Jaguars 1st unit struggles in win over Bengals on Sunday Night Football

In their only nationally televised game during the 2016 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars erased a 21-3 deficit in the second half to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals. However, from that wasn’t the main takeaway in what will likely be the first team’s final tune-up before Week 1 of the regular season.

Both the offense and defense failed to show up, looking sluggish and sloppy for the majority of their limited time on the field. T.J. Yeldon fumbled on the opening possession, and that was after two false start penalties to start the game. Then, the defense quickly gave up a 19-yard touchdown pass to Giovani Bernard, in which Bernard went untouched into the end-zone on a screen play.

“We kind of killed ourselves. We did some stupid things, really, at every position,” Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles said. “They didn’t do necessarily anything to step up, which is a good sign because it’s a good defense. … We were comfortable and confident in what we were doing. We just didn’t execute it and get things done.”

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It didn’t get much better from there. The offensive line struggled mightily, Luke Joeckel in particular. Joeckel made his debut at left guard with the return of Kelvin Beachum at left tackle, and was pitted against All-Pro defensive tackle Geno Atkins for the majority of the first half. Atkins dominated Joeckel, even steamrolling him completely at one point. Joeckel looked completely lost at times. I would recommend that he stays off Twitter today, because he’s getting roasted by Jaguars pundits and fans alike.

Jacksonville’s offense scored a touchdown towards the end of the second quarter, but was called back because the receiver, Hayes Pullard III, who typically plays middle linebacker on defense, failed to report as an eligible receiver prior to entering the game. The penalty resulted in the team settling for a field goal, which kicker Sam Ficken clunked in off the goal post from 29 yards out to give Jacksonville’s 1st string offense their only score of the game.

As for the defense, which has been completely revamped since last season, well, they struggled too. The defensive line was gashed via the run, particularly on the edge, and didn’t do a great job at pressuring Bengals QB Andy Dalton, who finished 6-10 for 77 yards and a TD.

One bright spot was T.J. Yeldon, who ran the ball quite well in the first half, making a handful of defensive players miss on a 23-yard scamper in the second quarter. Neal Sterling, the team’s presumed 3rd-string tight end, also played well in the second half, catching 3 passes for 31 yards and a touchdown. Hayes Pullard III had an interception return for a touchdown to clinch the team’s lone preseason win deep in the fourth quarter.

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