PLAYER NOTES
–DT Malik Jackson will play in his 100th career game this Sunday. His 95 consecutive games played ranks second among active DTs.
–QB Blake Bortles had a career-high 430 passing yards last Sunday against Kansas City, and now is just one of three quarterbacks in the NFL this season to throw for 375-plus yards in at least three games.
–RB T.J. Yeldon’s three receiving TDs ties RBs Fred Taylor (1998) and Maurice Jones-Drew (2011) for the most receiving TDs in a single season by a running back in franchise history. Along with Chargers RB Melvin Gordon, Yeldon is one of two players in the NFL to have at least 250 rushing yards and three receiving TDs.
–T Josh Wells started his first game of the 2018 season last week against Kansas City, but now will miss this Sunday’s game in Dallas. Wells suffered a groin injury in the game with the Chiefs and has already been ruled out for the game at AT&T Stadium. Wells missed the entire 2015 season and the first 11 games the following year due to a thumb injury.
–RB Leonard Fournette will miss his fourth game this year as on Wednesday he was ruled out of this week’s game against Dallas. With only a game against Houston on Oct. 21 before the Jaguars journey overseas to London for their yearly contest, it’s highly probable that Fournette won’t return to the lineup at the earliest until after the team’s bye week when they play Indianapolis (Nov. 11). The bye comes the week after the trip to London.
–DT Malik Jackson did not practice on Wednesday due to a back injury.
–G Andrew Norwell did not practice Wednesday due to a foot injury. Norwell was withheld from last Wednesday’s practice as well but then resumed practicing the rest of the week and started against the Chiefs.
–C Brandon Linder sat out Wednesday’s practice as he’s done all season to rest his ailing knee. He’s started all five Jaguars games this season.
–RT Jermey Parnell was limited in practice to rest his knee. Parnell has also started all five games this year.
–DE Yannick Ngakoue was limited in Wednesday’s practice with a shoulder injury.
–DE Calais Campbell was limited on Wednesday due to an ankle injury.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: RB T.J. Yeldon. If Yeldon thought he was carrying a heavy load last week with Leonard Fournette still out, consider that load even heavier this week now that backup Corey Grant has been lost for the year with a LisFranc injury. A week ago, the Jaguars could also turn to reserve Brandon Wilds to give Yeldon a breather, but Wilds’ ineffectiveness in blocking and running in the Kansas City game bothered Jaguars administrators so much that he was released from the squad on Tuesday. That leaves Yeldon as the Jaguars only running back (not including fullback Tommy Bohanon who has no rushing attempts this season) who has carried the ball in the first five games. Newly signed free agent Jamaal Charles and rookie David Williams (off Denver’s practice squad) will be Yeldon’s backup support against the Cowboys. The ankle injury that Yeldon suffered several weeks ago appears to be healed but the Jaguars will not want to tax their only veteran running back too much for fear of losing him to an injury.
GAME PLAN: The Jaguars will emphasize their passing attack, but not nearly to the extent that they did last week when Blake Bortles threw the ball a franchise-record 61 times. The Jaguars have just one healthy running back (T.J. Yeldon) who was with the team last week. That means they’ll rely on a short passing game, with quick slants across the middle to Dede Westbrook and Keelan Coles. They did show that Bortles can be effective in going long following 30- and 38-yard completions to DJ Chark, the rookie receiver who is gaining more experience and confidence. Look for a number of throws to the tight end as well. Les Paul caught seven passes (one shy of his career-best) for 65 yards last week against Kansas City. Donte Moncrief is becoming a good option on the mid-range throws and responded with a season-best six catches last week, giving him 11 grabs for 185 yards in the last two games.
Defensively, the Jaguars will challenge Cowboys QB Dak Prescott to beat them with the pass as they fill the box with extra defenders in trying to shut down the running attack led by Ezekiel Elliott.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott vs. Jaguars LBs Myles Jack and Telvin Smith. For Dallas to win this game, they’ll likely need a dominating rushing-game effort from Elliott so as not to rely on QB Dak Prescott to have to beat the Jaguars’ talented secondary. Elliott turned in a sub-par effort last week against Houston, rushing for just 54 yards and a low 2.7-yard average against a solid Texans run defense. He’ll encounter more this week against the Jaguars who are likely to load the box in an attempt to limit Elliott’s rushing. The Jaguars’ defensive front has done a good job in plugging the middle, allowing Jack and Smith to come in and clean up. Both linebackers are playing well with speed and athleticism to stop running games but also to help out in pass coverage. LB Leon Jacobs has seen limited action as the Jaguars have frequently been in nickel coverage this year. But against Dallas, Jacobs could see his most extensive action of the season.
–Jaguars QB Blake Bortles vs. Cowboys secondary. Last week the Jaguars were forced to go almost exclusively with a passing game after falling behind the Chiefs by 20 points at halftime. Coupled with the injury to Corey Grant, Blake Bortles was asked to carry the Jaguars’ offensive unit as much as he could. Jacksonville will at least have depth at the running back spot this week after signing free agent Jamaal Charles and rookie David Williams. But with both players having limited preparation time to learn the playbook, there will likely be another heavy dosage of Bortles pass attempts, though it shouldn’t be anywhere close to the 61 attempts from last week. The Cowboys secondary is probably the weakest group on the defense so the Jaguars are likely to test it early and often. Bortles will have to guard against the bad throws that he had last week that resulted in a career-high four interceptions.
