his um wherewithal was tested in a big way coming out of that bye week. Liam Cohen sends him on the field to kick a record high, a lead high, 68-yard kick. He nailed it. Of course, he had to have some low trajectory, but he nailed it and um had some some room to spare too. He could have hit that from 70. But um, as as Mark Slarent said in the the telecast, and you know what, while we're on it, man, I couldn't help but laugh at a lot of the um things Mark Slarenth was saying in the broadcast, and you know, the thoughts of the fans um in terms of what he was saying. He's never been a well-liked broadcaster anyway, right? Or um commentator. Um, but it was just funny to watch that unfold, man. And you know what? I I had a funny thought, man. And I want to know y'all's thoughts on this. Let us know in the comments or on Twitter or whatever the case may be. But I had a thought because I I saw how how unliked Slarent's commentating was during the game, but um I had this random thought of just asking you all as fans. It's it's kind of one of those joking things. But um, if you had to listen to Mark Slarenth and Chris Collinsworth for the rest of the season in a booth together, just so the Jaguars would make the postseason. And I'm sure all Jaguars fans will say, Yeah, I could do it. I could do it. But I want to know how hard of a task that would be just to see our beloved Jaguars in the postseason. Let me know how hard of a task that would be to hear both Mark Slayer and Chris Collinsworth in a booth together from this point to the end of the season. Jaguars are guaranteed a playoff spot if you can do it. Just let me know how difficult of a time you would have doing it for your beloved Jaguars. Real curious on that. But going back to Cam Little, who was three of three on his um field goals and made all of his extra points. Shout outs to him getting over that rough patch and you know, just answering the call and being tested to kick the league's longest field goal after that rough patch that he had come through or that he had been through, going out there with ice in his veins and nailing it, man. And I really love this for him and his relationship with Liam Cohen. Because when Liam mentioned in the bye week that we're not bringing in any competition, there were some people who said, I don't like that. You know, I don't like that, and it actually put a smile on my face. I totally agree with what Liam was thinking, even though I was one of the people saying I, you know, hit the panic button on him, but at the same time, I wasn't necessarily saying bringing in, bring in competition for Cam Little, right? I was saying I hit the panic button in regards to he needs to turn it on quickly before bringing in some competition. I wasn't at the point of bringing in competition, but you know, I you know, I was saying that I was getting there, but quite not there yet because of just how he's wired mentally. And I figured the kid would get over it because he he's kicked in these high-pressure atmospheres in the SEC. And he has the right mindset. He really does. And Liam even said it, the kid didn't he hadn't missed a kick in practice for three weeks. So, you know, I didn't know that at the time, but I did know that he probably wasn't having any issues in practice, and that, you know, it's just one of those things he was just gonna have to mentally get himself through. And that is absolutely the way to do it, right? Is hitting a record kick um for the league and you know, for your team. And also just at the moment that it that the kick arrived, right? The team was flat, they needed it, man. He ignited them, and they again, they you know, scored 20 points in regulation and then another seven in in overtime as a result of him igniting them and getting them going, and they went into the locker room on a high. So shout outs to him because he changed the outcome of the game. He was the the X factor of the game, and I'm glad that he's back, and um, you know, hopefully this continues head and forward, and um that you know we can continue to um make him the poster guy for the Jacksonville Jaguars, right? He's on all of their little um prowler ads for the prowler jerseys and what have you, man. But shout outs to him, man. And uh, yeah, I appreciate him proving me right in terms of just kind of my belief in him. And I mean, look, man, for him to kick the, you know, make the kick that he made, you know, and it being a record kick, that kind of proves that they absolutely should have, you know, that that's the reason, I guess I would say, when you look at his his kicking ability and his leg strength, that's absolutely the reason why Liam said we're not giving up on this kid, right? Is like he has the ability to be in the record books, right? You don't give up on that, right? And Liam, kudos to him for being a good coach and recognizing that. You don't give up on somebody with the leg strength and the leg talent and the accuracy that he has just because he went through a rough patch. And you know, this could be the not just the thing that ignited the Jaguar season, but this might be what ignites Cam Little's career to new heights. And you know, who knows? Later down the road, we're looking at a Pro Bowl kicker, maybe a Hall of Fame kicker, an all-pro kicker, who knows? But this will be the point where he looks back at and says, Hey, that was the turning point in my career. Shout out to Liam Cohen for getting me through it. So, all of that said, man, we will go ahead and wrap this one up. As I mentioned, you know where to find the podcast and our website, touchdownjads.com. Podcast is on all the major platforms. iTunes, SoundCloud, uh, not SoundCloud. Oh my god, I sound like I sound like the early 2000s here. Um, iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, you name it, Amazon Music, we're there. And if we aren't there, let us know. We'll get there. Of course, I am James Johnson. You can follow me at sportsground underscore done on Twitter. Follow my co-host, Phil Barrera at Phil the Filipino on Twitter as well. He'll be back joining me next week. And hopefully we'll be talking about our second consecutive win and a win against the Houston Texans. But it was a fun one, ladies and gentlemen. I absolutely enjoyed this one, and um, you know, hopefully uh we we take some momentum into the season heading forward, and we have many, many more um upbeat episodes like this one. But I am James Johnson. Until next time, you all take care of each other, look out for each other, and until next time, I am signing out of the way.
