3 takeaways from Jaguars Raiders

The defense needs help

With Travis Hunter being placed on injured reserve, the Jaguars already struggling defense faced an even bigger hill to climb. Early into week 9's matchup against the Raiders, Jourdan Lewis went down with an injury and did not return. The secondary as of right now is made up of Jarrian Jones, Montaric Brown, Antonio Johnson, and Andrew Wingard. As expected, they got carved apart, allowing 29 points and 4 passing touchdowns against a struggling Raiders offense.

With the trade deadline approaching, the Jaguars will need to look to make a move to upgrade this defense. They currently rank dead last in sacks with just 10 on the season and 27th in passing yards allowed. With no clear updates as to when Jourdan Lewis and Travis Hunter will return to the field, it is imperative that a move is made to improve the defense.

Travis Etienne is playing himself into a contract extension

Travis Etienne returned to his early-season form. While he did not put up monster numbers, Etienne made countless plays after contact. A big criticism of him over the years was his lack of ability to break tackles. In this game, there was not much room to run, but he still managed to have 3 rushes of 10 or more yards.

For the game, Etienne finished with 115 yards from scrimmage, his third highest of the season. Through 8 games, he has already eclipsed his previous season total in yards with 598 while averaging 5 yards per carry, the best since his rookie year. If Etienne can continue to be a bellcow back for the offense, we could see him here long-term.

The Jaguars need another receiver

Once again we are brought back to the trade deadline. Jaguars receivers recorded 5 more drops in this game, along with Brian Thomas Jr. suffering an ankle injury. Parker Washington now stands as the only receiving threat for the offense. The Jaguars have been linked to Jakobi Meyers with the trade deadline heating up. Meyers has just 11 drops in his seven years as a pro and has publicly stated his desire to be traded.

Other players such as Chris Olave and Juan Jennings could be available at the deadline, but those come with their own set of risks. If general manager James Gladstone does not make a move, we could see a wide receiver lineup of Parker Washington, Tim Jones, and Dyami Brown against an excellent pass defense in the Houston Texans.

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