Jaguars vs Seahawks Week 6 Review

The Jaguars were defeated 20-12 in week 6 of the NFL season. They were outplayed from start to finish, and with the Colts victory, they now sit at 2nd place in the AFC South and 6th place in the AFC.

The game started with Trevor Lawrence and the offense taking the field first. This was a huge chance to continue the momentum from Monday night and start out fast, but it was a disaster. The drive quickly went three-and-out, losing 13 yards in the process. Defensively, they responded, forcing a three-and-out to get the ball right back.

Once again the offense could not get anything going, getting just 27 yards on 7 plays. Luckily, the defense was playing excellently, forcing another three-and-out. After starting with excellent field position at their own 39-yard line, the Jaguars offense got on the board with an 8-play, 61-yard drive where Trevor Lawrence found a wide-open Brian Thomas Jr. for a 21-yard touchdown. The drive did end in disappointment, however, with kicker Cam Little missing the extra point, leaving the Jaguars up 6-0.

The Seahawks quickly responded, getting down to the Jaguars 10-yard line with ease before the defense made another red zone stand, forcing a field goal to make the score 6-3. Things quickly went south again on offense, going 3-and-out once again. This time the Seahawks took full advantage, scoring on the first play of the drive for a 61-yard touchdown from Sam Darnold to Jaxson Smith-Njigba to go up 10-6.

After both teams exchanged quick punts, Trevor Lawrence and the offense managed to put together a solid drive right before the half, going 46 yards on 11 plays before being forced to kick a 50-yard field goal, which Cam Little missed, keeping the score at 10-6. Sam Darnold and the Seahawks offense were able to take quick advantage of this, getting 25 yards in 58 seconds to kick a field goal, making the score 13-6 at halftime.

To start the 2nd half, the Seahawks offense would get the ball. They made quick work of the Jaguars defense, going 77 yards in 8 plays that was capped off by an 11-yard touchdown from Cooper Kupp to go up 20-6. Offensively the Jaguars once again had no answers, running just 5 plays before punting once again. After a three-and-out by the Seahawks, Trevor Lawrence and the offense were able to put their best drive of the game together, going 82 yards in 14 plays, capped off by a 26-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence to wide receiver Tim Patrick. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 20-12.

After this drive, neither team managed to put anything together offensively, each punting twice. With 2:53 remaining, the Jaguars had one final chance to force a stop and get a score. The defense did not come through, allowing a 61-yard pass to tight end AJ Barner, effectively ending the game and putting the Jaguars at 4-2.

The good

Despite the big plays allowed by the defense, they only allowed 20 points and 13 first downs. Third downs were the defense's biggest strength, allowing just 1 conversion on 12 attempts. A big part of this was the Jaguars run defense, allowing just 60 yards on 26 carries.

While the offense did struggle, scoring just 12 points on the day, they did manage to control the clock, with a 7-minute time of possession difference despite getting little production on the ground. They were able to put together drives but simply could not get out of their own way. Moving forward, this could be a good sign if the offense can sustain long drives and keep the opposing team's offense off the field.

Brian Thomas Jr. is getting back to his old self, having an 8-catch, 90-yard game, both being season highs. If Thomas can get back to his 2024 production, we could see a rapid improvement in the offense. Trevor Lawrence played well once again, throwing for 258 yards and 2 touchdowns. Despite being pressured consistently, he looked much calmer in the pocket and took the open checkdowns when there was nothing open, rather than forcing a throw.

The bad

One of the Jaguars biggest strengths coming into the game was the offensive line, allowing just 6 sacks through the first 5 games. In this game, however, the offensive line was horrific, allowing 7 sacks and 25 pressures, according to ProFootballReference. The sacks were often drive-killing which did not give Trevor Lawrence and the receivers any chance at taking advantage of an injured Seahawks secondary.

Penalties were once again a huge factor in the game, recording 10 for 76 yards on the day. Whenever the offense made a good play, it was cancelled out by a back-breaking penalty. As expected, the running game was a huge struggle. The Seahawks defense was one of the best at stopping the run, and that trend continued, with the Jaguars running backs getting just 41 yards on 14 carries.

As a result of the poor running game, poor offensive line play, and persistent penalties, this forced the offense into 3rd and long situations. Because of this, the offense went just 4-16 on third down, their worst conversion rate of the season so far. Travis Hunter was once a non-factor, and it is becoming inexcusable. Hunter made a dazzling play for 14 yards in the 1st quarter, then had 3 receptions for 1 yard the rest of the game. The game plan has to involve Hunter more if the offense is to reach its potential.

Defensively, they have lived off turnovers, forcing 14 coming into the game, but recorded zero in week 6. While the defense was not horrific, they still allowed two 60-yard pass plays, with one going for a touchdown, and 346 total yards. The defensive game plan was bad to start the game, lining up newly acquired cornerback Greg Newsome II and Montaric Brown against Jaxson Smith-Njigba, which went extremely poorly.

Conclusion

This game was a massive letdown, particularly because they were plagued by season-long issues. They faced a better team, but this was still a missed opportunity given the momentum the team was riding. With a 4-2 Rams team next up, the Jaguars will have to make quick adjustments, or the season could quickly change for the worse.

My Other Work