[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0RbQ6vSJ6U[/embedyt] The Jacksonville Jaguars Week 4 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals is a must win for Gardner Minshew. I say that because Shahid Khan will get a good look at what a first round quarterback looks like. Minshew is playing for his starting job because Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields are right around the corner. He doesn’t have great pieces around him, but he’s shown he can compete despite that. With that being said can the Jaguars beat the Bengals Sunday?
Offensive Game Plan
Lean More On The Run Game
The run game has been good for the Jaguars. James Robinson is averaging almost five yards per carry. Unfortunately Brandon Linder won’t be back for the Jags this week, but Tyler Shatley has done a good job in the run game this season. A.J. Cann and Andrew Norwell have been very good run blockers as well. They should continue to attack the B and C gaps which is Robinson’s specialty.
The wrench in this is the potential return of Geno Atkins. Christian Covington and Mike Daniels have been bad versus the run. Atkins and D.J. Reader would pose a tough matchup for the Jaguars’ interior line resulting in Minshew having to get short gains on first down. Second and long situations make the offense predictable, which we saw versus Miami.
*Update: Geno Atkins and Mike Daniels will be out this game
Get More Out Of Tyler Eifert
Josh Bynes and Akeem Davis-Gaither have had trouble in coverage. Ideally you want to cause mismatches with the tight end in this scenario, but Jacksonville has had a problem with that. Both Eifert and James O’Shaughnessy have done nothing in the passing game, however that can change this week. Eifert has good size and speed, so exploiting that won’t be as hard as it has been the prior week.
Also with D.J. Chark Jr. returning this receiving core should get a big boost. The Bengals secondary has played pretty well, so the Jags will need to be at full strength to have a chance. Darius Phillips was solid in limited time in 2019 and he’s gotten better each week this year. With William Jackson III and Mackensie Alexander occupying the other corner spots I don’t see a way Jacksonville wins this through the air. Although Alexander is currently doubtful for this Sunday which would be huge for Keelan Cole.
Defensive Game Plan
Get Pressure
The Jaguars are terrible at getting to the quarterback. They only have 26 pressures on the quarterback this season. To put that in perspective the Dolphins had that many Thursday night. Luckily the Bengals don’t know how to protect Joe Burrow. Burrow has been pressured 47 times, hit 12 times, and has somehow only taken 14 sacks this season. This is the type of offensive line Jacksonville needs to dominate.
Dare Them To Test You Deep
Assuming they can get pressure on Burrow then I’d have the secondary dare Burrow to go deep. Burrow is 1-16 on passes of 20 yards or more. To be honest he hasn’t had the time to let routes develop and has had to rely on dump offs. That’s why guys like Tyler Boyd, Drew Sample, and C.J. Uzomah have seen so much production.
Have the corners play close to the line of scrimmage and for once have faith in the pass rush. Force this Cincinnati team to have to win with the deep ball. Andrew Wingard has done a solid job in place of Jarrod Wilson who’s on IR. He’ll be the guy roaming deep and he’s only allowed 29 yards in coverage this season. This is the one occasion where I think the defense can win the game for Jacksonville this season.
On paper this game looks very difficult for the Jaguars and it doesn’t get any easier from here. If Minshew wants to be the guy then he needs to take advantage of the lighter part of the schedule unlike last week.
I’m FTFN analyst, Stephen de la Gardelle, and if you want more from me subscribe to my YouTube Channel here. Or if you like draft content you can check out more articles here.
