The Jacksonville Jaguars went into Baltimore with little to no shot to beat the Ravens. Obviously, the Ravens(9-5) are a better team than the Jaguars, so for Jacksonville to win this game would have been a long shot, and ultimately, they were routed 40-14.
Jacksonville(1-13) has now lost 13 straight games.
“I mean, I can tell you what I told them in the locker room,” Marrone said after the game. “I told them that, ‘Hey listen, we came out here today and this team was clearly the better team today. There’s a lot of things that—there’s some things, obviously, I thought we did well and then—but for the most part, I’m not going to point those out. Obviously, we weren’t good enough at all those…’ I told the players after the game, kind of gave them—talked to them about our schedule next week, talked about our mindset, talking about playing our last home game, and really trying to put this game behind us quickly and move forward.
The Jaguars knew last night that they would be without their punter Logan Cooke, who did not make the trip to Baltimore due to illness. In his place, K Aldrick Rosas did the punting for Jacksonville. Rosas had three punts with an average of 36 yards, and he fumbled a snap. According to Marrone, losing Cooke was not the reason they lost, but it did change things.
“We were looking at, or I was looking at, the analytics of it for gain of field position, where Aldrick [Rosas] was as far as punting,” Marrone said. “So basically, we kind of expanded that zone more so, where if you’re looking at fourth-and-6 or less, you have a 40 percent chance of really making it. And if we go more than that, then obviously the number decreases, and you’ve got to make some decisions. So I guess my point is, obviously, like anything, you make adjustments when things occur. Did I feel forced to do that? No, I just thought that was the best chance for our team to win the game. And I want to make sure that just because Logan wasn’t able to play, that didn’t cost us the game.”
Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew, who made his first start for the team since October, threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, but he was sacked five times and lost a fumble. After the game, Marrone did not name a starter for next week against the Bears.
“I don’t know,” Marrone said about who will be the starter next week. “I know everyone is going to talk to me about—that’s a question afterward. I knew you guys, I just think right now, I’m really, I really want to be in there to support these players and these coaches right now. And I’m not ready to say this or that, and all this other stuff, or really comment on playing time. And that’s not a knock on Gardner, and it’s not a knock on me not having a decision in my mind right now. My mind right now is totally focused. These guys, it’s tough to see. I know we’re pros, I know it’s like that, but when you see guys trying, they just, whatever it is that causes us not to get there or come with the win.”
Sunday was not all bad news for the Jaguars. The Jets won today, and with the victory, Jacksonville and New York have the same records, but due to strength of schedule(Jaguars having an easier strength of schedule), if the Jaguars and Jets end up with the same record, Jacksonville will get the number one pick. Therefore, the Jaguars could possibly get their hands on Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, so all is not lost for Jacksonville.
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