PLAYER NOTES
–T Corey Robinson was added to the Jaguars roster this week. To make room on the roster, the Jaguars released QB Landry Jones. Robinson, 6-7, 315, has appeared in 24 career games with eight starts after originally entering the league as a seventh-round selection in the 2015 draft by Detroit. Robinson spent three seasons in Detroit and was traded to Carolina on Sept. 1 this year. He appeared in one game for Carolina prior to being waived on Sept. 25.
–DE Calais Campbell has recorded 6.0 sacks this season, tied for the team lead. Campbell’s 20.5 sacks since 2017 are the third-most in the NFL.
–DE Yannick Ngakoue who shares the team lead with Campbell with 6.0 sacks, has also forced six fumbles since last year. That’s the most in the NFL in that span.
–RB Leonard Fournette, playing in his 17th career game, recorded the ninth game of his career with at least 100 scrimmage yards after totaling 141 against Pittsburgh last week. Fournette’s nine such games are the most by any Jaguars player in their first 17 games.
–QB Blake Bortles rushed for a regular season and postseason career-high 88 yards in Jacksonville’s AFC Wild Card victory against the visiting Buffalo Bills on Jan. 7, 2018.
–PK Josh Lambo is tied for the NFL-lead with four made field goals of at least 50 yards this season. Lambo is on pace to establish a franchise accuracy mark for a single season. His current percentage of 94.8 (36-of-38) would easily surpass the current career mark (min. 25 att.) of 81.7 set by Jason Myers (2015-17). Lambo replaced Myers midseason in 2017.
–DT Marcell Dareus did not practice Wednesday due to a back injury.
–G A.J. Cann was limited in Wednesday’s practice with a calf injury. Cann played less than half of the game against Pittsburgh due to the calf injury.
–WR DJ Chark did not practice on Wednesday due to a quadriceps injury.
–LB Lerentee McCray who returned to action last week after missing a game to a hamstring injury, did not practice on Wednesday because of the hamstring.
–T Josh Walker, who did not play last week against Pittsburgh due to foot/ankle injuries, did not practice on Wednesday.
–CB Jalen Ramsey was limited in Wednesday’s practice due to a groin injury.
–T Jermey Parnell, who started in the NFL in 2009 and who started his 60thgame last week, was limited in Wednesday’s practice with a knee injury.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: MLB Myles Jack. Jack, who never comes off the field whether it’s a run or passing situation, has been credited with four combined tackles in the last two games, including just one stop in last week’s game against Pittsburgh. And he hasn’t been showing up in any of the other defensive categories. In 10 games this season, Jack has one sack, no forced fumbles or fumble recoveries, one tackle for loss and one interception. He has a total of 56 tackles (5.6 per game). Those are not the statistics that a team is looking for from a middle linebacker who is generally considered the best defender among a team’s front seven players. Jack has also been beat a number of times in passing situations by the man he attempted to cover. Jack needs to get his game back on track and be a bigger contributor to the Jaguars defense.
GAME PLAN: Now that Buffalo has wrestled away the NFL’s top spot for fewest passing yards allowed per game from the Jaguars, look for Jacksonville to come on strong with a running game, very similar to what it did a week ago. Against Pittsburgh, Jacksonville ran the ball 43 times and attempted to pass it 24 times, six of which ended up in sacks of Blake Bortles. With only 104 passing yards gained on 10 completions, it’s an indication that Jacksonville’s passing game is not a threat. Leonard Fournette has had 52 carries the last two weeks, the most by any running back in the league. He finished with 95 yards but only a 3.4 average per carry, almost a full yard less than what the Jaguars would like him to be at. Carlos Hyde had eight carries and T.J. Yeldon five attempts and both of those numbers could be higher on Sunday. Taking away some of Fournette’s carries could keep him fresher for the fourth quarter, a quarter where the Jaguars have lost the opportunity to take the lead or hold the lead. In the Jaguars 15-play drive for 64 yards that ended in a field goal, they attempted just one pass. In the next series, a six-play drive also included one pass attempt and finished with a field goal. Look for similar schemes against the Bills on Sunday.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Bills WR Kelvin Benjamin vs. Jaguars CB Jalen Ramsey. It’s a matchup of former college teammates with ex-Florida State standouts Benjamin and Ramsey likely to go against each other much of the game on Sunday. Both were part of the Seminoles national championship team in 2013. They faced each other for the first time in the NFL in last year’s playoff game with Ramsey getting the upper hand, holding Benjamin to one catch for nine yards. “I know KB pretty well, we were (together) for a year at Florida State. He was super influential. He was a big leader on our team that year when we won the national championship. I am excited to play him again,” Ramsey said. Benjamin has 20 catches for 302 yards and a touchdown. Ramsey will also be on the Bills’ leading receiver Zay Jones who has 37 catches for 392 yards and two scores. Ramsey is coming off his best game as a professional after his first multi-interception game with a pair of picks against Ben Roethlisberger as well as team-leading eight tackles and three passes defensed.
Jaguars OL vs. Bills DL. Jacksonville won’t try to hide anything or try any trickery coming into this game. Their position and intent is clear from the opening kickoff – run the ball against the Bills defense and only have Blake Bortles throw in third-and-long situations. The Bills now lead the league in allowing the fewest passing yards per game (202.4), a position that the Jaguars secondary had held up until this week. A healthy Leonard Fournette has turned a mediocre ground game into one of effectiveness for the Jaguars. In the team’s last two games, the only two games that Fournette has been healthy enough to play the entire contest, Jacksonville has rushed for 270 yards. That’s helped the Jaguars improve on a team rushing attack that had a team-best mark of 104 rushing yards when Fournette did not play. With the second-year back in the lineup, Jacksonville has rushed for over 125 yards in three of the four games that Fournette has played in this year. But the Jaguars will need help from backups on the offensive line. Three reserves played more than half of the game last week and at least two of them are certain starters again this week. Without a solid effort from the guys up front, the Jaguars cannot put together a solid run attack. And without a solid performance from this group, the Jaguars will have a tough time in ending their losing streak.
