The Jaguars have gone from The Good Place to Breaking Bad in a hurry this season. And it's nothing that benching Blake Bortles or trading the quarterback for a replacement can quickly fix.
Just three weeks ago, Jacksonville was 3-1 with a big early win over the Patriots in hand. Bortles was lifting the team while feature running back Leonard Fournette sat out with a bad hamstring. The defense was looking arguably more dominant than it was during its breakout last season.
After Week 7, however, the Jaguars are 3-4 and have been outscored 90-28 during a three-game losing streak that culminated in Sunday's embarrassing, 20-7 home loss to the new first-place team in the AFC South, the once 0-3 Texans.
WATCH: Full Jaguars-Texans Week 7 highlights
Coach Doug Marrone had no choice but to bench Bortles in the second quarter Sunday, as the QB's latest fumbles were literally giving away the game. Backup Cody Kessler provided temporary relief before he killed any chance of a Jaguars comeback with an ugly interception.
"I literally did it to try to get a damn spark from this football team, to put everyone on notice they have to focus and they have to play better," Marrone told media after the game of benching Bortles. "That’s not fair to the quarterback, but that’s the way this business is."
Worse than losing another game, though: Marrone is starting to lose the team.
According to reports, frustration came out in the post-game locker room in the form of players yelling at and arguing with each other. That's not unusual for a team with which the burden of winning falls on the defense. The fact that the faces of "Sacksonville," ends Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell, were the central figures also is not a surprise. They are the leaders who are trying to keep everything from coming apart.
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who had nothing to say after the Jags' loss to Cowboys last week, was further silenced on the field Sunday in the middle of a season in which his coverage game hasn't matched his big name.
Ramsey is a microcosm of what's wrong with Jacksonville — gone is the swagger and the all-out imposition of physical will against opponents.
Fournette's absence has caused an identity crisis for the Jaguars' offense. With their offensive line not helping T.J. Yeldon run as well as can, they are too Bortles-dependent. The QB can be a playmaker only when he's more of a caretaker. He needs to throw as a complement to the threat of the power run, because when Jacksonville gets predictable with one-dimensional passing, he can't handle the pressure.
The Jaguars displayed their desperation for Fournette (or somebody like him) in their trade for Carlos Hyde last week. As admirable as Yeldon has been as a fill-in, he is not built to get the 25 or so carries it takes to wear down a defense. The result has been poor complementary football, which brings us back to the Jaguars' defense.
Jacksonville needs to control the clock and play with leads. Because of the Jags' own turnover-riddled offense, opponents have been able to stay balanced and patient in working against a penetrable run defense. Those opponents also have been able to exploit coverage weaknesses inside at nickel back, safety and linebacker, weaknesses that are much more prevalent this season.
"We’re going to have to battle and dig deep," linebacker Telvin Smith said after the game. "We dug ourselves in a hole. It’s going to take a lot to dig us out.”
Something will need to give when the Jaguars play the 3-4 Eagles in Week 8. Philadelphia, which blew a 17-0 lead in the fourth quarter against Carolina, has its own issues with a dysfunctional marriage of offense and defense. Maybe a game against the struggling Super Bowl champions will prompt the Jaguars to find some of their fading intensity. At least they'll be forced to wake up earlier with a 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff in London.
Marrone and his coordinators, Nathaniel Hackett and Todd Wash, will have their work cut out for them during a much-needed Week 9 bye. At that point, they will hope either Fournette will fully heal or Hyde can fully immerse himself in the offense. With a favorable second-half schedule, not everything is lost yet for the Jaguars in the NFL's weakest division.
AFTER FURTHER REVIEW:
Reckless Texans, more from Week 7
But this was supposed to be the team to beat in the AFC after that New England game, not a team limping to the postseason. At best, the Jaguars are looking at a home playoff game against a top wild-card team, probably the Chargers or Chiefs. At worst, Marrone will squander one of the league's most talented young rosters because of a failure to adjust and properly motivate.
Injuries and slumps happen, but this one is on Marrone. As shaky as Bortles has been, a QB adjustment does not suddenly alleviate all the other issues.
The Jaguars have to stick with Bortles and move forward with what everyone else is supposed to be. This isn't a team with one scapegoat like Bortles, and Fournette can't be the only savior.
