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Giants (3-8) vs Jaguars (1-10)
The
Jaguars are having a tough season and last week was no exception. They traveled
to Indianapolis and were able to score just one field goal. The Colts won that
game 23-3.
The Giants came close to winning last week when they held a four
point lead over the Cowboys with just three minutes remaining. Tony Romo needed
only two minutes to score a touchdown to put his team up. The Giants were unable
to come back on their turn and lost the game 31-28.
Giants - Cowboys
Wrap-Up
Jacksonville
Jaguars
How would you like to be the owner
of an NFL football team? That would be great of course, but the one you bought
happens to have an average of winning just three games a season since you plunked
down your hard earned cash and there's a no return policy. They had slowly improved
on winning 2 games in 2012 to 4 games in 2013, but they would have to take all
the remaining ones this season to improve by even that simple 'twosie' progression.
Right now they are still at a 'onesie' after eleven games.
They
have been adding championship free agents to their roster and working in top draft
picks in an effort to get to the next level. For their current outlook, the easiest
teams on the Jaguar's schedule right now, going just by win-loss records, are
the Tennessee Titans with 2 wins and next up the Giants with 3. Jacksonville
Jaguars Offense
Few rookie quarterbacks
star in their first season and Blake Bortles is no exception. Bortles was the
third pick overall in the 2014 draft and he took over as their starter after replacing
Chad Henne at halftime when they were down 30-0 against the Colts. It was the
Jaguars third game of the season, their home opener, but there was no happy comeback
storybook ending for the fans as they lost 44-17. Bortles has been the starter
ever since, has won one game, but just had one of his worst outings last week.
Bortles threw for a career-low 146 yards, with only 39 coming in the first three
quarters and the rest followed only after the Colts were up 20-3.
Some of
this let down can be attributed to the fact that the Jaguars were without their
best wide receiver, rookie Allen Robinson. He led the team with 48 receptions
and was just placed on injured reserve last week with a broken foot. Running
back Denard Robinson had his best game rushing for 127 yards when the Jags beat
the Browns for their only win. He was doing well in the games after, up until
last week against the Colts, where his 14 carries
netted him only 25 yards. Robinson did catch 4 passes for 47 yards in that game
as 9 of Bortles 15 completions went to running backs.
Jacksonville Jaguars Defense
This
group gives up lots of yards against both the pass and run, but they are third
in the league in sacks with 33 on the season. Their best pass rusher is Chris
Clemons who played with the championship Seahawks last year. Clemons leads the
team with 7 sacks and picked up three of them, and a forced fumble on Andrew Luck
last week. To strengthen their pass rush, defensive
end Andre Branch looks to be back.
Branch recorded 3 sacks in seven games
prior to getting hurt in their last win. The Jaguars have missed him over the
last four games which were all losses. Red Bryant is a good run stuffer who lines
up in several spots and he also played with the Seahawks last season. The secondary
has been their weak area, but will be at full strength when they face the Giants
this Sunday. Overall this defense knows that Eli Manning tends to make mistakes
when pressured and they will be coming. Giants
offense
Eli Manning's offense came up
with 28 points, but it wasn't enough for a win last week against the Cowboys.
They hadn't scored that many points since their last win in early October against
Atlanta. Odell Beckham had another standout game and running back Rashad Jennings
stated this week in practice that he now feels as he once did before his injury
earlier in the season.
Against the Cowboys he averaged 2.7 yards a carry,
but as a receiver he was second only to Beckham, catching 8 passes for 68 yards.
Justin Pugh may or may not be back and better blocking from the tight end position
would be a big help for the running game and Manning's protection from a good
pass rushing team. Giants
defense
The Giants have been beating
themselves up all week for allowing Tony Romo to cruise downfield and score an
easy touchdown to put them ahead at the end of the game. One way to look at it
was that they tried to generate a four man pass rush against an effective offensive
line or that the people on the field to do that were not the best to use in that
situation. They catch a break this week in facing a rookie quarterback so some
mistakes will go unnoticed, but watch out for read-option plays. Bortles is second
on the team with 228 rushing yards.
The Jaguars are regressing on offense
and gave up four sacks last week. Their head coach, Gus Bradley, took some heat
off his offensive line, commenting that quarterback Bortles held onto the ball
too long at times and was slow with his decision-making. Bortles is still learning
as he goes and the Giants have an opportunity to take some chances in this game
against a weaker opponent, especially if their offense has put up some points
on the board to fall back on. Overall
The
Giants had some chances in the last two games, but came up short and continued
their losing streak. The missed opportunity last week against the Cowboys took
them out of the division race. Then on Thursday when
the Lions beat the Bears, they were officially eliminated from obtaining a playoff
spot. The best the Giants can hope for now is to finish with an 8-8 record which
is possible only if they win all their last remaining games. They do face some
easier competition over the next few weeks, with the Jaguars, Titans, Redskins
and Rams, which have a combined 10-34 record, but their last game is with the
division leading Eagles.
The Jaguars put it all together on offense and defense
when they won their one lone game this season at home against the Cleveland Browns
24-6. That broke a nine game losing streak, but the Jaguars weren't able to build
on that win and have dropped the last four games since then. Right now their rookie
quarterback is throwing more interceptions than touchdowns as he learns his role
with the pros, and like the Giants, they're probably eager to face another team
with a losing record in their search for another win. NFC
East
On Sunday at 1:00pm, the same time
the Giants are playing the Jaguars, the Redskins (3-8) will be playing their game
in Indianapolis against the Colts (7-4). The Eagles (9-3) won their game with
the Cowboys (8-4) on Thursday. The Giants are favored to win their game in Jacksonville.
The Colts are favored to win over the Redskins.
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Notes.Giants
Tom Coughlin will coach in his 300th regular-season game. Giants
are 3-1 when they rush for at least 100 yards in a game this season, 0-7 when
they don't. Giants are only the sixth
3-8 team since 1978 to be a road favorite. Jaguars
Blake Bortles became the fifth Jaguars quarterback to start a game during his
rookie season. Jaguars Blake Bortles
leads the league with 15 interceptions. Jaguars
have lost 36 of their last 42 games. Jaguars
will play their 40th straight game as an underdog.
Next Games
Dec 7 - Giants at Tennessee
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