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Touchdown Jaguars!
Touchdown Jaguars!
Episode 133: Colts/Jaguars Week 14 Analysis - The Streak Continues! Jags Take Sole Procession of First Place
We ride a convincing win over the Colts into first place and map out how Jacksonville can close the AFC South. Trevor Lawrence is finding his rhythm in Liam Coen’s scheme while the defense sets the tone with timely pressure and takeaways.
The specific topics we discussed this week are as follows:
• National media slight and why flying under the radar helps
• Lawrence's best all-around game and cleaner decision-making
• The elevation of the passing game through Meyers, BTJ, Patrick, and Strange
• O-line surge and the surprise that Cole Van Lanen has been at left tackle
• Defensive standouts in Devin Lloyd, Josh Hines-Allen and Greg Newsome
• Penalties as the biggest threat to seeding and playoff ceiling
• AFC South scenarios and why divisional games matter most
• Final four game expectations and likely record
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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. Hey everyone, welcome back to the Touchdown Jaguars Podcast. I am your co-host, Phil Barrera, and joining me on this Victory Monday is your other co-host, James Johnson and Jay, recording here on the evening of December 8th. And we are here to talk about your sole possession of first place, Jacksonville Jaguars. They left no questions remaining against Indianapolis here this past Sunday. And because of that, as mentioned, they currently sit atop the AFC South. Of course, a lot of games left, four more to go as we come down the stretch. One more matchup with Indy, and uh, you know, of course, another matchup against the lowly Tennessee Titans when it comes to divisional play. But some very important matchups here coming up to finish off the season, Jay, and in an attempt to hold off those red-hot Houston Texans. So uh Jay, it feels good. Uh remember again, right around this time. Who knows if we even let me go back, let's see, to December of last year. Did we even put out an episode? Okay, we did. Uh and it was after the Jaguars actually came off of a victory in um against Tennessee. So I think we won that game. Uh, but the week before was the uh, you know, the Aziz Al-Shair hit uh in here in Jacksonville um versus Houston. Uh by the way, Houston's uh Walter Payton Man of the Year for some reason. What a what a franchise, right? So anyway, Jay, but we're here to talk about the positives, and of course, that positive is the Jacksonville Jaguars are in first place.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, man. Um what a shot in the arm this game was. You know, we had it circled anyway, because for one, it's the Colts, of course. And then, you know, early in the season, things you know shaped up to be the Colts jumped ahead of everybody in the division, so that made us circle it even more. Um, we all knew the Colts' track record uh coming into Jacksonville. We, you know, we just discussed that last week. What was it? It's been a decade and now add another one to the Brooks um that they have um last been able to get a win in Jacksonville, at least I'm talking about the Colts here. Um, but yeah, man, uh just can't stress enough, man. I'm I'm glad you went back and looked at the archives too, by the way, of how much better it feels um at this point this year, as opposed to how we were feeling last year, you know, just having doubts about would this podcast exist? And you know, now man, the the whole, well, let Liam Cohen tell tell it. And he's he's actually right though, so I won't say that. But I was about to say the whole media realm is talking about us in a positive way. But now that I'm thinking about it, they're not. As a matter of fact, they're talking that they're I don't know, Phil. I want to ask you this. I want to start the podcast by asking this. It feels like with the success we had, and it's okay, you know, I don't want the praise and accolades, but uh with the success we had, it feels like everybody's dancing around the topic of us being a respectable team, right? They're talking about instead, you know, and and it is a big deal, Daniel Jones' injury, right? That's the big story, not that the Jags won, but Daniel Jones got hurt. That's the big story coming out of this one. And um, you know, the week before, who did we play? The Titans, you know, it was oh, they played the Titans, no big deal, you know, instead of making a big deal about us piling up, you know, what that was a third win in a row that we got. Like it feels like the Jaguars win streak is gone going under the radar, and they're really just talking about everything that has happened around the Jacksonville Jaguars as they have accumulated that win streak. Um, but again, that's okay, right? I don't I don't want to complain too much about it because I think we shine better when we are under the radar.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, 100%. They actually had just recently, I think it was last week heading into this weekend on uh first, not first take, because I don't watch that garbage. Uh get up, which is also sometimes pretty much usually garbage too. But they were talking about the NFC South, or I'm sorry, the AFC South in general, and they they only brought up Houston and Indy, and they didn't even mention Jacksonville at all, or the fact that again, like you mentioned, that they're on a win streak and that they've put things together here over the last few weeks with some really solid wins. But yeah, they didn't, they we weren't even a consideration, even though they were sitting mathematically in first place in the division. It was all about what happens with the Colts down the stretch and also uh can the Houston Texans catch up. Nobody had even considered that Jacksonville could end up winning the division and hosting a playoff game. Never came up. Um, you know, that that that's what Liam Cohen is is uh you know referencing. Like nobody cares. Uh nobody in the league, or especially networks, they don't want Jacksonville to succeed. Uh, yeah, it's a fun story for you know Monday Night Football to come here, they get a win over the char or over the the Chiefs, and now I'm sure that's going to be downplayed because the Chiefs' downfall is here. But yeah, nobody cares. And you know what? Like, like you said, that's perfectly fine for us to continue to fly under the radar. Uh, I think it was Josh Hines Allen or somebody in the locker room mentioning, you know, that's when they play best. So uh that is perfectly fine with me. I am at the point in my fandom where I don't want the acknowledgement, don't need it. I know what the fans feel, I know what the front office feels, and I know what that team feels, and it's reflecting on the uh on in their play right now.
SPEAKER_00:Right. Yeah, who needs to be the top topic of discussion on Git Up, right?
SPEAKER_03:Um I guarantee you Stephen A. Smith, outside of Trevor Lawrence, could not name one single Jacksonville Jaguar. He'd probably go on national TV right now and be like, well, it really depends on what Maurice Jones Drew does this weekend against Tennessee. Go play some more solitaire, whatever it is you do on your phone, man. Get out, get out of here.
SPEAKER_00:Right, right. Yeah, he'll bring up Fred Taylor and Mike Peterson, probably, you know. But um yeah, I mean, yeah, no, I just wanted to hear your thoughts on that. But yeah, to answer your initial question, man, good to be back and good to discuss this victory uh that we had on Sunday convincing victory. Uh prayers to Daniel Jones, by the way. Uh, you never like to see that, man. We talked about that too, man. Um while we like winning, you know what I'm saying? You don't, even if it's a divisional rival, Titans, Texans, whatever the case may be, uh, you don't like to see that because uh he put a lot of time and effort into um his craft, and um, you know, he he he ultimately put his career on the line. You know, we talked about that when he went out there. So prayers to him. And uh yeah, man, can't wait to talk about it. As always, y'all know where to find us. By the way, I'll do the little plugs real quick that I do. Uh, touchdownjads.com is the website. You can find the archived episodes on there. And um, you can follow me at sportsgrind underscore Don Phil at Phil the Filipino on Twitter, and I will leave the rest of the plugs up to Phil.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, of course. Uh just make sure you click the Link Tree link in the show notes of this in every single episode. Follow the show, follow Jay and I as he just mentioned, and then also make sure you use that promo code Touchdown Jaguars uh for your first purchase over on SeatGeek. Uh but yeah, Jay, let's jump into it here. We're gonna break down a little, of course, a little bit of the game, but also talk about the home stretch for the Jacksonville Jaguars here with these last four games, and also talk about the scenarios that could unfold um as far as what that may look like in terms of them clinching the division. Um, of course, the easiest way, you know, just a little spoiler, is to win out. Uh win out and you win the division. Uh, but there are a couple of other scenarios that can come to light as well. But yeah, uh Jacksonville uh wins, uh defeats the Indianapolis Colts once again here at home, 36-19 uh in a game that uh weather-wise looked very ugly. It was not a picture perfect day. And uh, yeah, as you mentioned, Jay, uh Daniel Jones went down early in this one. And uh what could be considered some sort of crazy curse for the city of Indianapolis? You had the Tyrese Halliburton injury uh in the NBA finals, you had the Caitlin Clark injury, and then now, I mean, Daniel Jones, of course, not in the same uh necessarily conversation as those two superstars, but a guy that was a really good story for the NFL, you know, coming back and maybe finding his new home in Indy and unfortunately going down with that torn Achilles, and it's almost Jay as if, you know, he already came in with the fibula, right? And that was on his left leg, I I believe. Um maybe that his right leg was overcompensating, and ultimately, you know, that's what happened. Those non-contact injuries are tough. And uh, you know, the Colts are reeling down the stretch. We have been in this situation. I certainly feel for Daniel Jones, the player, the person, but I do not feel bad for the Indianapolis Colts. We were in a similar free fall just a couple years ago, like we just talked about eight and three. We know how it goes. Uh now it is the the Colts' turn, uh, unfortunately for them. But fortunately for us, uh, the team looked great. Trevor Lawrence maybe played one of his most complete games of his career in, of course, what was the biggest game in Jaguar history. If you know, you know. Uh but he looked good, 17-30, 244 yards, two touchdowns. Travis Etienne also punched in two touchdowns. He ran with patience. The numbers may not be overwhelming. 20 carries, 74 yards. But Jay, when we uh when he had those opportunities to make big plays, he did so. Uh Brian Thomas Jr. had three catches, 87 yards, and a just beautiful one-handed grab over on the sideline. Uh Tim Patrick, five catches, 78 yards. And Jacoby Myers continued to be sure-handed. Another four catches, 39 yards, and another touchdown for him. Uh just a really great job overall. Uh defensively, the team looks solid. Uh holding Jonathan Taylor, 21 carries, 74 yards. He has still had a touchdown. Um, but uh, I mean, ultimately, um he had a touchdown early, but ultimately didn't really have too much of an impact. And then Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, they did what they could, but uh, you know, with Riley Leonard out there, uh, there just wasn't much for them to do and contribute to as the uh as the rookie came in and in a in an impossible situation, right, for him to come in and and try and play in uh on short notice, also in in in bad weather. So Jay, they left much like the win against Indianapolis. I mean, so I'm sorry, against Tennessee. Uh they didn't really leave anything up to chance, right? We know that this team's history against backup quarterbacks. That was not an issue here today against a backup as well as a rookie. So uh yeah, uh first takeaways from Jacksonville statement win over Indianapolis, and of course, taking a stranglehold on the uh taking the first place spot away from Indianapolis.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, man. Well, you know, you you go into this one a little nervous for the simple fact of um the street gives you confidence, right? But the part that made me nervous that it could be broken was the weather, right? It's like how are our receivers that already and to their credit, they've fixed this issue, especially since the addition of Jacoby Myers, but how have or or how will our receivers fare in this wet weather, right? Like will the drops come back? Um, will the yips come back? Will we get bad Trevor? You know, because the weather can affect the quarterback too as well. You know, they do um a lot of handling of the football as well, too. So that was the part that scared me. And I thought it was gonna probably be like low scoring, um, and that both teams would just rely on their run games and that they will rely on their defenses in this one. Um, but obviously, uh, you know, part of what probably changed the dynamic is the Daniel Jones situation, of course. That changed the trajectory of this game. And then also, too, there were points and times at the game where the rain wasn't as bad. So, like that gave them a little window to throw a little bit more. So, anyway, long story short, um overall impressed with what we were able to do. Now, I will say, man, that this conversation keeps coming up. The one con that we always keep coming to, I hate the penalties, man. I just hate the amount of penalties we garner because I know there's gonna come a time like we can't go into uh these playoff games, you know, and again, we'll say it, we'll speak it to into existence. We don't know what seed we'll be, but we'll speak it into existence. Um, but you can't be garnering like double-digit penalties in the playoffs, bro. You know, now again, there's not necessarily, as Phil has said, there's not necessarily a Tom Brady to deal with or you know, this um just this elite team like the Kansas City Chiefs of old, where penalties would really hurt you. Um, but still in playoff games, the margin of error is oftentimes, if you have a coach on the opposite side that knows what they're doing, the margin for error is oftentimes small. Now, we kind of got away with going in the hole against the Chargers back in the day, Phil. Um, but you gotta wonder like how many times you can do that in a playoff game and come out on top. And I think you know, penalties would put us in a similar situation that you might can't crawl out of. So I would like to see that at least, you know, these last four games, which we'll talk about, that dwindle down. Like if we start to get in the ballpark of seven or less, I could live with that, you know, at least for this team. I could live seven penalties or less. I'm gonna pull up the um the team stat here, as a matter of fact, because I'm curious as to how many we had, but I know we had like six going into the half. Um, so overall we got eight. So yeah, if we can get more close, I would say in that six penalty range to five penalty range, that would make me feel a lot more confident about us in terms of the playoffs, but we're not here to talk about the playoffs yet. We're here to talk about um how we dominated the Indianapolis Colts. It was a good old BTA. Um, I guess I will start to uh or I will start with Trevor Lawrence, who um most would argue had his best game of the year, right? You know, most would say I think you could put the um was it the charges game, Phil, where he he looked pretty solid too, I believe. If I'm not mistaken, I'm blanking out. Uh you can maybe put the charges one up there this year. But um in this game, man, like just pretty much through all four quarters, Trevor was, you know, hitting dimes, man. And um, you know, you especially like to see that in regards to now he's starting to link up with Brian Thomas Jr. more, or at least in more crucial situations. Um, but this is kind of again, just going back to Trevor, this is kind of what I alluded to, Phil, with the Liam Cohen scheme and like the Sean McVeigh scheme. And I was a little early in my prediction. You know, I said he would start to turn that corner around the London trip. But I I figured it would take him a while to start like getting comfortable, um, getting things down pat, you know, getting to a point where he's seeing eye to eye with Liam. And I love seeing the interaction between him and Liam, like, you know, high-fiving each other and body bumping and pause and all of that good stuff. You know how they do um on the sidelines um during, you know, their little moments of celebration. Um, but yeah, I I was a little early, but still glad to see him coming into his own, especially in a stretch where we need him to play his best because the Texans are still on our tail, man. And I watched that Chiefs game just and I've never been the one to root for Patrick Mahomes, but I watched that uh that Chiefs game and I was like, man, if y'all could ever do us one favor, this is the one. And they couldn't do it. The Chiefs do not look like themselves, man. I it is it feels like they body swap with us, bro. Right with the Chiefs. I don't know if you saw the Sunday night football game, not to get sidetracked and off topic here. But they were dropping passes like we were earlier in the year. Even Travis Kelsey was. And um that defense of the Texans ultimately was able to, you know, get it done. And Stroud made enough plays there. But um long story short, we need Trevor Lawrence playing like this so we can stay one up on the Texans because make no mistake about it, they are on our tails right now, and uh it's gonna come down to the wire in terms of winning the ALC South, it's gonna come down to the wire. You know, we're we're having conversations where it's like the Jags might have to win out, you know, or the Jags have uh one loss for error. You know, if if they're gonna get a loss, it's only one, and you know, maybe then they still might be able to win the AFC um championship or the ALC title. But yeah, man, I just love what I saw from Trevor Lawrence, man. He was throwing dots left and right. You even said that he looked like Clemson Trevor Lawrence in terms of not just uh throwing ability but mobility, right? He finally got the spin move right, which we were discussing. Normally he spins right into a defender this time. And as I explained, we you know, when we had that conversation of what he's trying to achieve, you're trying to misplace the the defensive end or whoever is coming off the edge. You're trying to misplace them by timing the spin right and making them take a poor angle. And that was what we saw in that particular play um to um uh uh Tim Patrick, he did it to perfection, right? And um hit him down in stride. Man, that was one of the best Trevor Lawrence throws I've seen. But um, not only that, man, but the BTJ throw where he caught it one-handed, which we got caught up in the one-handed element of it, but that was a really good throw. You can look at a lot of these throws and say Trevor Lawrence put together uh multiple um of his best throws of the year in this one game. It wasn't just one, like his top, you can say his top three throws of the year were in this game. And I like to see that because that means the accuracy is getting there, the timing is getting there, the comfort is getting there, and um, yeah, this is a huge development heading forward. Um, and you know, again, we're the Jaguars and he has to stay consistent, but this is a huge development heading forward because he is finally showing that consistency that we wanted, and he's doing it at the right time, and it could result in the Jacksonville Jaguars, you know, winning the AFC title when it's all said and done.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, we're seeing an elimination of those. Frustrations and the those frustrating decisions that we saw earlier in the season. And these are things that you had pointed out in terms of just getting comfortable with the playbook, uh, getting comfortable with the increase in um his responsibility in this offense. And uh that's all kind of clicking right now at the perfect time. Um, I believe I saw people discussing over on Twitter that this is about the time last year that Baker really started to take off in Liam Cohen's offense, and that's what we're seeing right now. Um also, you know, put in the play sheet. We're wearing the play sheet, Trevor, there on his wrist. You know, that has also seemed to have made a bit of a difference since the bye week. And, you know, we're seeing those things pay off tenfold. And Liam Cohen said it like he, you know, the Tennessee, I mean, the Houston game has ended up being something being good for them. Uh, it's uh obviously in the moment it was incredibly frustrating. That was probably the peak of the Trevor Lawrence frustration for myself as well. Um, and you know, look at them now as as we they are they're rolling and you know, into these last four games, you know, you're in a really, really good spot again to kind of control your own destiny. You don't want to be like some of these other teams where you're relying on others to uh when it comes to your playoff fate, right? That's not what you want to do. So um I think it's a uh it's it's obviously a really, really good sign. Umina Kimes was also over on Twitter talking about like, hey, has has Trevor figured this out? Like, was that his best game against Indy? Uh as far as that performance goes. And um, yeah, I mean, again, in the rain in a in an environment, in a high pressure environment, uh, again, went with uh a lot on the line. Uh he showed up and has continued to just show up to work. And I know I'm sure he hears the noise. I'm sure he hears people chattering about uh things uh, you know, that um that uh some of the decision making that he has made and the doubts that he's had throughout the season. Uh but look, I I even when I was doubting and I had been a little fed up with him earlier in the year, the only thing I wanted more was to be proven wrong. And I am so happy to be sitting here uh on again again December 8th and thinking, like, hey man, I probably was, you know, a little too quick to the trigger earlier this year. He seems to be growing up right before our eyes. Uh I mean, we're talking about year uh what four with him, which is insane. It feels like he's been here for a while. Uh, but you know, you know what? Three out of these four seasons, winning seasons, it's not an accident, man. That is not an accident. So I will still still continue to be very um critical of him, as I'm sure he is critical of himself. Uh, but I think what has really helped here over the last couple of weeks is like me accepting that Trevor Lawrence is what he is. We're gonna get performances like this from time to time, and there's also going to be some frustrations. But again, what seems to be happening is he's overcoming those mistakes. Um, but we ultimately, of course, would just like to eliminate them altogether. But I just don't think that's who Trevor is at this point in his career.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, no, yeah. It it would be good for our anxiety and blood pressure if he could do this the right way. Um, but you know, if he has to be comeback Trevor every time, you know, that that's fine. Um, we'll we'll just age a little quicker than we should, Phil, right? I guess which you know, um that's kind of a tough pill to swallow with with this team is aging a little bit quicker than we should. But um, yeah, I mean, and one thing you mentioned too, um the and you mentioned this last week too. He adds another one to his resume of high pressure situations, high pressure games, right? Where um he needed to have this one. And um, you know, between this one and the the game before that, where you know we beat the Titans. One thing I'm also starting to see is not just like uh uh a quarterback with a clutch gene, um, but a quarterback who's starting to understand the division more. You know what I'm saying? And that's what you like to, that's ultimately what gets you to the playoffs and Super Bowl and whatever the case may be, is uh these quarterbacks who know their division the best and take advantage of those division games as best as they can are the ones that have, you know, a lot of success. You know, like Lamar Jackson knows the Steelers, even though he lost to him this week. He knows the Steelers and the other teams in that division like the back of his hand. Josh Allen knows the teams in his division like the back of his hand, right? And um, you know, Trevor, to his credit, you know, this year, um, aside from uh maybe the Houston Games, he's fared well in the division. Uh still a lot of work to do in that regard. Um, in terms of my other thoughts on the game, um, I like the balance, man. It was it was a balanced attack. Like ETN didn't get over 100 yards, right? Um, no receiver got over 100 yards. Everybody, in terms of the the main contributors, were kind of even in play, right? ETN had 74 yards, BTJ had 87 yards, so they in that 70, 80 ballpark range. You know, the the pressure wasn't on uh anyone's shoulders too much, you know what I'm saying? Like everybody shared the load. Um, shout outs again. We already talked about this, but um, when it comes to the receiving game, man, just glad to see BTJ uh starting to get back to himself, which Phil mentioned last week as well, and we put that out in our clip. But um, it's good to see him getting back to himself, and and a lot of that is because Jacoby Myers is here helping him out and alleviating that pressure off of him. Um, but yeah, man, like what a game he had, even though it was just three catches, you know, this is something that can trickle into, you know, next week we're probably seeing, you know, who knows, four, five, six catches, and he hits the 100-yard mark. And we hit uh I hit the nail on the head again, Phil. Last week, I said it, man. BTJ is one of those receivers where if you throw him slot fades and fades all day, he'll catch those all day. But it's only when he has to go in the interior and he has to worry about being hit or a high level of concentration type of throw where you know you know you're gonna get hit after the the catch and you're probably not gonna be able to get yards after it. It's those kind of, you know, and those post-interior patterns, it's those kind of patterns that it kind of are an issue for BTJ. But when you let him do what he does best, and that's run up the field, streaking the down the field, nine routes, fade routes, whatever you want to call them, those type of routes, that's when he's his best. Now, look, he bobbled him a little bit too as well. Hey, still were able to still was able to get three catches on the day, three important catches, too, by the way. Um, and yeah, man, just glad to see him back. And kind of like you said last week, Phil, it really makes you excited about seeing this receiver score full strength. Remember, man, we didn't have Parker Washington, you know, and a lot of what Brian did was um you know fill in the role that Parker Washington filled for Brian when Brian was gone. You know, the chunk plays that Trevor Lawrence was able to get in Brian Thomas Jr.'s absence were from Parker Washington. And now that Parker Washington's gone, Brian stepped back to into his role and and filled it just fine. So I can't wait to get Parker back and um you know see how um he fares with Brian Thomas Jr. playing the way that he's playing, Jacoby Myers playing the way that he's playing, and Brenton Strange playing the way that he's uh playing as well. Uh so want to get your quick thoughts on the receiver score.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, man, and remember, um somebody somebody so eloquently put it on on Twitter. Uh, we're playing like this with a Ferrari in the garage, you know, like Travis Hunter isn't even part of this franchise, part of this team right now. He's out there rehabbing and hopefully it gets well soon. I tweeted out during the game, like, man, I wish he was part of this turnaround, man. I uh he would make this even more fun. So I hope he's out there rehabbing, uh spending good time with his family, you know, haven't heard much from him. Um he's always been a pretty low-key guy, though. So even though he is a larger than life personality, he's been pretty low-key when it comes to the football side of things. But yeah, man, uh, like you said, no Parker Washington yet. What do we want a good quarterback to do that's elevate uh, you know, average receivers? And I think Tim Patrick is an average receiver, but he's out here making, you know, sideline catches, touchdowns. He's finding uh, you know, Trevor is finding him open, and it has been uh it's been great to watch. Jacoby Myers has, you know, being able to free up the middle of the field and allowing BTGA to run in the outside like he's comfortable doing and maybe avoid those uh you know running across the middle, uh, has has worked wonders for this. It's crazy how all of a sudden the Trevor Lawrence hospital ball has disappeared, right? It's it's almost as if that was overblown, right? Uh so yeah, but like I said, it'll be really exciting to see this team when it gets back to full strength, the receiving core. And then, you know, we cannot understate if you're talking about MVPs when it comes to the offensive side of the season, you probably have to split it between Brendan Strange, Jacoby Myers, and probably Travis Etienne. Those three guys have been have meant so much to uh uh in terms of just making the game easier for Trevor, and it's paying off tenfold, and we're seeing it right in front of us, uh uh right in front of our eyes.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, man. Yeah, and um, before I get on the the defense, real quick, I don't want to overlook what they've contributed. The offensive line, man. The offensive line, they get overlooked often. And you know, I want to bring some attention to them because we were cooking them earlier in the year when Trevor got beat up in that game. I forgot which game it was, that Trevor got the living life beat out of him. So we'll circle around and give them their props too. When you look at the PFF scores that I put out um and the PFF grade, should I say, three of those top five spots were filled by offensive linemen. Um Robert Hainsey, uh 72.4, uh Cole Van Lannon, uh 77.5, and Ezra Cleveland, 78.6. They did a phenomenal job in this game in both pass protection and in um you know paving those run lanes for Travis Etienne and company. Um so yeah, just uh wanted to get your thoughts on them and especially want to get your thoughts too. This is a conversation that's coming up, Phil. And um this is this is a testament to the development of this coaching staff, and this is a pleasant surprise that we kind of didn't see. Well, it's no kind of in it. We didn't see this coming at all. But um Colvin Lannon, who has played four of the five offensive lineman spots this year because of injuries, um, a lot of people like how he looked at left tackle, and they're saying that you keep him there. When Walker Little clears the concussion protocol, don't put him back in that spot, let Cole keep that spot. I want to know your thoughts on uh Cole's versatility on the offensive line's performance in general, but Cole's versatility and your thought process uh should they keep him there or should they they let Walker Little return to that spot?
SPEAKER_03:They should not only let Walker Little not return to that spot, don't let him return to the locker room. I don't want to see Walker Little step onto the field ever again for Jacksonville. I just uh he's earlier in the year, you know, costing uh costing us games. Uh, you know, was the roll up on the ankle his fault back in 2022? Maybe not. I'm gonna blame him though. So I don't want to see Walker Little on the field at all. I want to see him on the sideline with a towel around his neck, clapping and enjoying the game from the sideline like the rest of us. I don't want to see, you know, if this is working and we're seeing results, and again, he is he's been upright, like I said in that Tennessee Titans game, he was clean for the most part. Uh, this game, of course, you know he had plenty of time to throw. We're seeing Trevor Lawrence have the time in the pocket that we haven't seen him have, like almost since he's ever been here. So if it's working, do not mess with that. And I'm sure the coaching staff is very well aware of the difference between when Walker Little has been in and when he has not been.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. Um, Phil, you make a good point there, man. These last so I looked it up on PFF the last three weeks. Um, and again, like the guys had to play all over the offensive line, but Arizona game, right? He played, they they registered her as a right tackle on PFF. He had a 70.5 against Tennessee. He had a 79.6. And then this game, as we mentioned, he had a 77.5, man. Um, he played guard or they registered him as a guard, right guard in the Tennessee game and left tackle um in his most recent game against the Colts. So the last three games, he's played right guard, right tackle, left tackle, and I'm sure he's played left guard for a little bit of time this year as well. When you just kind of look at how the injuries have piled up. Um, but yeah, man, like what a pleasant surprise that's been for our staff. That excites me for our staff to be able to elevate a backup, right? And get what they're getting out of him. He's having his best year, by the way, Phil. His PFF score overall for this year, his grade overall is a 76.6, well above anything he's ever registered in his career. I think his career best was a 62.3, I think. So, yeah, man. Um, that's exciting to see that the Jaguars might have another starting quality offensive lineman that they just found that that was a backup previously. That's an interesting development to uh going to head and forward or to monitor. And then lastly, of course, we got to look at the defensive side and give the defense their props, man. Um they were uh uh pretty effective in pressuring, even when Jones was there, they were pretty effective in pressuring him. Um Leonard, you know, and again, we'll wish energy uh injury on anybody, but Leonard um he got beat up a little bit too. And as a matter of fact, they're questioning if he might play this week because he's got a knee injury. Uh so there is that as well. Um, but yeah, overall good performance by the defense. Good to have Trayvon Walker back, by the way, even though um you know Stragal played a lot of snaps uh for him. I and I think they're trying to like slowly get Walker in there um and not just rush him in there in terms of just giving him a crazy amount of snaps right out of the gate. Um, but good to have him back. He showed up um in the run game for sure. Um, another young man that I, you know, we praised him last week, Phil. Another guy, and this is a testament to the coaching staff that showed up again, Antonio Johnson. Um every week we keep seeing this kid make plays when two, three weeks ago he was making plays in all of the wrong ways. As I said, again, stiff dorm, missing tackles, but now, man, he he looks like a totally different player. So shout outs to him. And um, yeah, just just overall, man. Um, I like what I saw out of the defense. Uh I just want to know your quick thoughts on their performance.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it looked good. And like you said, you know, or like I mentioned earlier, you know, we we we were able to avoid that um dreaded backup quarterback curse that we seem to have here in Jacksonville. Again, maybe a little bit easier against a rookie and Riley Leonard. But uh, you know, there are moments, especially I think towards the end of the first half, maybe third quarter, where like they were moving the ball pretty well. Uh but then the defense, you know, you know, kicked it into gear and and and stepped it up also with the help of maybe some some makeup calls and some penalties there. But uh, you know, the officiating crew was a whole different story for this game and talk about a mess. Uh but yeah, they they they played solid. Again, when this is a game where you wanted to make a statement, Josh Hines Allen did that. You know, the safety was big, of course, in terms of just continuing to uh build momentum towards a victory. And uh, you know, what do we always love to see? Complimentary football, and we're seeing that from all three phases. And again, this is without Parker Washington when it comes to the special teams side of things. So uh you can you want to continue to see them look good, some solid performances, of course, against two divisional opponents. You got a Jets team that's not very good. They're reeling, of course, right now, trying to figure out who they are. They're of course looking forward to next year as far as the the quarterback class. And uh you definitely don't want them to be to come in here and uh you know look like a competent offense. So I'm looking looking to that for them to continue this momentum as far as defensively as they head uh, you know, and not look too far ahead for that big time Broncos matchup where you got a quarterback in bonex, like who knows what version you're gonna get of him when it comes to that big game uh 4 p.m. slot over the uh on the 21st uh here in a couple of weeks. So continue to handle business and play consistently on but on all three phases. And uh, you know what, like I said, don't leave it up to chance. Do not let Houston get back into this thing uh because that I believe out of all three teams, they have the easiest strength of schedule remaining. So uh it's kind of all laid out there for Houston uh if Jacksonville falters.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, um one guy we did mention uh was Devin Lloyd. He had a good game as well. Um he led the team in terms of his PFF grade. Technically, Ventrell Miller did, technically, but Vim Trail only has 10 snaps. So like you like to go with the person, you know, the people who had like 20 snaps or more. So uh Devin Lloyd, you know, continuing to build his case to get um a new contract with us. Um what I think he's one of the top three graded linebackers on PFF right now. So he's playing like dude's playing at an all-pro level. Um, and what a shot in the arm that you know his interception was to start the game, right? These games, these division games, they're all about momentum and establishing momentum early. And I think Devin Lloyd was the first shot in the arm for us in this game with the pick he was able to get. Um, had to extend his arms a little bit, but yeah, man, he he has been on again. You know, we were his harshest critics, and I don't mind um saying that we were his harshest critics, but he has really turned it on. Um, as you said, Josh Allen finding himself, you know, he's looking like he getting up with 10 sacks. And we were questioning if he getting up with 10 sacks before the regular season, he might do it, bro. He might, I think he's at six or seven now, so we'll see. Time will tell. Um, you got others like Greg Newsome, who uh he was number four on the list of uh PFF grades. Uh, you like to see that trade acquisition helping. Um, we've talked about how much a trade acquisition has helped us in Jacoby Myers on the offensive side. Um, Greg Newsome can be a similar um presence on the defensive side if he continues to play as he has. I know he's been dealing with like a I think it was an ankle injury, but I think he's good now. He's getting there and it's starting to show. Um, he did get a pick that uh the refs uh screwed up. That definitely should have been the Colts ball. But hey, we've been screwed many, many times as Jazz fans. We won't uh be uh upset about that at all. So um shoutouts to the refs for giving Newsom uh and that's not to discredit Newsom, man. He he he played that that ball well, but it definitely should have been a Colt's possession. But uh yeah, shout outs to what he's done, man. But yeah, as you said, man, um they're playing at a uh at a higher level than they previously were, and uh that's that's good heading forward because again, you know, this last stretch, man, we got to finish strong and uh Um again the margin for error is very slim. And you know, if they can get back to and they they did a little bit of that in this game, getting those turnovers like they were earlier in the season. If they can close the season doing that, I like our chances to win ALC South. And, you know, who knows, man, maybe even get the number two seed again. I I don't even want the number one seed, bro. I don't want a week off. At best, give me the give me the two seed at best. And uh, you know, that'll that'll be more than fine with me in terms of how how happy I would be and satisfied I would be without a regular season.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, let's go over those uh those scenarios here really quick. Shout out to this tweet here uh earlier today. Uh Texas Texans reporter DJ uh Bien uh I mean I'm not sure how you pronounce uh your last name there, DJ. Sorry about that. Uh, but yeah, here is the playoff machine uh that or here is the scenario he plugged into the playoffs uh machine. Based on the schedule, uh there is a chance that the Jaguars and the Texans both finish 12 and five. Uh this is most likely how the division plays out if that happens. The Jags can lose to the Jets next week, but if they beat the Broncos, Colts, and the Titans, they will win the division. If the Jaguars beat the Jets but lose to the Broncos while beating the Colts and the Titans, Houston will win the AFC South. So of course, uh in the 12-5 situation, the Jaguars cannot lose either remaining divisional game. Of course, if the Jags, if the Jaguars do just win out, end up 13-4, uh, it's all said and done. Uh, they will be divisional champions. So a couple of different scenarios here that can happen. And just to recap here, the final four games again, home versus the Jets at Denver, at Indy for an uh for their second matchup there, and then finishing up at home against the Tennessee Titans, and uh, you know, which uh could be a very, very important game when it comes to deciding this whole thing. So, Jay, as we kind of wrap up this episode, what are you looking for uh here as far as these last few games? Um, I I really don't want to see them, of course, falter uh against the uh against the Jets team, they are clearly a better then. But the the Jets and the Broncos game, those are two games that um you know they could uh of course, outside of their division, they could, you know, kind of lose in one of those two games and still be in good shape to win the division. But how would you like to see this thing play out if you were to script it?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, um, I I still circle the Broncos one all the time, man. That's the one I keep coming back to as to um, and and that's not me overlooking the Jets, the Titans, and the Colts. But obviously the Colts lost Daniel Jones for the year. So that's again, that's why that one doesn't feel as scary as it once did. Um and they won't be playing for a playoff spot. You know, we were looking at a scenario where you know that Colts game, the second Colts game, would be pretty significant. Um, but you know, that may not be the case, at least for the Colts. So they might not, you know, um the heat might not be on for them because they at that point they probably would be out of it um if they continue down the path that they have where they're on a four-game losing streak, Phil. Um, I think it is. Again, that's not me, you know, discrediting the Colts and the Titans and um not even the Jets as well, but the Colts and the Titans, especially, those are divisional opponents. You still have to tread lightly with them because they know you so well. So you can't necessarily overlook them. But again, the one that I keep circling is that Denver Broncos game. And again, that one can ultimately decide if we, you know, talking about the two C, if we have a chance to reach the two C, that could get us there, right? Because the Broncos, I think they hold it. And I is it the Patriots that hold the number one seed right now, Phil in the AFC?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, Patriots and the one seed.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so that makes that game all that more important. Um, wish they would have flexed that out, by the way, the Broncos and Jazz game.
SPEAKER_03:But hey, they flexed uh New England and Baltimore.
SPEAKER_00:Makes sense. Yeah, when they saw us in the important game, it's like, nah, we ain't doing it, but that's okay. We don't want the spotlight um anyway. Um, but I think like the key um with these games heading forward is again, as you said, these are teams that we all should be. Aside, I I guess you can argue that the Broncos is they're on the same level as us, but the rest of them we should be. Again, going back to what I said earlier, what can make it dicey with the teams that we should beat is the penalties. Right? This is the time to clear those up. All right, because this is the time not only in the playoffs, if you reach the playoffs, but also at the end of the year, this is when penalties will hurt you the most, especially when you're fighting or you're up against divisional opponents, man. If they can stick to that again, that area of six, seven, or less penalties, they definitely should beat a lot of these teams that we're saying that they should beat, uh they should beat them by a good margin, you know. Um, and then again with that Broncos one, you know, it it depends on what quarterback we're getting on the other end, as you mentioned. Uh that's that's the question I think Sean Payton's asking, you know, like that's a question we've asked a lot of times too with Trevor Lawrence. But um I do feel good about us uh going at least three and one. Um finishing undefeated, I hesitate to say that. You know, even with this win against the Colts, um, I hesitate to say that because, you know, we are the Jaguars and we we do have the tendency to slip up a little bit. Uh but that being said, man, at the very I I think three and one is a reasonable expectation for fans to have at the very least. And if you're you're you're one of the people who's saying they can go undefeated, I certainly understand that. I do. Um, because you do again, the Broncos aren't that flashy on offense. Uh, but I again I want to see us go undefeated, but three and one is what I'll take if they could do that. And also along the way, I need to see those penalties cleared up. I want to see us go into the playoffs, not worried about penalties, because ultimately, when you're talking about penalties, what we're ultimately saying, Phil, is the Jaguars are their own worst enemy. Now, imagine if the Jaguars weren't their own worst enemy heading into the playoffs. We could start like I I had this conversation with my cousin, bro. We could start really kind of mentioning the Jaguars as a Super Bowl-esque team if they weren't their own worst enemy, but they are. So, you know, if they can eliminate the penalties, and by the time we get to the end of the regular season feel, y'all might have to shut me up about Super Bowl like uh conversations, literally. But again, we gotta we gotta get there first, and we'll see. In time will tell if they can they can fix that. Um, but it's just a nagging issue that just really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Like, we can't be dead last in penalties, bro. Like, we can't lead the league in penalties and keep like having high expectations in terms of when you play elite teams.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and and those types of things uh rear their ugly head at the worst possible time, too. So um, you know, you gotta hope that they do not continue to show up uh in opportune moments, but uh, you know, we will certainly see. Um, it's been, you know, we're 14 weeks into the season, and it's been uh something that they just have not been able to fix. And you yeah, like I said, you just gotta hope that it doesn't show up at the worst possible time, uh, which could be in the the postseason and ultimately end your season. So we certainly do not want that. Yeah, I I will also you know just echo, you know, don't necessarily see them going undefeated. You certainly, of course, if the if a loss is going to happen, you want it to happen in New York, you want it to happen to Denver, you do not want them to end up with a uh loss here in the division that could certainly really muck things up for them um in terms of this uh this Houston Texans team, which again is on a roll. Uh, some people at my day job were talking about, well, you know, those Houston uh or I'm sorry, the uh the Colts and the Titans game, those are in the bag. I'm like, man, you guys do not know how divisional games work. Like that is just not how it goes. We have played the role of spoiler, uh, you know, just a couple, what was it, just a couple decades ago, a couple, was it 10, 12 years ago, the Colts came in week 17. Uh, they looked like they were heading for the Super Bowl. The Jacksonville Jaguars exposed them as a team that could not stop the run, and they did not go to that Super Bowl, if I remember correctly, or they or they may have lost in the Super Bowl. That may have that may have been the year that they lost. I can't remember, but um, you know, this is not a time where you want to play around. So um, yeah, hopefully you get those things cleaned up and again take care of the games that you you should win just like they have done over the last couple of weeks. Uh anything else, Jay, you want to mention before we wrap up this episode and focus on uh next week, another big time matchup uh again, or another really important game. Again, even though the opponent, you know, has not uh has not had a the season they had hoped for, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_00:No, no, I just real quick, but when looking at these last games, Phil. You don't have to give me a score, but in a win and loss regard, how do you think this ends?
SPEAKER_03:I would say if I'm gonna if I'm gonna play it out, we we get a win against the Jets and then a close loss to Denver. Um and then and then winning the two divisional games to kind of wrap it up. Do they look pretty? Maybe not, but I do think that they're you know, with with with the focus that they have right now and the way things are going, I think that they could finish off Houston and Tennessee. Again, I'm not going to just completely say uh guarantee wins in those cases, but yeah, that's what I that's what I would say. We kind of circled the Broncos game as a loss earlier in the season. Um, but I guess we'll see because they you know they have a big game coming up against Green Bay. Um, you know, that could prove to be a loss for for Denver, and who knows? They could have a little bit of a slide here at the end, too. Packers, Jaguars, Chiefs, and Chargers. So they have four big games uh when it comes to Denver. One of those games is a primetime game against against Kansas City. Uh who knows? We'll we'll find out if they're ready for prime time. Um, but yeah, if if I had to circle one, it would be maybe a close loss to Denver. We always seem to play them pretty close, and it goes either way. So we'll I uh that's how I would see it play out.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, one thing we got going in our favor, man, we are like what 3-0 on the West Coast under Liam. And um they are the only AFC West team we haven't beat this year, so we can like sweep the AFC West. We beat the Chargers, we beat the Raiders, the other teams escape uh the Chiefs, yeah. Was it the Chiefs? Yeah, we beat the Chiefs. Um, so we have that going for us. Um and I mean I I hate to like echo uh your sentiments in terms of uh trying to make the show more interesting, but yeah, that's about what I see is a win against the Jets, um a close loss against Denver, and then the two divisional games are wins. Now, if the Jaguars are looking better in penalties and they don't hurt themselves, um, much like you know, you gotta kind of look at it as a similar lens to the Chiefs game when they didn't kill themselves with penalties, they were fine, you know, even though they had to win the game, you know, within the last two minutes. But um if they uh keep their penalties to a minimum, you know, six less penalties, they could beat Denver too. They can sweep this, you know, this last part of the schedule. But to be safe, uh I would say, yeah, uh win against the Jets, a close loss probably against Denver, and then um two wins in the division. Now, hey, that's not to say though that even with that loss to Denver, that I won't have high expectations for us in the playoffs either, though. You know what I'm saying? That loss to Denver don't mean that I don't feel like we can make some noise in the playoffs for sure. So I can see where we lose that Denver game, and then it could kind of it could kind of be a shot in the arm like that Houston loss was for us. And like that could be a point that makes the Jacksonville Jaguars not only finish the season strong, but like have a strong postseason as well.
SPEAKER_03:We will see how it plays out again. Hopefully Jacksonville just kind of you know makes it easy and just and just wins out. Just you know, just just do that and just win, baby. And we you know what there won't be any doubt heading into the postseason. Uh but yeah, guys, of course, if you want to make sure to keep if you want to keep up with everything happening with the Jaguars, make sure you follow us over on social media. Twitter is where we are the most active at T D Jaguars Pod. You can also find myself uh at Phil the Filipino as well as J at sportsgrind underscore Don. That's D-O-N. And uh yeah, we keep you up to date with everything Jaguar related all throughout the week and uh what's going on over there. Also make sure to give us five stars wherever you are listening, whichever podcast player that is very beneficial to the podcast. We thank you so much for those of you that have already done so and continue to use that promo code Touchdown Jaguars to receive$20 off your first uh SeatGeek purchase. So thank you guys so much again. But folks, that is my co-host, James Johnson. I am Phil Barrera. Enjoy your week as for uh as the first place team in the AFC South, and let's hope that continues this weekend against the New York Jets. Don't forget to tune in to Touchdown Jaguars for each and every single week for coverage of every single Jaguar touchdown, and we will see you next week, folks. Take care.
